Highlights

ENHANCE FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES

Improving riparian ecosystems in the Southwest

• A Guide for Planning Riparian Treatments in New Mexico, developed in cooperation with New Mexico Soil and Water Conservation Districts, provides technical information for restoring riparian habitat in the Southwest and has served as the foundation for Riparian Workshops.
• Longstem Transplant Deep Planting outlines techniques for establishing shrubs in arid riparian ecosystems without irrigation that produce success rates of 90% or more.
• Established riparian plantings that serve as study areas and demonstration plantings for technology development.

CONSERVE AND ENHANCE SOIL RESOURCES

Restoring rangeland, croplands, and mine lands

• Developed 25 grasses and three forbs used for erosion control in the Southwest.
• Basic Guidelines for Seeding Native Grasses in Arid and Semi-Arid Ecoregions and Seeding Native Grasses in the Arid Southwest provide guidelines for conservation plantings.
• Provided training on seeding to the NM SWCD, NRCS field offices, non-profit groups, Tribes, and consultants.
• Promoted the use of selected giant sacaton for vegetative wind striping on New Mexico and Arizona cropland.
• Latest release 'Windbreaker', a cultivar release of giant sacaton Sphaeralcea wrightii for vegetative wind striping on cropland in the Southwest.
• Currently developing new forage cover cropping techniques to improve soil health, reduce erosion and improbe wildlife habitat.

WATER CONSERVATION

Developing plants and plant technologies for urban areas.

• Developed a drought tolerant blue grama grass variety for urban xeriscaping.
• Developed a planting method for the arid southwest using tall-pot container stock with a super-absorbent hydrogel that requires irrigation only twice for establishment.
• The drought tolerant native trees, fragrant ash and single leaf ash, developed for urban conservation.