Some Major Problems In Managing Watersheds Of

The Border Region

Dr. M. Karl Wood, DirectorWater Resources Research Institute

New Mexico State University

The Border Region only has four major water problems!

1. The water is in the wrong places

2. The water is present at the wrong times

3. The water has the wrong quantities•Floods

•Droughts

4. The water is the wrong quality

These problems are mostly

the result of natural conditions

in the continent

These problems can be mitigated

or

made worse

by human activities

Problem # 1

Tree and Shrub Increase and Invasion in Uplands

Landscapes Containing Pinyon Pines and Junipers

Low lands Steep Hillsides Mesa Tops

Physiographic Positions

Pinyon pine and Juniper• Climax on steep, rocky hillsides

• Invade lowlands & mesa tops by gravity, water, wind animals, etc

• Controlled by fire in invaded areas until fire became scarce

• Compete with grass-forb-shrub understory which results in extremely high erosion rates

1900

1960

Erosion After Dominance

Grassland Pinyon-Juniper Pinyon-Juniper Dominated Invasion Established

Amount of Erosion

Kinds of Mismanagement!

• Cessation of wildfire by fire suppression

• Limiting use of shrub and tree control tools such as: a. Fuelwood harvest b. Mechanical removal c. Herbicide applications

• “If the prime objective is wood products, we may continue to overgraze, letting in the woodland and sacrificing watershed values

• If on the other hand the prime objective is watersheds, we should restore the grass, which all the evidence indicates is a better watershed cover than either brush or woodland”

Aldo Leopold

Problem # 2

Wildlife and Livestock Grazing

Mismanagement

Problem # 3

Riparian Area Mismanagement

Riparian Areas: tremendous importance

• New Mexico receives 85 million acre-ft of precipitation each year

• 3 million acre-ft lost through evapotranspiration

• Half of water loss by evapotranspiration in some statesis from riparian areas

• Enriched plant & animal life

• Most difficult ecosystem to research

Problem # 4

Lost Water Harvesting

Opportunities

Why? Establish Seed Banks

Problem # 5

Lack of Reclamation

on

Disturbed Land

Problem Areas:

• Exploration - hard rock

• - oil & gas

• Mined areas

• Roaded areas

• Recreation areas (ORV)

Problem # 6

Inadequate Methods for

Erosion and Runoff

Inventory and Prediction

Land Management Practice

Animal Trampling and Burrowing

Plant and Rock Cover Plant

Volume

Soil Surface Roughness

Soil SurfaceConfiguration

Soil Moisture Evaporative Loss

Soil Organic Matter Content

Soil Particle Sizes

SoilStructure

Soil BulkDensity and Porosity

Runoff andInfiltration