Mapping Conservation Management Efforts to Increase Coordination in the Rio Grande Basin

The Rio Grande provides drinking water for more than six million people, irrigation water for two million acres of land in the United States and Mexico, and supports riparian ecosystems that are home to endangered species like the ocelot and Rio Grande silvery minnow. Climate variability and anthropogenic activities continue to stress this already limited water resource. This project was developed in response to a request from a group of stakeholders who work in the Basin and represent federal, state and local agencies, private industry, farmers, ranchers, and NGOs. These stakeholders identified the need for a comprehensive data resource that spatially depicts where conservation activities are occurring on the ground. By developing this resource, this project will help to improve communication between resource managers, increase efficiency for managers seeking to understand where future conservation activities should be implemented for the most effective outcome, and help managers understand which conservation techniques have proved most useful in responding to changing conditions throughout the basin.

 

The project researchers will work closely with partners and stakeholders and will seek information from over 500 organizations. This information will be incorporated into a public, online resource and will be used in web mapping applications to show the locations of different efforts. This project will improve how resource managers in the Rio Grande Basin coordinate their conservation efforts to help ensure that the river meets municipal, industrial, and environmental needs into the future.