Sometimes we get so caught up in talking about the finer points of grazing management, fence building, cow size and more that we forget to talk about one of the most important “why’s” of what we’re trying to accomplish. So here is Betty Shahan, of Chromo, Colorado, to remind us.
She’s talking about the Navajo River that runs through her ranch. Thanks to an upstream diversion dam 110,000 acre feet per year from the Navajo head over to the Rio Grande River, providing drinking water for a third of New Mexico. The Navajo river is also the ranchers’ livelihood. It provides them with irrigation and water for their livestock. And with the diversion in place, things started to change. “It’s just been deteriorating from this tunnel – stopping the normal livelihood of the river, the gravel washing down, the rapids washing out the holes,” said Betty.
So she called the NRCS to come look at the river and see what could be done to heal it. Jerry Archuleta said it could be fixed, and that there were others that would like to work on it. “Gosh, let’s all fix the river together,” said Betty.
This video from the Western Landowners Alliance describes the restoration of the river from an ecological and economic standpoint and how partners got together to combine technical expertise and funding so that together they could accomplish what no single rancher or organization could have done alone.
Thanks, Betty!
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