The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District, in collaboration with various local partners, has been implementing restoration projects in the Albuquerque Reach of the Middle Rio Grande. These projects have included the removal of the metal jetty jacks, debris, and dense thickets of non-native vegetation (salt cedar, Russian olive, and Siberian elm) that occur in the bosque (riparian forest), creation of wet habitats (such as willow swales and high-flow channels), and revegetation schemes focused on increasing the diversity and quality of wildlife habitat. The goal of many of these projects is to develop a framework to restore the bosque into a more functional and sustainable ecosystem. Projects implemented on the ground are being monitored for various restoration success components – such as vegetation response, wildlife use and response, and surface water-ground water interaction. This monitoring has been conducted by measuring natural vegetative growth in varying depths of mulch, response of native grass seeded using different methods, use of restored areas by ground dwelling arthropods, and monitoring of ground water wells.
Results/Conclusions
This monitoring has provided important information in regards to planning future restoration efforts that meet all project objectives. Monitoring has also pointed out where improvement is needed and adaptive management can be implemented. Results thus far show that mulch should be no more than 2 inches deep in order to promote growth of vegetation, native grass seeding should take place on exposed soil, and habitation by wildlife can vary depending on the local climate (driven by vegetation, depth to ground water, and surface-ground water interaction). This presentation will give an overview of the various projects and monitoring that has taken place and how information gained has been beneficial toward adaptive management of existing projects and direction of future restoration projects.
