Willow Wetland
Monitoring And Applied Research

Location

Middle Rio Grande, Central 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 are designing and implementing a monitoring and applied research program for the Corps to tease apart which hydrologic and soil attributes may be most influential in developing robust willow wetland habitats.

Project Highlights