March 1998 Vol 1., No. 3
The Quivira Coalition Sharing Common-Sense Solutions to the Rangeland Conflict
It’s the Watershed, Stupid
Contents Award
2
From the Founders
3
Managing Change: Livestock Grazing on Western Riparian Areas 4 Anticipation on Macho Creek
6
Riparian Resources, Opportunities for Cooperation
10
The Far Horizon
12
Macho Creek Project 16 Board of Directors
17
Upcoming Events
20
by Sid Goodloe, rancher
When the word “riparian” became a buzzword, I had no idea what people were referring to. After I looked it up, I was still pretty much in the dark until it finally dawned on me that I was actually bringing back a “riparian area” here on the Carrizo Valley Ranch without knowing it had a sophisticated name. I had become aware that something was drastically wrong with this ranch (I could have used the word “ecosystem” here, but I didn’t know what that meant either). The canyons and draws had straight cut sides with nothing in the bottom but boulders. When it rained, you could almost walk on the run-off because it carried so much silt. It didn’t take a lot of scientific research to come to the conclusion that something upstream was terribly wrong. I began to notice how young and close together the piñon, juniper, and ponderosa trees were,
and how little herbaceous growth occurred under them to hold the soil. Sheet erosion was moving a lot of that top soil and accelerating water flow. Gullies were prominent, and all of this led to scouredout canyons and draws at the lower elevations of the watershed. (con t on page 18)
Editor’s Note This is our second newsletter on riparian areas--the first one (November 1997) was on defining the nature and importance of riparian zones; this one explores the important and controversial issue of riparian management. Upcoming issues will focus on grazing in Northern New Mexico, endangered species, and development vs. open space and the role of public lands managers. If you want to see earlier issues, just call or write us and we will send them to you.