FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 4, 2013
CONTACTS: Beth Bardwell, Director of Freshwater Conservation, APP New Mexico, (o) 575-522-5065, (c) 575-418-0288, bbardwell@audubon.org
Gary Esslinger, Manager of Elephant Butte Irrigation District, (o) 575-526-6671, (c) 575-639-4377, gesslinger@ebid-nm.org
Gilbert Anaya, United States Section, International Boundary and Water Commission, gilbert.anaya@ibwc.gov 915-235-5309
Yesterday, the final rule for designation of revised critical habitat for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher was published in the Federal Register () excluding almost 75 miles of the lower Rio Grande, from Caballo Dam to Leasburg Dam from critical habitat designation for the endangered species. This stretch of the river is part of the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission’s Rio Grande Canalization Project, a project authorized by Congress in 1936 to regulate and control the Rio Grande water supply for use by the United States and Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) justified exclusion on the grounds that benefits include:
“(1) Continued and strengthened effective working relationships with IBWC, EBID, APP, and other stakeholders and partners; (2) meaningful collaboration toward flycatcher recovery; and (3) the development of a water transaction program that provides irrigation water to flycatcher restoration sites that might not otherwise occur.” at p. 452.
APP New Mexico and partners, including the Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) and the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), applaud the decision because it strengthens a long-standing voluntary collaboration to fund, plan and implement habitat restoration for the flycatcher and other birds and wildlife along this reach of the Rio Grande. Over the past eight years, this diverse partnership, with competing missions and objectives, has developed a comprehensive conservation program that will restore more than 500 acres of riparian and wetland habitat on USIBWC lands along a 105-mile reach of the Rio Grande from Percha Diversion Dam in Sierra County to American Dam in El Paso County, including up to 119 acres of dense riparian shrub habitat, some of which is currently used by flycatchers during migration and sometimes for nesting.
The support and cooperation of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, which administers the privately-owned water rights for farmers in Southern New Mexico, can significantly aid efforts to restore habitat because the Rio Grande is fully appropriated for agricultural use. If critical habitat had been designated along the Lower Rio Grande Management Unit, farmer support for the voluntary restoration and the environmental water transfer program might have lapsed because new regulations would have been imposed.
Over the past decade, farmers and conservationists have disagreed about river restoration because of concerns that river restoration would negatively impact irrigated agriculture. But after several years of meetings, farmers and conservationists are forging a framework for voluntary environmental water transfers that would increase nature’s share of water benefiting the river and floodplain habitat. “The cooperation among varying interests on habitat restoration, specifically the ability to transfer surface water to support restoration of dense riparian shrub, the preferred breeding habitat for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, is innovative and significant,” said Beth Bardwell, director of Freshwater Conservation for APP New Mexico. Water is an essential component of good quality habitat for nesting flycatchers, ensuring robust vegetation and an ample food supply.
“A secure water supply is essential to irrigated agriculture in Southern New Mexico and our first priority is supporting farmers, but the collaboration has allowed us to be proactive in supporting restoration of the Rio Grande,” commented Gary Esslinger, Manager of EBID. “Exclusion of this river reach from critical habitat will reinforce our collaborative efforts to support the use of agricultural water for environmental and endangered species purposes.”
“This decision supports our ongoing efforts to work cooperatively with diverse interests to improve habitat and protect agriculture along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico while upholding our Treaty obligations,” said Commissioner Edward Drusina of the USIBWC.
With the issue of critical habitat designation behind them, the partners will move forward with habitat restoration and the development and implementation of a voluntary environmental water transaction program with assistance from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's western water program. USIBWC has identified eight sites totaling over 200 acres for restoration in 2013 with a focus on saltcedar removal and tree planting and up to 2000 additional floodplain acres for modified grassland management. APP New Mexico will be assisting USIBWC in prioritization of sites for environmental water transfers, working with EBID and USIBWC to formalize the terms of environmental water transfers in a written agreement and helping to identify water and water rights for donation, lease or sale. Water right holders who are interested in donating or selling their water rights to USIBWC for habitat restoration are encouraged to contact APP New Mexico for more information.
Link to final rule published in the Federal Register:
APP New Mexico: As the state office of the APP, APP New Mexico’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
Elephant Butte Irrigation District: Elephant Butte Irrigation District is the largest supplier of surface water in New Mexico representing over 8,000 members and delivering surface water to over 90,000 acres of agricultural land in Rincon and Mesilla Valleys.
United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission: The U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), headed by , is a federal government agency and the U.S. component of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), which applies the boundary and water treaties of the United States and Mexico and settles differences that may arise in their application. The mission of the USIBWC is to provide binational solutions to issues that arise during the application of United States - Mexico treaties regarding boundary demarcation, national ownership of waters, sanitation, water quality, and flood control in the border region.