About Us

Rio Grande Return restores riverscapes and ecosystems unique to the arid Southwest using low-tech and process-based methods to foster resilience, adaptive capacity and stewardship in these important land and water resources.

Founded in 2007, Rio Grande Return has been advocating for the protection of the unique waters, wetlands, and wildlife of the Southwest. Additionally, we have been involved in the development and management of many on-the-ground projects resulting in the protection and restoration of thousands of acres of wetlands throughout New Mexico.

RGR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization registered with the New Mexico Attorney General’s office. Our Federal EIN number is 20-8434393, our NM identification number is 03-132049-00-0 and our UIE with Sam.gov is MQ5PYN5LRRZ1.

RGR has planted over 600,000 willows and cottonwoods, 2,500 native riparian container plants and 55,000 salt grass plugs; cultivated more than 3,500 lbs of wetland plant seed on over 200 acres; cleared invasive trees from 450 acres of wetlands; constructed exclosures to protect riparian plantings from cattle and elk browse across 200 acres; erected/repaired 50 miles of wildlife friendly fence; constructed and maintained 4,500 in-stream structures on 25 miles of streams; engaged approximately 200 volunteers/year; installed pond levelers in rural communities to promote beaver co-existence strategies; engaged in erosion control activities to support post-fire restoration; established a native seed propagation farm; focused on strategies for development of native wildlife habitats and refuges on formerly agricultural lands; and administered Youth Conservation Corps programs offering field work experience to young people from native and non-native communities. RGR is currently employing more than 30 full-time and seasonal staff, is engaged in over 30 projects statewide with a cumulative $6M investment and is cultivating a continually expanding network of partners. Current efforts reflect our prioritization to scale up restoration practices to achieve functionally impactful landscape-scale outcomes and influence land use tenure practices on public lands to shift away from historically extractive practices and encourage agencies toward restorative, ecologically centered uses attuned to climate adaptation and water security.