New Mexico

Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy
Habitat Restoration and Reintroduction for Imperiled Herpetofauna of the Black, San Francisco, and Upper Gila-Mangas Watersheds (AZ, NM)
Restore wetland habitat quality and availability in the San Francisco, Upper Gila-Mangas, and Black River watersheds through a watershed inventory of target species and threats, prioritization of potential remediation sites, wetland restoration, and ultimately, Chiricahua leopard frog reintroduction. Project will create eight, 1-acre wetlands, and .25 miles of heavy-duty livestock exclusion fencing to increase habitat quality, availability, and biodiversity to critical headwaters of the Upper Gila and Salt Rivers.
$227,074

Borderlands Restoration Network
Headwater Riparian Restoration along Arizona/New Mexico Border (AZ, NM)
Increase capacity for local youth to construct rock and wood erosion-control structures instream and along floodplains in headwater streams of the San Simon River watershed in the Chiricahua Mountains. Project will restore 2 miles of riparian forest habitat in multiple headwater drainages while enhancing groundwater recharge.
$188,213

Carlsbad Soil and Water Conservation District
Vegetative Restoration of Blue Springs (NM)
Remove invasive salt cedar and Russian olive trees in and around the riparian area of Blue Springs and mesquite in adjacent upland areas. Project will enhance soil, water, vegetation and wildlife habitat along the springs and wetlands.
$222,221

Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management
Black River Sensor Array (NM)
Establish a sensor array within the reach of the Black River in southeastern New Mexico occupied by the endangered Texas hornshell mussel (Popenaias popeii). Project will greatly improve the precision and accuracy of water quality readings and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of conditions endured by the mussel.
$197,228

Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management
Restoring Grasslands by Removing Dead Standing Mesquite to Benefit Lesser Prairie-Chicken (NM)
Prioritize landscape habitat connectivity projects by implementing brush control across multiple cross-jurisdictional properties within the lesser prairie-chicken Core Management Area in southeastern New Mexico. Initiative will remove previously treated, dead, standing mesquite structures from nearly 7,000 acres and remove 5 miles of derelict fencing to improve grassland health, support biodiversity and improve climate resilience.
$74,300

Chaves Soil and Water Conservation District
Southeast New Mexico Plains Pronghorn Restoration (NM)
Enhance grassland habitat and improve landscape connectivity for pronghorn across ranches and pastures in Chaves County, New Mexico. Project will restore nearly 5,000 acres of grassland habitat through mesquite brush control and install at least 5 miles of pronghorn-friendly fencing.
$106,128

National Audubon Society
Conserving Shortgrass Prairie Habitat through Conservation Ranching (NM, TX)
Implement on-the-ground restoration efforts in the shortgrass prairie ecosystems of the Texas panhandle and southeastern New Mexico through the Audubon Conservation Ranching Initiative. Project will improve grazing management on 50,000 acres of private, working ranches and implement a spectrum of technical guidance tools and development of ranch-specific habitat management plans and monitoring efforts to benefit Lesser Prairie-Chickens and other native species.
$175,346

National Audubon Society
Program Development Support for Middle Rio Grande Native Water Leasing Pilot (NM)
Contribute to the development, design, and implementation of a water leasing pilot program within the boundaries of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. Project will support water and habitat management alternatives that the MRGCD and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation may consider as they seek to provide adaptive management and protection for agricultural communities in coordination with site monitoring and habitat restoration for endangered species.
$299,848

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Fence Management to Improve Connectivity and Habitat Quality in the Pecos Grassland Focal Area (NM)
Modify, remove, and install at least 40 miles of fence on 27 Wildlife Management Areas spread across the Pecos Grassland Focal Area. Project will increase grassland connectivity, improve grazing and range management practices, improve habitat quality and bolster populations of Chestnut-collared longspur, Sprague’s pipit, pronghorn and other grassland wildlife.
$195,000

North Carolina State University
Assessment of the Rio Grande Cooter Population Structure in the Delaware River (NM)
Conduct high trap intensity Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) surveys along the Delaware River and compare findings to capture data on the Black River. Project will enhance knowledge of overall species occupancy, distribution and habitat preferences, which are essential to implementing sound management practices for species protection.
$88,808

Pueblo of Sandia
Restoring Climate-Resilient Habitat for Big Game on Sandia’s Bobcat Ranch (NM)
Increase climate-resilient habitat for big game in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range on Bobcat Ranch, a ranch owned and operated by the Pueblo of Sandia Tribe. Project will restore a 247-acre big game migration corridor for the benefit of Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer by implementing forest thinning treatments, prescribed burning, and reseeding of grassland vegetation to link three existing meadows via a migration corridor.
$205,054

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
Expanding the Great Plains and Chihuahuan Desert Motus Network to Inform Migratory Bird Conservation (multiple states)
Expand efforts to build a network of automated radio telemetry stations (Motus) throughout the Great Plains and Chihuahuan Desert that will help fill demographic knowledge gaps, characterize stop-over and migratory connectivity, and strategically inform full annual cycle habitat conservation for steeply declining grassland birds. Project will install 10 new Motus stations and deploy bird tags to inform future conservation delivery for grassland birds.
$250,000

Rio Grande Return
Rio Cebolla Wetland and Watershed Natural Process Based Restoration Initiative (NM)
Conduct restoration activities on the Rio Cebolla in the Santa Fe National Forest such as watershed thinning, riparian and wetland vegetation planting, and beaver dam analog installation. Project will restore a cottonwood and willow overstory, increase channel complexity and floodplain connectivity through the addition of in-stream structures, and protect riparian habitat from grazing, benefiting Rio Grande cutthroat trout, New Mexico meadow jumping mouse and other sensitive and threatened species.
$189,481

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
Using Community-Based Collaboratives to Improve Grassland Habitat for Migratory Birds (CO, NM)
Help reverse the decline of grassland bird populations and improve grassland ecosystem health and resilience to climate change through prescribed grazing and associated infrastructure, drought management plans, maintaining grass cover, reducing woody invasion, and delivering workshops in the eastern plains of Colorado and New Mexico. Project will provide focused technical and financial support to improve 75,000 acres of private working lands through community based collaboratives.
$315,615

Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Native Seeds Development and Outreach for Grassland Restoration in the Pecos River Watershed (NM, TX)
Develop ecotypic native seed sources for the Pecos River watershed in West Texas and New Mexico to support successful grassland restoration. Project will address limitations to native grassland habitat restoration through outreach and technical assistance to landowners, energy operators, and related contractors reseeding in the watershed, by expanding an established native seed research and development program, and by collaborating with the commercial seed trade to expand seed source availability.
$195,891

The Trust for Public Land
Protecting Mt. Taylor Traditional Cultural Properties for the Marquez Wildlife Management Area (NM)
Acquire 52,870 acres of the Mt. Taylor Traditional Cultural Properties in central New Mexico to secure important wildlife corridors and eliminate the threat of future mineral development while also preserving important cultural resources and providing new recreational opportunities. Project will benefit a large suit of species who rely on this area and enhance connectivity between existing protected lands.
$1,000,000

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge Restoration Project (NM)
Restore the Rio Hondo river channel and replace 5 miles of boundary fencing with pronghorn-friendly fence at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Project will improve the overall health of the river channel and improve conditions for federally endangered and threatened species such as the Pecos gambusia (Gambusia nobilis) and state species of concern Pecos pupfish (Cypriondon pecosensis), as well as improve habitat connectivity for pronghorn.
$68,000

Western Landowners Alliance
Enhancing Grassland Habitat through Data-Informed Adaptive Grazing Management and Restoration (NM)
Implement a regional collaborative approach to landscape-scale enhancement of lesser prairie chicken and pronghorn habitat upon working lands using a combination of adaptive grazing management and land restoration practices informed by robust soil health data collection. Project will improve grazing management on more than 127,000 acres of private, working ranches to improve grassland health, support biodiversity and increase carbon sequestration to improve climate resilience.
$295,823