Local Work Group Summary for Mountainair

2013 Environmental Quality Incentive Program

Introduction:

The Mountainair FO covers 1.23 million acres in central New Mexico. The FO covers parts of 4 counties, Torrance, Socorro, Lincoln, and Valencia. The western portion of the area drains into the Rio Grande, the southeastern portion into the Pecos, and the northeastern and northern portions recharge the Estancia Underground Basin.  Elevation ranges from 10,000 ft. down to 5000 ft. Topography ranges from steep mountain slopes to gently rolling hills, mesas, and alluvial valleys. Growing season is approximately 180 days with first frost from 9/15-10/15 and last frost from 3/15 – 4/15.  Soils developed from limestone on the slopes with mixed alluvium from quartzite, schist, gneiss igneous rock and limestone in the lowlands. Long-term average precipitation is 14.2 in/yr. Vegetation ranges from conifer forests to shrub/shortgrass rangelands. The majority of the area is rangeland with approximately 4000 acres irrigated cropland.
 

Local Work Group:

Participants at the LWG meeting included representatives from Claunch-Pinto SWCD, NMSLO, USFS. The LWG met on September 7, 2012. Facilitating the meeting was District Conservationist Kenneth Lujan. The attached meeting sign-in sheet documents the LWG representation at the September 7 meeting.
 

Priority Resource Concerns:

The LWG has identified the following resource concerns:

1. Grazing land:
   1. Plant Condition - Productivity, Health and Vigor
   2. Water Quantity – Rangeland Hydrologic Cycle
   3.  Plant Condition – Noxious and Invasive Plants
   4. Plant condition – Wildfire Hazard
2. Irrigated Crop land:

1. Water Quantity – Inefficient Water use on Irrigated land.
2. Water Quantity – Aquifer Overdraft

3. Forest/Non-Industrial Private Forest land:
   1. Plant condition – Wildfire Hazard
   2. Plant condition – Productivity, Health and Vigor
       

 Funding Considerations:

The LWG recommends $15,000.00 of initial allocation for matching watershed initiative funds, with the balance as follows:

• 80 percent - Rangeland
• 10 percent - Irrigated Cropland
• 10 percent - Non-Industrial Private Forestland

This break-down of percentages is in line with the actual land uses in the district. Funds can be moved between these land uses based on applications in each category, and the quality of applications addressing the resource concerns. The LWG has established a $30,000 practice cap for Brush Control (314) Livestock Pipelines (516) which has worked well in the past and will continue to implement it. The LWG will also adopt a $50,000 cap on new Pivots (442) $20,000 cap on Subsurface Drip (441), and $20,000 cap on Irrigation Pipelines (430). The LWG recommended not to offer Incentive Payments and accepted costs as per 2012 Payment Schedule, and will accept FY 2013 Payment Schedule when developed by NRCS. The LWG again recommends adding a practice to retroactively install covers on existing open-top water storage facilities. As there are a large number of serviceable, open top water storage facilities in the district and the State, it would be a considerable benefit to reduce the overall amount of water lost to evaporation every year. There would also be a reduction in the loss of wildlife which become trapped in large storages, as well as an improvement in water quality associated with these covers.

The LWG made recommendations to add a practice that would allow a producer to refurbish existing metal storage tanks with fiberglass. This was a practice that producer could implement at in the past; it is no long in the cost docket. It was also recommended that chipping and mulching be added to brush control. The LWG agreed that there are small acre producer that would be interested to utilize chipping and mulching if it had a higher cost share.         
 

Cost Share Rate Factor:

The LWG accepted the 75 percent cost share rate factor for all structural practices in the payment schedule, as well as the 90% level for LRP, BFR and SD applicants.
 

Ranking Criteria:

A screening tool has been developed to determine the priority in which applications will be processed.

HIGH – High priority will be assigned to those applications with planned practices that address the number 1 Resource Concern, as identified by the LWG for each land use.

MEDIUM – Medium priority will be assigned to those applications with planned practices that address the number 2 Resource Concern, as identified by the LWG for each land use.

LOW - Low priority will be assigned to those applications which do not meet the criteria for HIGH or MEDIUM.
 

Resource Concerns: 

Grazing Land -

1. Plant Condition – Productivity, Health & Vigor
2. Water Quantity – Rangeland Hydrologic Cycle

Irrigated Cropland -

1. Water Quantity – Inefficient Water Use on Irrigated Land
2. Water Quantity – Aquifer Overdraft

Forest/NIPF -

1. Plant Condition – Wildfire Hazard
2. Plant Condition – Productivity, Health & Vigor

Below are the proposed Mountainair Field Office ranking questions, to go with the proposed general Area questions submitted by the Northwest Area staff.

The LWG agreed to use the computer generated “Tracking Code” in Protracts as a tie breaker between applications with the same ranking scores. The highest number will be the winner.
 

Watershed Initiative:

The LWG would like to submit the Abo Arroyo Watershed in this initiative. See attachment for details on proposal #1.
 

Small Acreage Initiative:

The LWG declined to participate in the Small Acreage Initiative due to the proposed Watershed initiatives, which contain the majority of small acreage producers in the district.