“Soil loss … diminishes the fertility, productivity and healing capacity of land.”
Craig Spoonholtlz & Avery C. Anderson
The Ute Creek Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with the Santa Fe-based Quivira Coalition, held a one-day soil erosion assessment and mitigation workshop. Participants came from Denver, Raton, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Springer, Yates and Harding and San Miguel Counties. The average land under management by the participants was 46,000 acres. The NM Department of Agriculture, through its Land of Enchantment Legacy grant program and the USDA NRCS (Natural Resource and Conservation Service), provided funds for the workshop, being one of the projects identified as a goal by the Ute Creek District’s recently completed Long-Term Plan.
Twenty-five (25) participants gathered at The Headquarters in Mosquero for coffee and breakfast. Maria Lenora Rodriguez, the Education and Outreach Director for Quivira, and Sally Trigg, Chair of Ute Creek SWCD, made introductions and thanked those in attendance and all those who helped make the workshop possible. Aaron Kaufman of Santa Fe Southwest Urban Hydrology gave an hour’s slide show and presentation on the basic concepts of siting and building “One Rock Dams, Media Lunas (tip up, tip down) and Rock Rundowns.” These “Zeedyk” low tech, inexpensive rock structures are designed to stabilize, reverse and heal soil erosion and channeling caused by flowing water, wind, and animal/livestock trails. Each participant received a Quivira Coalition “Erosion Control Field Guide” to further explain and illustrate the various erosion structures. The Ute Creek District has additional guides available for free at the Roy NRCS office.
After Mr. Kaufman’s presentation, the workshop crew caravanned 15 miles south of Mosquero to the Steve Trigg Ranch #13 workshop worksite where the Trigg Ranch crew had gathered and stockpiled over 10 tons of rock and construction tools. After safety instructions were given, Mr. Kaufman demonstrated, on the ground, how to assess the soil erosion landscape and how to build the highlighted rock erosion structures. These structures are designed to promote harvesting and storing runoff and sediment, encouraging revegetation, and the regeneration of soil health in eroded, damaged areas.
The participants divided into groups of 2-4 to try their hand building erosion structures. Mr. Kaufman was kept busy scurrying among the teams critiquing and further explaining the elements of siting and the finer points of building rock structures.
The working crew retired to the shade of juniper trees scattered in beside a water filled dirt stock tank to eat a delightful, copious picnic lunch brought and served by Jill and Jack Chatfield. (One participant noted that just the chocolate chip cookies made their long trek well worth the effort!) Having eaten their fill, the crew regrouped and continued constructing the various regenerative rock structures, completing 40+ structures before the Spring winds brought a quick end to the day’s work.
Before activities wound down for the day, Mr. Kaufman illustrated how to monitor the treated landscape for improved soil fertility and productivity over the coming years, including the use of survey equipment.
Ms. Trigg advised the participants that the Trigg Ranch Crew would annually monitor changes to the workshop site during their 22nd and future years’ annual September Monitor Week and would send the participants that monitoring information. She was confident that everyone would be surprised, if not shocked, by the miracles achieved when “letting water do the work” using the low tech structures that they had built.
Participant workshop evaluations all gave the day a resounding 5 rating (excellent) except 2 who gave it a 4. Many noted that they felt confident they had learned some basic soil erosion tools needed to help heal soil loss in degrading, channeling scars. The final comments included: Great job, Thank you!, Don’t stop, I enjoyed! Well done, Great time, great food, great people, Keep up the good work.
