Technical Report

New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission Middle Rio Grande Riverine Restoration Project Phase I 2007 Monitoring Report

URL: https://webapps.usgs.gov/mrgescp/documents/SWCA%20Environmental%20Consultants%20and%20Mussetter%20Engineering%20Inc_2008_NMISC%20MRG%20Riverine%20Restoration%20Project%20Phase%20I%202007%20Monitoring%20Report.pdf

Date: 2008/03/01

Author(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants, Mussetter Engineering, Inc.

Publication: Report prepared for New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, 44 p.

Abstract:

The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission (NMISC), contracting to SWCA Environmental Consultants, here presents the Phase I 2007 Monitoring Report. This project, termed the Middle Rio Grande Riverine Habitat Restoration Project, is led by the NMISC and applied several habitat restoration techniques in three subreach locations of the river in the Albuquerque Reach to create and improve habitat for the Rio Grande silvery minnow. The Project is primarily funded by the State of New Mexico with partial funding by the Collaborative Program, and additional funding from other federal and non-federal sources. Construction for this Project was initiated in January 2006, with monitoring conducted in the fall of 2006 and the fall of 2007.

The purpose of the Project is to develop, construct, and evaluate egg retention, larval rearing, young of year, and over-wintering habitat for the Rio Grande silvery minnow utilizing various techniques at several locations within the Albuquerque Reach of the river, and to determine if these techniques can improve habitat suitability for the four critical life stages of the Rio Grande silvery minnow: egg, larvae, juvenile, and adult. The Project is also evaluating the benefit of each technique in contributing to the large-scale goals for suitable habitat development for the Rio Grande silvery minnow in the Albuquerque Reach of the Middle Rio Grande. Techniques were implemented on islands, bars, and banklines to evaluate the river's ability to naturally mobilize sediments and create Rio Grande silvery minnow habitat under a variety of flow conditions. Each of the restoration techniques considered incorporates both passive and active restoration elements, an approach which works with the river instead of against it. The adoption of passive restoration techniques provides the best opportunity for long-term success and should be considered whenever possible.