Building and Sustaining Resilience in the Santa Fe River Watershed
The first restoration planning effort for the entire watershed, from “Peaks to Rio”
The Santa Fe Watershed Association (SFWA) is launching a new planning initiative to strengthen the health and resilience of the Santa Fe River watershed. Building on years of collaboration and a recently completed stakeholder engagement project, this effort will bring together community voices, scientific data, and best practices to shape a comprehensive watershed restoration plan–from the high peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the Rio Grande.
The survey will be live throughout the duration of the planning process, and you can fill it our as many times as you want!
Please Join Us!
Confluence Santa Fe: Restoration plan kickoff and public information session
Wednesday, September 17
Santa Fe Public Library – Southside
5:30pm – 6:30pm
SFWA Executive Director Morika Vorenberg Hensley and Restoration Ecologist Mollie Walton will give a brief presentation about the background of the plan followed by a question-answer session.
Contact
Mori Hensley, Project Manager, mori@santafewatershed.org
What is a watershed restoration plan and why does it matter?
A watershed restoration plan is a strategic blueprint designed to improve the health and function of a watershed and reduce future conflict over water. While there have been many plans and studies conducted throughout the watershed (and are ongoing), they often remain disconnected to the detriment of our watershed’s overall wellbeing. This plan will offer a holistic view of the entire landscape, recommend areas to prioritize for restoration, and connect and inform other planning efforts. SFWA received a US Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Phase 1 Cooperative Watershed Management Program grant to conduct this work.
What will the project NOT do?
Unsurprisingly, this single project is just one more step towards a healthier and more resilient watershed! It will not solve all of our watershed’s problems or even offer an exhaustive list of problems and solutions. This particular plan will not focus on “grey” infrastructure, utilities, governance, or water rights and legal issues, but will connect to other plans and processes that do. The goal is more to offer a big-picture view of how and where we as a watershed community can come together to care for our shared home, especially through a more holistic understanding of the watershed, strengthened collaborative practices, and impactful restoration projects.
What are the main project goals?
- Support more genuine watershed collaboration
- Compile existing studies, plans, and education materials, and keep them updated on our website
- Conduct targeted stakeholder engagement
- Host an annual watershed forum to deepen connection and collaboration (beginning in 2027)
- Continued restoration planning
- Identify Best Management Practices (BMPs) for ongoing outreach, planning, and implementation
- Identify highest-priority areas for restoration, aligned with stakeholder values and recommendations
- Identify at least three potential restoration projects, and prepare site-specific preliminary designs
- Upper (upstream/east of Cerro Gordo Road)
- Middle (urban Santa Fe between Cerro Gordo and Paseo Real Water Reclamation Facility)
- Lower (downstream/west of Paseo Real Water Reclamation Facility)
- List potential sources of future funding for these and other projects
What is the project timeline?
- 2025: compile existing plans and begin community outreach
- 2026: conduct targeted community outreach and site evaluations
- 2027: continue outreach and site evaluations, complete Best Management Practices, host first watershed forum
- 2028: present first draft of plan for feedback at second watershed forum, complete final plan (September)
Volunteer
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