Project Title:  Stream Habitat Improvement on Navajo River and Barrier Reconstruction/Fish Passages on Poso Creek (FFS #R2UC)

State: New Mexico

Initial Project Description: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) purchased heavy equipment with $170,000 in Recovery Act funds to support several fish projects in the Southwest. The equipment includes two skid steer loaders, a backhoe attachment, grapple hook, auger and buckets. Two of the projects, done in partnership with the Jicarilla Apache Nation, include plans for habitat improvement for native fish on the Navajo River near Dulce, New Mexico and barrier reconstruction and provision of fish passage on Poso Creek near Chama, New Mexico.

Both waterway projects are located on Jicarilla Apache tribal land and are funded by the Service’s Fisheries National Fish Passage Program (NFPP) and the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP). Projects funded by the NFPP and NFHAP work to address fish population and habitat decline. Project field work will be done with staff from the Jicarilla Game and Fish Department, the Service and private contractors.

Navajo River project plans will focus on habitat restoration and stream bank stabilization in an effort to improve conditions for native fish including the roundtail chub, mottled sculpin, flannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker and speckled dace. The equipment will be used to place logs and rocks along the stream bank to prevent erosion caused by previous livestock grazing and also to place boulders and wood in the river to create narrow, deep channels for fish habitat diversity.

Work plans on Poso Creek involve fortifying a barrier structure in the high-mountain waterway to keep non-native brook trout out of areas populated by native Rio Grande cutthroat trout. The structure, called a gabion barrier, is comprised of wire baskets filled with rocks. A reinforced barrier will help efforts to remove non-native trout and protect the resident native trout.

The heavy equipment will also be used for established projects at several Service hatcheries, including Dexter National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center in New Mexico, Alchesay National Fish Hatchery in Arizona and Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery in Texas.

Project Benefits: Jicarilla Game and Fish and Service staff anticipate habitat restoration on the Navajo River will lead to a higher population of roundtail chub in order to supply adult fish stock for partnerships with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Southern Ute tribe, and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

For Poso Creek, staff expects to reclaim the stream for Rio Grande cutthroat trout, reduce non-native species in the waterway and establish a population of the trout that is healthy and commercially viable for recreational fishing.

Jicarilla and Service staff also hopes to increase public education and outreach for both projects.

May 2011 Project Update: Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department Fisheries Biologist, Kevin Terry, reports the department has gathered around 600 large boulders using heavy equipment to be placed in Navajo River this summer as part of habitat improvement efforts for native fish. Terry says plans are also in place to purchase a dump truck and coordinate engineering fee work to help with the summer improvement efforts. The department has completed preliminary fish surveys and environmental assessment work at the river and recently placed root wads in the river to provide roundtail chub habitat.

The project on Poso Creek is currently on hold due to unforeseen circumstances. Chris Kitcheyan, fish biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, said genetic tests of cutthroat trout obtained from the New Mexico Game and Fish from donor streams for the project revealed the fish were not genetically pure and cannot be stocked. The project is now pending while officials with the Jicarilla Game and Fish Department await a decision from the Jicarilla Apache tribal council on how to proceed.

Want to learn more? Check out the New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office ARRA Fact Sheet!

Photos:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish Department staff work on a fish survey at Poso Creek near Chama, New Mexico.

The Navajo River on Jicarilla Apache Nation land is shown near Dulce, New Mexico.

Updated 08/12/2010
Updated 08/27/2010
Updated 09/20/2010
Updated 05/05/2011