Crew members gather logs and build erosion control structures in the burn area.
Capturing Sediment, Cultivating Stability
The Hermit’s Peak – Calf Canyon Fire left a lasting mark on Mora County’s watersheds: scorching vegetation, hardening soils, and causing destructive runoff that is eroding stream channels and damaging ecosystems. Creeks are cutting deeper, dead trees clog floodplains, and acequias that nourish local communities are at risk.
Rio Grande Return, in partnership with the New Mexico Acequia Association, High Water Mark LLC, Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance, and local partners, is working to chart a path toward recovery. Together, we are assessing damaged watersheds, securing permits, and restoring natural processes using science-based, low-tech restoration methods.
This project will reduce erosion on high-severity burned hillslopes and treat headwater sections of streams to attenuate floods and minimize soil loss on several properties throughout the area.
Our strategies emphasize the restoration of natural landscape processes, providing the foundation for the landscape to heal itself. Now is the time to invest in resilient, community-led solutions that bring land and water back to life.
Rio Grande Return conducted a training workshop with a Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance youth crew.
A one rock dam meant to capture sediment and a rock and log debris structure.
A rock and log debris structure.