Willow Wetland Monitoring and Applied Research

Location

Middle Rio Grande, Albuquerque Reach
New Mexico

Client

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Albuquerque Area Office

Project Description

Like most regulated rivers in the western United States, natural recruitment of native willow communities has been significantly reduced along the Middle Rio Grande. These habitats are important for a variety of wildlife species, including the federally endangered Southwestern willow flycatcher.

GSA ecologists have been supporting the Albuquerque District Corps with designing, constructing and monitoring restoration projects aimed at creating the hydrologic and soil conditions needed to grow dense willow wetland habitats.

Some of the wetlands have developed exceptionally well while others have not. We designed and implemented a monitoring and applied research program to assess the effect of soil moisture, sedimentation, groundwater elevations and inundation periods on vegetation success. These data are being used to tease apart which hydrologic and soil attributes may be most influential in developing robust willow wetland habitats.

Project Highlights