About Adopt-the-River

The Santa Fe River is up for adoption! Our community river needs your help and care to stay vibrant and healthy. And you can join the Adopt-the-River program to help achieve this goal.

The Santa Fe Watershed Association and the City and County of Santa Fe partner on the Adopt-the-River program to enlist businesses, groups and individuals to help take care of the river. Sponsors and Stewards are credited with their name and logo on hanging signs along their section of river. Our ultimate goal is to continue bringing the river back to life, which requires an integrated program of storm runoff management, releases from upstream reservoirs, and use of the river channel as a zone for aquifer recharge. Adopt-the-River involves:

River Sponsors

We enlist businesses and community groups to support the Santa Fe River and the Santa Fe Watershed Association with tax-deductible contributions.

River Stewards

Schools, neighborhood associations and community groups as Adopt-the-River Stewards, partner with River Sponsors to keep their stretch of the river free of trash and graffiti and lined with native vegetation, providing the labor for this program. With monthly visits to the river they become familiar with its problems and its potential, and help to advocate for its restoration. Please see the River Reaches page for available Reaches.

Over the long term, the Santa Fe Watershed Association is developing a plan for restoring and maintaining each sponsored reach of the river. Our goals for this program include:

  • Restore and maintain the Santa Fe River
  • Public Education and Outreach about our Home Watershed
  • Habitat Improvement
  • Increase Soil Moisture and Water Flows

Gabrielle cleaning the river

For information regarding Sponsorship or Stewardship, please contact Amara May,
the Adopt-the River Program Manager, or call at 505-820-1696