Upper Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico: Water and Related Land Resources

Excerpts from the report: The Upper Rio Grande Basin includes about 29,696 square miles in north-central New Mexico, involving the drainage area of the Rio Grande and its tributaries from the Colorado state line to Elephant Butte Dam. Included within the boundaries of the basin are parts or all of four closed drainages: Estancia Valley, North Plains, San Augustin Plains, and Jornado del Muerto. The study area includes all or part of the following counties: Bernalillo, Catron, Colfax, Lincoln, Los Alamos, McKinley, Mora, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, and Valencia. The landownership is typical of other western states--about 40 percent private, 40 percent federal, 11 percent Indian, and 9 percent state land. About 78 percent of the land is rangeland used primarily for grazing livestock, 13 percent is commercial forest, and only 2 percent is cropland. Two-thirds of the area classed as commercial forest is also used for grazing. The remaining 7 percent of the land supports roads, railroads, urban, and other miscellaneous uses. Specific objectives of the study were: 1. Identification of opportunities for improving the agricultural economy through small watershed projects under Public Law 566. 2. Identification of areas where watershed treatment might enhance the environment, improve water yield, and contribute to the economy of the basin. 3. To provide a basis for coordination of USDA programs with other state and federal agency activities in watershed protection, flood prevention, and agricultural water management. 4. Appraisal of opportunities for meeting local water and related land objectives with USDA project-type programs. 5. Appraisal of development needs that contribute to the plan for coordinated control, regulation, and management of water and related land resources. 6. Appraisal of the potential, needs, and desires of the human resources and suggestions for programs, procedures, and assistance possible to help the local people contribute fully to the economy, environment, and culture of the basin.