Chama Peak Land Alliance

Programs: Forest and watershed health - the alliance is working to build resiliency in the san juan rio chama watershed region of southern colorado and northern new mexico. Our primary resource concern is water availability and water quality degradation due to decades of fire suppression resulting in overgrown forests that are susceptible to catastrophic fire outside the natural range of variation. In 2017 we thinned several hundred acres of forest and facilitated tens of acres of prescribed fire on private lands.

climate and water - a key component to any resilience strategy is addressing the affects of climate change on land and water management well into the future. Climate model predictions for the region indicate that expected trends include warmer temperatures resulting in more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow, an increase in frost free days, and a much higher climatic moisture deficit that could result in tree mortality, especially at higher elevations. In the last year we completed a report detailing impacts and restoration needs in three watershedsin new mexico.

wildlife and fisheries - land health and wildlife survival are dependent on the ability of wildlife populations to move across the landscape. In the alliance region, this is particularly important as wildlife roam from the high elevations in summer to the lower elevations for winter. In 2017 we completed an analysis of rio grande cutthroat trout restoration potential on private lands in the alliance region, and advanced on on-ground restoration projects on two private parcels in co and nm.