Conservation
Truchas Chapter is very involved with a variety of conservation issues in northern New Mexico. Below are several areas of particular emphasis.
Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout
Our Chapter is a major force for the restoration and preservation of native Rio Grande
Cutthroat Trout (RGCT) which has been reduced to less than 10% of its historical range
and faces increasing threats. In 2008, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service made
RGCT a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
Our Chapter has established a RGCT Restoration Fund for projects which protect
existing populations of this fish and help restore the fish to more of its historical waters.
We are partnering with Trout Unlimited national, New Mexico Department of Game and
Fish, United States Forest Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, local acequia
associations, and other non-profit organizations, such as New Mexico Trout.
We are involved in a major RGCT restoration project on the Rio Costilla drainage,
including Comanche Creek; in building a fish-passage barrier on Alamitos Creek in the
Carson National Forest; and in repairing fish-passage barriers on Tio Grande and
Tanques Creeks near San Antonio Mountain.
Click here to download our Conservation Project List
Please also see our 2009 Work Project and Events Schedule.
Pecos River
Our Chapter is active in improving the condition of our home water, the Pecos River.
Along with the Upper Pecos Watershed Association and other groups, our Chapter
sponsors clean-up days on the Pecos twice a year, is working to establish Pecos Canyon
State Park and to limit the harm caused by informal campgrounds and stream bank parking,
and is a River Keeper for a stretch of the Pecos. We are currently considering other
possible projects to improve the habitat and fishery of the public water on the Pecos.
Click here to download a 2008 report commissioned by the Upper Pecos Watershed Association on the Pecos River. (1.7 Mb)
Aquatic Invasive Species
Our Chapter is working to educate anglers about the dangers posed by Aquatic Invasive
Species and the role that anglers play in their spread. Whirling disease (a parasite of
trout) has been in many of New Mexico's waters for several years. Our southwestern
native trout (RGCT, Gila trout, and Apache trout) are particularly susceptible to
infection. The bottom-smothering alga Didymo was recently found in the Pecos River. New
Zealand mud snails have been found in every western state except New Mexico, but they
are surely heading our way. All of these exotic species have very harmful effects on our
trout and their waters.
Read more about Aquatic Invasive Species and what you can do to help prevent their spread.