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eNews May 2023

ENMU Student Awarded Grant to Research Wildfire Impacts on Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Ecosystems

ENMU Student Awarded Grant to Research Wildfire Impacts on Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Ecosystems

By Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Specialist

Jodie Montgomery, a BS student majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Eastern New Mexico University, was awarded a Fall 2022 Student Water Research Grant by the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI). Under the supervision of her faculty advisor Dr. Zachary Mitchell, her project, titled “Effects of catastrophic wildfire on stream macroinvertebrate communities in northern New Mexico,” will focus on the environmental impacts of wildfires on stream ecosystems and aquatic communities.

In Montgomery’s proposal, she highlights research citing rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, and earlier snowmelt as fundamental causes of forest fire frequency and severity. Environmental disasters such as this can have long-lasting effects on stream ecosystems, including water quality degradation, reduced oxygen availability, and damaged vegetation cover that protects stream water from direct sunlight. These effects in turn negatively impact aquatic communities by reducing the number of macroinvertebrates available as a feeding source for several types of fish.

Investigating the change in these dynamics is the objective of Montgomery’s research. She plans to study the impacts of the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon wildfires of 2022 on the macroinvertebrate aquatic structure in the Pecos Wilderness in Northern New Mexico. She will use her grant funding from NM WRRI to collect samples affected by burn from local sites every four weeks and compare them with previously collected baseline river population data. Montgomery states that this award has provided her with many new opportunities to gain first-hand experience in understanding the true nature of wildfire devastation on the environment. She predicts her research outcomes will strengthen the argument that wildfires leave a damaging impact on aquatic ecosystems, including macroinvertebrates which are integral to steam sustainability. Montgomery plans to produce a peer-review manuscript from her research findings and present her research at both state and regional meetings.

When asked about the future impacts of her research in water management, Montgomery stated that “Wildfires are growing more significant and intense each year, presenting a unique and challenging opportunity to study affected streams. I hope this research can assist in continued studies and increase our understanding of our freshwater systems after catastrophic wildfires. Countless species require these montane streams for survival, and it’s important for these species that we keep learning as the world around us continues to change.”

Montgomery was born and raised in Roseburg, Oregon, and moved to New Mexico when her husband enlisted in the United States air force. In her spare time, she enjoys working with ceramics and spending time outdoors either camping, hiking, or swimming. Playing music with her husband is also one of her favorite pastimes. After graduation, she plans to apply to graduate school and pursue a career in restoration or land management.

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eNews May 2023

John Idowu, Professor & Extension Agronomist, New Mexico State University

John Idowu, Professor & Extension Agronomist, New Mexico State University

By Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Specialist

John Idowu is a professor and extension agronomist at New Mexico State University (NMSU) working in both the Extension Plant Sciences Department and the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences. He conducts research on crop production and soil health in New Mexico to address issues related to irrigated arid cropping systems. This research supports farmers, agriculture professionals, and stakeholders throughout the region. He also currently serves as a mentor to a PhD student, co-advisor to a master’s student, and provides support to undergraduate researchers during the school semester and summer.

Idowu has collaborated with the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI) in several different areas including grant funding opportunities, and providing input on Water Science and Management degree program student committees. He would like to strengthen his connection with NM WRRI by collaborating on research projects that address groundwater quality issues and their impact on soil and crop productivity. He would also like to develop more effective irrigation techniques for crop cultivation across the state.

Idowu earned a first-class honors BS in Soil Science from the University of Ife, Nigeria. He pursued his MS in Agronomy at the University of Gottingen, Germany, and later completed his PhD in Land Management at Cranfield University, England. According to Idowu, “My research interest was kindled during my undergraduate days. My advisor assigned me to a project that involved conducting a laboratory experiment . . . [in which] I collected and analyzed the data and wrote a research paper based on the results. I presented my experimental results in a departmental seminar during my senior year, and the data I collected became part of a peer-reviewed publication in which I am a co-author. The whole experience was a thrill, and I decided to pursue a research career by studying up to the doctorate level.”

Idowu’s current research focuses on a field project located at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Ongoing experiments with various soil health practices and their effects on crop production have led to this area being designated as a long-term soil health research and demonstration site. This research is vital to New Mexico because it analyzes the connection between soil health and its water retention rate, which can prove useful due to the limited availability of water for irrigation. This field site is also being used to conduct soil health management training for farmers, extension educators, and other agriculture professionals.

According to Idowu, some of the major issues facing agricultural production in New Mexico are “recurrent droughts, decreasing irrigation water, and the quality of groundwater. . . All these factors are affecting the growth and yield of crops, which is why research that enhances crop productivity through improved soil moisture holding capacity is critical in our arid cropping systems.” Climatic variability is also causing uncertainty during cropping seasons, and Idowu stresses that further research in particularly arid zones is needed to address these concerns.

Idowu’s future water research will focus on enhancing the water retention of soils through improved soil health practices and developing better climate-resistant soil in New Mexico. He states that “water availability for crop production will become more problematic in the arid southwest, and therefore, research efforts must focus on how to manage available water more efficiently. Optimizing soil moisture-holding capacity is an important piece of the puzzle that will help address the dire water situation.” Expanding upon current outreach efforts to producers and stakeholders will be critical in finding a solution to increased water demand in the state.

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eNews May 2023

Road restoration and workshop to train Doña Ana County Road Crew Successfully Kicks off NM WRRI Watershed Restoration Project

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April 2023 eNews

Master Student from NMSU Awarded a Student Water Research Grant to Assess the Soil-Water Partitioning Behavior of a Wide Range of Per-and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Master Student from NMSU Awarded a Student Water Research Grant to Assess the Soil-Water Partitioning Behavior of a Wide Range of Per-and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

By Carolina Mijares, NM WRRI Program Manager

New Mexico State University Water Science and Management graduate student Rachael Apodaca was awarded a Fall 2022 Student Water Research Grant for the project “The Co-transport of PFAS and Anionic Salts.” Under the guidance of their faculty adviser, Dr. Kenneth C. Carroll, Professor of Hydrology at NMSU, Rachael will evaluate the competition for sorption sites by assessing the soil-water partitioning behavior of a wide range of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the presence of anionic salts commonly found in groundwater and arid environments.

PFAS substances are a class of manufactured fluorinated compounds that have been widely used in consumer products such as food packaging, clothing, cleaning products, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer products, including firefighting foams. PFAS contamination has seeped into the groundwater worldwide and several sites in New Mexico. This family of chemicals bioaccumulates, is highly toxic, and cannot degrade naturally. PFAS contamination is linked to various health issues in people and animals through its prevalence in drinking water, groundwater, and surface water.

Rachael will further evaluate solute transport behavior in soils and groundwater to mitigate contamination. This project aims to provide us with a better understanding of the ability to quantify the sorption of PFAS on soil and groundwater. This will enable the characterization of exposure pathways within New Mexico and worldwide, thus developing effective remediation and management strategies. Rachael states, “Through my research, I hope to make a difference in water management by identifying effective solutions to mitigate the transport of PFAS and other contaminants in the environment. By providing insights and evidence-based recommendations, I believe we can work towards better water management practices and improve the quality of water for communities in New Mexico and beyond.”

Originally from El Paso, Texas, Rachael plans to graduate with a master of science in the fall of 2023 from the Water Science and Management graduate degree program. Rachael plans to obtain employment in the field of environmental science, with a focus on water quality testing to improve community health. Rachael enjoys hiking and exploring the beautiful landscapes of New Mexico.

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April 2023 eNews

Wiebke Boeing, Professor, New Mexico State University

Wiebke Boeing, Professor, New Mexico State University

By Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Specialist

Wiebke Boeing is an Aquatic Ecology professor at New Mexico State University for the Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology (FWCE) Department in the Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences college. Her areas of expertise include researching natural aquatic communities, such as the impacts of environmental factors or pollution in reservoirs on aquatic organisms and restoration efforts as well as aquaponics to grow algae, plants, shrimp or fish. She is currently mentoring nine undergraduate and four graduate students. Empowering and encouraging students to become thoughtful stewards of aquatic resources is one of her passions, and she considers it to be one of the most meaningful and essential aspects of her position. Boeing will teach two courses related to Wildlife Ecology and Professional Experience and Communication in the upcoming fall semester.

Boeing has been associated with the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI) for many years by teaching classes for the Water Science and Management Degree Program, collaborating on grant proposals, and receiving funding for her research through competitive grants. She welcomes future work with NM WRRI on projects that focus on reclaiming wastewater or produced water, and improving water quality to benefit humans and aquatic organisms.

According to Boeing, some of the most significant issues in her research field of aquatic ecology are most commonly seen in the arid Southwest. These problems typically begin with humans using water for personal gain without regard for the well-being of other organisms (e.g., fish and larval stages of invertebrates) that directly influence the health and functioning of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. “We use water for domestic, industrial, agricultural, and recreational purposes… Often taking all the water, [causing] other organisms to suffer. In Las Cruces, it goes to the extreme where the Rio Grande is dry for many months during “non-irrigation season,” Boeing explains.

Boeing works closely with her graduate students and is thoroughly involved in their research. Currently, she is assisting in four student-related projects and two of her own. These research efforts include growing food and fish via aquaponics, investigating the macroinvertebrate species composition before and after playa lakes and reservoirs, restoring riparian areas, and increasing algae biomass for fuel production. Boeing’s personal research consists of learning how prescribed burns affect an endangered species of microsnail and reviewing how contaminants, like microplastics and antibiotics, impact reservoirs globally.

Boeing earned her BS in Biology from the University of Potsdam, Germany, and her MS in Hydrobiology from Dresden University of Technology, Germany. Boeing’s PhD in Aquatic Ecology was later achieved from Louisiana State University. “I have always felt an affinity for nature and water in particular,” Boeing describes, “While I’ve always had a hard time picturing myself more than one step ahead of where I was, I enjoyed research and what I was doing and stuck with it. After receiving my BS and MS in Germany, I came to the US for my PhD, then accepted a couple of post-doc positions before landing the professorship at NMSU.”

Boeing mentions that she has two goals she would like to accomplish regarding her water research. She would like to be involved in supporting research to enhance artificial systems responsible for growing algae for biofuel production and advancing the efficiency of aquaponic plant/fish systems. Such improvements would primarily be made by applying polycultures instead of monocultures. Boeing would also like to establish new ways to inform managers on how to conserve native organisms that occur in the Southwest’s very limited aquatic ecosystems. “Let’s allow some surface waters to exist for our fish and wildlife,” Boeing exclaims, “Sharing is caring!”

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eNews Adaptations

NM WRRI in Collaboration with ACES Receives USDA Grant to Support Agricultural and Water Resilience in the Southwest

NM WRRI in Collaboration with ACES Receives USDA Grant to Support Agricultural and Water Resilience in the Southwest

Regions of working groups, paired field and water budget model studies, and Agricultural and Water System Resilience Models (AgWaSystems Models) with diverse climates and water conditions. The three regions face water storage crises typical to the Southwest. Reduced surface water supplies from frequently diminished snowpacks over the last two decades of mega-drought has resulted in an over 26% decrease in irrigated agriculture in New Mexico.

By Emily Goulet, NM WRRI Communications Student Assistant, & Connie Maxwell, PhD, NM WRRI Postdoctoral Researcher

Water scarcity is one of the largest challenges to agricultural resilience in the increasingly arid Southwest. Organic production and traditional practices emphasize the broader ecosystem and longer-term planning, which is likely critical for addressing climate challenges. A central question of this work is if expanding organic and traditional systems can support small farms to achieve the water demand reductions needed for preserving cultivation across agricultural valleys while also achieving overall agricultural resilience. This research is part of a project titled, Expanding Organic Systems to Reduce Water Demand and Increase Agricultural Resilience in the Southwest, and has been funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). NM WRRI is leading the project in collaboration with NMSU’s College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Agricultural Experiment Stations at Farmington and Alcalde, Plant and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Economics, and Center of Excellence in Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems to identify pathways to agricultural and water resilience for arid and semi-arid small farms.

This project is focused on the arid and semi-arid climates of three regions within New Mexico, including the Northern Rio Grande Basin Region, the Southern Rio Grande Basin Region, and the San Juan River Region. The project focuses on collaboration through building regional learning communities to collect traditional and local knowledge, co-produce tools, and share innovative strategies. An interactive website will additionally serve as a learning tool for producers, policy-makers, and the public. With the regional learning communities, the team will then identify farmer selection criteria for organic and traditional crops and practices that can excel in current and projected climate changes. Analyses will include crop and practice attributes, markets, and costs. Selected crops will then be tested in the paired field and water budget studies that assess yields, water use, and farmer needs compared to non-organic approaches. Finally, the team will identify combinations of strategies that can achieve regional resilience. The team will adapt existing decision-support models to assess the regions’ water, agro-ecological, and socio-economic system dynamics.

Return to NM WRRI September 2022 eNewsletter 

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eNews March 2023

Rajan Ghimire, Associate Professor, New Mexico State University, Agricultural Science Center

Rajan Ghimire, Associate Professor, New Mexico State University, Agricultural Science Center

By Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Coordinator

Rajan Ghimire is an associate professor for the Plant and Environmental Sciences Department at the Agricultural Science Center for New Mexico State University in Clovis, New Mexico. His research specializes in soil and crop management practices to enhance efficiency, profits, and soil environmental quality. Ghimire is currently mentoring four PhD and three MS students on projects related to soil resilience, water, carbon, and nutrient management in diverse agricultural systems.

Ghimire is actively working on three soil water measuring projects, which involve cover crop impacts on soil water dynamics, water productivity of crop and forage production systems, and links between soil health, soil water, and ecosystem services provided by arid and semi-arid cropping systems. His extensive research in soil-plant-environment interactions allows him to assist farmers in designing farming systems to make them more adaptable. He also actively interacts with policymakers to better inform state and national policy to support producers in water-limited environments. “Soil is the foundation for food production. In New Mexico, water is the lifeline for agriculture. Therefore, I am interested in understanding the nexus of soil health – water dynamics – agricultural and environmental sustainability,” Ghimire states.

Ghimire earned his BS in Agriculture and his MS in Soil Science from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. His PhD in Soil Science was obtained from the University of Wyoming. Ghimire has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been a reviewer for over 30 professional journals and editor for three journals since 2015. According to Ghimire, his interest in soil and water management research has come from his upbringing in rural Nepal, where he experienced soil degradation due to water erosion and witnessed many farmers struggling to produce enough nutritious food for their families. The struggle of these individuals impacted him, and he became interested in applied soil science research so that he could help rural communities improve their livelihood, such as those in both New Mexico and Nepal.

Ghimire’s future work involves seeing the completion of his active projects related to soil health and water management and exploring more options to manage soil and water in arid and semi-arid regions. “I have introduced a new approach in soil carbon sequestration and water conservation, i.e., ‘more carbon per drop,’ which involves improving water use and conservation efficiency to enhance C sequestration and climate resilience,” Ghimire mentions. Over the course of these projects, he hopes to develop agricultural best practices for improving agricultural production, increasing water-use efficiency, enhancing carbon sequestration, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. He hopes to also work alongside NM WRRI on projects that improve soil and water management for better agriculture.

For those seeking more information about his research, please see the following links to his featured publications:

  1. A meta-analysis on cover crop impact on soil water storage, succeeding crop yield, and water-use efficiency
  2. Water productivity of forage sorghum in response to winter cover crops in semi-arid irrigated conditions
  3. Cover crop water use and corn silage production in -semi-arid irrigated conditions
  4. More carbon per drop to enhance soil carbon sequestration in water-limited environments
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eNews March 2023

TGR article draft

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eNews February 2023

Acequia Drought Resiliency Project: NMAA and NM WRRI Partner to Prepare for the Future that is Here

Acequia Drought Resiliency Project: NMAA and NM WRRI Partner to Prepare for the Future that is Here

By Guest Contributor Serafina Lombardi, New Mexico Acequia Association Program Director, and Connie Maxwell, New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute Postdoctoral Researcher

Acequias have adapted to varying geographies, continents, ecologies, millennia, and political and economic regimens, but our greatest challenge yet may be the rapid and erratic impacts of climate change. This year alone, watersheds serving over 100 acequias saw the two largest wildfires in our state’s history, leaving acequias in Mora, San Miguel, Hidalgo, and Grant counties with severe to catastrophic flood damage and siltation, including the complete eradication of diversion dams. Farmers and ranchers lost out on an entire season of production and may never see the full recovery of their forests and watersheds. These life-changing events will require ongoing efforts to get basic infrastructure up and running.

Additional acequias in counties across the state are experiencing flood damage and drought, as exemplified in San Juan County’s severe July flood events. Our farmers are experiencing unpredictable and changing river flows due to variable snowpack and earlier runoff, leaving us to question when and what to plant and if we should at all. We also find many of our wells running dryer without the surface recharge due to increased pumping. The litany of climate disasters impacting New Mexico Farmers and Ranchers is now well known. The value of our sacred, local foodshed traditionally feeding our families is celebrated by those who live on the land. The true value of moving our surface water via flood irrigation is increasingly grasped by decision-makers. What is less documented and agreed on are the traditional and science-based tools acequia communities can engage in to address our rapidly changing climate to ensure we continue nourishing our aquifers and feeding one another.

NMAA and NM WRRI began an initiative titled Building Regional Agricultural and Water Resilience to identify and develop strategies and practices to support acequia communities to thrive in the face of critical challenges, particularly climate change. The vision and needs identified by our Acequia Leader Steering Committee have resulted in several successful funding efforts, and NMAA is grateful to be partnering with NM WRRI on the award of a Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Drought Response Program: Drought Resiliency Project. This project is a game changer for our organizations to take the concerns and ideas we have been discussing for years and turn them into coherent and actionable responses. Our funded project proposal title is Regions of New Mexico with Acequia Water Distribution Systems: Tools to Adapt to Water Scarcity and Guide Implementation of Strategies to Increase Water and Community Resilience, which, in brief, is now referred to as the Acequia Drought Resiliency Project. This community-stakeholder-acequia-led driven process will:

  • develop water budget modeling tools that facilitate the creation and implementation of flexible water sharing and resilience strategies focused on the Northern Rio Grande and San Juan Basins of New Mexico
  • convene regional working groups of water users, policymakers, agency stakeholders, and scientists to collaboratively develop water budget models integrated with water and community resilience indicators and identify triggers for drought mitigation management, actions, and responses.

To achieve the above, we will gather lessons learned from existing acequia water-sharing agreements and traditional water-sharing practices; we will look at which water management practices have the most impact in adapting to drought conditions and how to integrate the most successful strategies into regional water management and planning approaches. The overall outcome will be to provide a roadmap to regional agriculture and water resilience centered on acequias to benefit all.

The NMAA centers traditional land-based knowledge in all our work, and our communities know that survival is based on being adaptive. The will to do the work is here. Now we have the chance to bring together the right partners to move the work forward together.

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eNews February 2023

Robert Heyduck, Associate Research Scientist, New Mexico State University, Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde

Robert Heyduck, Associate Research Scientist, New Mexico State University, Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde

By Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Coordinator

Robert Heyduck is an Associate Research Scientist at New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Sustainable Agriculture Science Center in Alcalde, New Mexico. In this position, Heyduck oversees research trials and projects to ensure quality data is gathered to form meaningful conclusions. Heyduck is currently a Co-PI on the USDA-awarded project, Expanding Organic Systems To Reduce Water Demand And Increase Agricultural Resilience In The Southwest. He will be working with NM WRRI PI Sam Fernald, Co-PI Connie Maxwell, and other affiliates to develop a protocol and organic system planning toolkit designed to identify pathways to create better agricultural and water resilience for arid and semi-arid farms while reducing water demand. This will be achieved by transitioning to climate-resilient organic crops, initializing water conservation practices, and performing community outreach.

In addition to his research with NM WRRI, Heyduck’s ongoing efforts in Alcalde consist of exploring water budget studies to identify best practices and accurate water use estimates for the production of native, medicinal, and high-value alternative crops. One of the most critical factors affecting his research is climate change, which Heyduck describes as the single most significant issue in agriculture and natural resources because it encompasses almost every other minor issue. “Precipitation amount and timing will continue changing, as well as the timing of snowmelt and the availability of that water to agricultural, industrial, and residential uses. Agriculture will have to adapt, and some things we’ve been doing for a long time will just not work anymore.” To gather as much information as possible to perform more informed research, his areas of study expand into cover cropping, mulching, and other conservation measures/techniques that can improve water infiltration and slow runoff and soil loss.

From 2004-2010, Heyduck had the opportunity to perform research at NMSU’s Farmington Agricultural Science Center to investigate the water use efficiency of various crops and plants, such as hybrid poplar, turf grasses, and chiles, mainly using drip irrigation. According to Heyduck, the purpose of the studies was to determine the minimum amount of water needed to maintain the landscape and find a balance between water use and productivity.

Between 2014 and 2018, several NM WRRI field-based students were performing water balance research through community engagement and real-time monitoring of acequias and streams. Heyduck recalls that providing support and engaging with them was a highlight of his career. Further collaboration with NM WRRI students on issues related to landscape-scale hydrology, and the interface of watersheds and human systems are areas he would be interested in exploring.

Heyduck attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he earned his BS in Forestry. After he completed his Forestry degree, Heyduck worked several seasonal jobs in recreation, where he encountered traces of fire while doing routine trail work. With support from a friend, he pursued further aspects of fire ecology research at the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff. Despite wanting to attend graduate school at NAU, he ultimately achieved his MS in Agronomy from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, where he picked up interests in agroecology, and the interface of agriculture and natural ecosystems.

Heyduck’s future research will involve studying various on-farm initiatives, including native, perennial, and drought-tolerant crops. He would like to investigate the role of native plant community restoration and conservation intervention in upper watersheds. Heyduck mentions that this type of management could play a part in slowing runoff, resulting in water remaining in the landscape longer, leading to improved recharge of local, shallow aquifers.