Chama Peak Land Alliance

TO CREATE AN ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION-MINDED LANDOWNERS WORKING COLLABORATIVELY TO PRACTICE AND PROMOTE ECOLOGICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY SOUND LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE SOUTHERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO AND NORTHERN NEW MEXICO.

FOREST AND WATERSHED HEALTH WATERSHED-BASED PARTNERSHIPS WATER IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE SOUTHWEST, BUT WITH UNNATURALLY DENSE FOREST LANDSCAPES AND WARMING CLIMATE TRENDS, MANY WATERSHEDS IN THIS REGION ARE AT A RISK FOR CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE. WATERSHEDS IN THE CPLA REGION SUPPLY APPROX. 75% OF ALBUQUERQUE'S DRINKING WATER, 50% OF SANTA FE'S DRINKING WATER, MANY TRIBES AND PUEBLOS, RURAL COMMUNITIES, ACEQUIA SYSTEMS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS. A HUGE PRIORITY OF CPLA IS TO PROTECT THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF WATER FLOWING FROM THESE WATERSHEDS. CPLA SERVES AS THE FISCAL SPONSOR FOR THE SAN JUAN CHAMA WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP, AND WE ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE SAN JUAN HEADWATERS PARTNERSHIP AND THE 2-3-2 COHESIVE STRATEGY PARTNERSHIP. THESE PARTNERSHIPS ALL ATTRACT A DIVERSE GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS AND LAND MANAGERS, AND ARE VALUABLE FOR GETTING FOLKS TOGETHER TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TOWARDS COMMON GOALS OF WATERSHED PROTECTION, HABITAT CONSERVATION, RURAL ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND RESTORING FOREST HEALTH. A US FOREST SERVICE INITIATIVE KNOWN AS THE COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAM, RECENTLY RANKED THE RIO CHAMA PROJECT AREA FIRST IN THE NATION DUE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE WATERSHEDS AND RISK OF SEVERE WILDFIRE, AND IS ON TRACK TO BRING IN 40 MILLION OVER 10 YEARS TO RESTORE USFS LANDS IN THE RIO CHAMA REGION. RIO GRANDE WATER FUND WE ARE CONTINUING A 1 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM DOWNSTREAM WATER USERS TO PROTECT WATERSHEDS FROM CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE. IN 2021 WE TREATED 142 ACRES IN THE SAN JUAN- CHAMA PROJECT SOURCE WATERSHEDS IN COLLABORATION WITH TNC AND THE RIO GRANDE WATER FUND. WE ARE FINISHING UP A FIVE YEAR RGWF CONTRACT AND ARE EXPLORING AVAILABLE FUNDING OPTIONS SO THAT OUR FORESTRY WORK CAN CONTINUE IN THESE CRITICAL WATERSHEDS LANDSCAPE PLANNING FOR FOREST RESTORATION IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SAN JUAN CHAMA WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP, WE WORKED TOWARDS THE FOLLOWING GOALS IN 2021: UPDATE GEOGRAPHIC PRIORITY AREAS, IMPLEMENT AN ACTIVE LANDOWNER OUTREACH STRATEGY IN PRIORITY GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, AND BUILD A CATALOGUE OF ON-THE-GROUND POTENTIAL RESTORATION PROJECTS TO TARGET FOR FUTURE FUNDING. COORDINATING WITH 14 RANCHES, WE LAID OUT 3,500 ACRES OF PRIORITY FOREST TREATMENTS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING FUNDING FOR. DRONE MONITORING OF FOREST TREATMENTS IN 2021 WE PARTNERED WITH TNC AND LANDOWNERS TO USE DRONES TO MONITOR ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY TREATMENTS. USING STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY, WE ASSESSED THE IMPACT OF OUR TREATMENTS ON FOREST STRUCTURE, INCLUDING METRICS FOR CANOPY COVER AND TREES PER ACRE. THIS MONITORING WORK WILL HELP OUR ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE WE ARE ACHIEVING DESIRED OUTCOMES. WE COMPLETED TWO REPORTS DOCUMENTING HOW WE ARE USING THESE NEW TOOLS IN OUR FORESTRY OPERATIONS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO USING NEW QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGIES TO MONITOR FUTURE TREATMENTS AS WE STRIVE TO PROTECT CRITICAL WATERSHEDS FROM SEVERE WILDFIRE.

WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES RIO GRANDE CUTTHROAT TROUT PHASE 2: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE ON PRIVATE LANDS BUILDING OFF OF THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE: RIO GRANDE CUTTHROAT AND PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP REPORT, PHASE 2 WILL FOCUS ON CREATING 'SHOVEL-READY' PROJECTS IN SPECIFIC AREAS WHERE RGCT CONSERVATION STRATEGIES MAY BE MOST IMPACTFUL. WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH LANDOWNERS TO DEVELOP PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION GUIDES DESIGNED TO BE A SPRINGBOARD TO APPLY FOR IMPLEMENTATION FUNDING\ STREAM/RIPARIAN RESTORATION PROJECT ON RIO CHAMITA WORKING WITH LANDOWNERS AND THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A HABITAT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO IMPROVE STREAM/RIPARIAN HABITAT AND ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION IN THE RIO CHAMITA. THIS WORK INCLUDES CROSS-BOUNDARY PLANNING WITH THE EDWARD SERGEANTS WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA.

EDUCATION AND ECONOMY CPLA SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM THE ALLIANCE OFFERED SCHOLARSHIPS TO 6 GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AT ESCALANTE AND PAGOSA SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOLS TO SUPPORT ADVANCED STUDIES AT ANY UNIVERSITY OR TECHNICAL COLLEGE. 2021 RIO CHAMA CONGRESO EVERY YEAR, PARTNERS IN THE SAN JUAN CHAMA WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP CONVENE FOLKS FROM ACROSS THE RIO CHAMA WATERSHED TO PRESENT AND DISCUSS PERTINENT WATERSHED ISSUES. THE SIXTH ANNUAL CONGRESO THEME WAS "OUR UNITED WATERSHED". WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE RIO CHAMA CONGRESO WAS A SUCCESS AND WE ARE GEARING UP FOR 2022 RIO CHAMA CONGRESO'S THEME "THE FUTURE OF SNOW AND WATER IN A CHANGING CLIMATE." FIREWOOD FOR SENIORS IN 2021 WE PARTNERED WITH WOMEN OWNING WOODLANDS (WOW), LA MERCED DE LOS PUEBLOS DE TIERRA AMARILLA, UPPER CHAMA SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT, THE CHAMA SENIOR CENTER, AND MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS TO PROCESS FIREWOOD FOR SENIOR CITIZENS IN THE CHAMA VALLEY. THROUGH THE COMBINED EFFORTS AND HARD WORK OF MANY FOLKS, WE SERVED APPROX.56 INDIVIDUALS WITH FIREWOOD IN 2021. THE FISH AND THE FLAME SHORT FILM WE PARTNERED WITH INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED DAY'S EDGE PRODUCTIONS TO MAKE A SHORT VIDEO HIGHLIGHTING THE GOOD STEWARDSHIP WORK OF LAND MANAGERS IN THE REGION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIVATE LANDS CONSERVATION. THIS MESSAGE IS CONVEYED THROUGH THE STORY OF THE CRITICALLY IMPERILED SAN JUAN CUTTHROAT TROUT, WHICH WAS THOUGHT TO BE EXTINCT AND WAS ONLY RECENTLY REDISCOVERED. CPLA BOARD CHAIRMAN TIM HAARMANN STARS IN THE FILM. THE FISH AND THE FLAME VIDEO IS OFF TO A STRONG START ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT, RECEIVING LAURELS FROM 8 DIFFERENT FILM FESTIVALS SO FAR.

CLIMATE AND WATER RIPARIAN RESTORATION THE CPLA REGION IS HOME TO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEMS THAT PROVIDE CRUCIAL HABITAT FOR DIVERSE SPECIES AND SUPPLY WATER FOR DOWNSTREAM USERS. WE ARE WORKING WITH NUMEROUS PARTNERS TO PROMOTE RIPARIAN RESTORATION IN THE REGION, WITH OUR PRIMARY GOALS BEING: PROTECT QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF WATER, SLOW DOWN THE MOVEMENT OF WATER WHERE APPROPRIATE, RAISE THE WATER TABLE OF RIPARIAN AND WETLAND SYSTEMS, AND CREATE STREAM HABITAT COMPLEXITY. WE ARE WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO PROMOTE THE USE OF STREAM AND RIPARIAN RESTORATION TECHNIQUES OUTLINED IN THE UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY'S LOW-TECH PROCESS-BASED RESTORATION OF RIVERSCAPES DESIGN MANUAL. PUBLIC POLICY FOR CONSERVATION ENSURING A VOICE FOR PRIVATE LANDS CONSERVATION MANY LANDOWNERS ARE WORKING TO SAFEGUARD BIODIVERSITY, WILDLIFE HABITAT, CLEAN WATER, AND LANDSCAPE RESILIENCY FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT. CPLA WORKS IN SYNERGY WITH LAND STEWARDS AND LIKEMINDED CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS TO CREATE SYNERGY ON POLICY ISSUES THAT INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES AND INCENTIVES FOR LAND STEWARDS TO MANAGE FOR CONSERVATION GOALS. WE ARE WORKING IN A COALITION OF PARTNERS TO DEFEND THE EPLUS PROGRAM CPLA IS HELPING TO HIGHLIGHT THE BENEFITS OF NMDGF'S ELK PRIVATE LANDS USE SYSTEM (EPLUS) AMONGST AN ONGOING EFFORT TO ELIMINATE THE PROGRAM. EPLUS PROVIDES ELK TAGS TO LANDOWNERS IN EXCHANGE FOR PROVIDING ABOUT 50% OF THE STATE'S ELK HABITAT. THE ELIMINATION OF EPLUS WOULD BE DAMAGING FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY, WOULD DISINCENTIVIZE CONSERVATION EFFORTS ON PRIVATE LANDS, TAKE AWAY HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL FOLKS, AND TAKE AWAY AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR COMPENSATING LANDOWNERS FOR ELK DEPREDATION. IN 2021 WE HELPED COLLECT EPLUS STAKEHOLDER TESTIMONIALS, COMPILE EPLUS MYTHS VS. FACTS, AND PARTNERED WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS TO HOST A COMMUNITY MEETING FOR FOLKS TO LEARN ABOUT THE EFFORT TO SAVE EPLUS AND SHARE THEIR VOICES.