By Jeff Thorpe

​At the beginning of 2024, I helped launch the New Mexico Beaver Project with Chris Smith, the Wildlife Program Director at WildEarth Guardians. The NMBP is working on policy and resources  to help restore beavers in New Mexico waterways to save water, recharge aquifers, mitigate flooding and drought, reduce wildfire damage, create aquatic and wetland habitat, and provide more clean, cool water to all life that relies on it - including us. 

In short, we believe that beavers could be a key to fighting climate change in the southwest, much like this KUNM article that you might have read in last week’s Abiquiu News outlines. If you want to dive deeper, we highly recommend reading Ben Goldfarb’s 2018 award-winning book, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, the beaver bible to many of us “Beaver Believers.”

Chris and I are well-aware that there are those of you that might consider beavers to be pests. But in these days of increasing wildfires, flooding and extreme weather in New Mexico, we think that adding more beavers into our waterways would be incredibly beneficial in tackling these climate change related issues. 

There’s a lot of information on our website, but below are just a few benefits of our friend, the beaver. 

We love chatting with people about beavers, so please reach out if you have questions or comments. And we’d love to come see a dam that might be on your property too! My email is jeff@nmbeaverproject.org
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Surface water
Beavers don’t technically “create” water, but it sure can seem like it. By slowing the flow of water, beavers make more water more available later in the summer and fall. Whether from snowmelt or summer monsoon, water in degraded and eroded watersheds can quickly flow downstream faster than it historically did. With beaver infrastructure slowing things down, water’s journey takes much longer and can keep more miles of waterway more wet later in the year.

Groundwater
Aquifers are like sponges underground. They store water and act as reserves during drought and dry periods. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, roughly 87% of New Mexico’s public water supply comes from groundwater. Aquifers in New Mexico are declining–especially in the eastern portion of the state.
Beaver dams and ponds allow water to seep down through the water table and recharge aquifers. As water slows and collects, it better saturates the ground underneath. So beavers can help us with water supply now and in the future.

By Brice Dix, KUNM
KUNM

It’s a beautiful day in the Jemez Mountains.
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The early summer morning air is crisp – but not cold enough for a jacket – and dead silent. Above, a couple clouds lazily float across the deep blue sky.

As our group of 20 or so people clad in waders and hiking gear trudges along a rudimentary path deep in the woods, the ground quickly turns muddy. Soon the path widens, revealing a beautiful meadow lined with walls of tall ponderosa pine. A thin creek divides the land into two.
“We’re going to cross the creek and go over to the first set of holes which is, well, either here or there,” said Karen Menetrey from the environmental organization Rio Grande Return. It focuses on restoring damaged ecological systems across the state.

The goal today is to plant batches of willows for riparian wildlife – especially, the beaver.
The willow is usually seen as a “pest” species, but it plays a vital role in beaver survival, providing food and shelter in the winter. It’s also the construction material for the dams they create.

Volunteers place bundles of pre-cut stems into 3-foot-deep holes underneath the water table. They trim any leftover leaves and throw water into the hole.

Then, they use long sticks to tamp dirt into and around the hole – mainly to avoid any air bubbles.

Menetrey said widespread trapping in the 1860s and 70s in New Mexico nearly decimated the beaver population. Historically, beavers in the U.S. were killed for their fashionable pelts and unique scent glands typically used in perfumes or food flavoring.

“And they are extirpated from some watersheds,” Menetrey said. “Which means they’re not extinct, but they are gone from that particular area.”
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An estimated 6,000 to 12,000 beavers exist in New Mexico right now, but Menetrey said exact counts don’t exist. Currently, Defenders of Wildlife is working on a beaver “census” of sorts to identify dams using aerial photograp

All of this work to reintroduce the beaver back into New Mexico’s streams and rivers is part of a larger push to combat climate change here in the Southwest.

“They're really like climate resilience superheroes and super engineers,” said Chris Smith, the brain behind a newly launched venture dubbed the New Mexico Beaver Project.

Smith’s vision is to reestablish the widespread benefits beavers and their dams had on New Mexico’s landscapes before commercial trapping, like ecological watershed maintenance. Plus it’s free charge because, well, beavers aren’t motivated by dollar signs.

“We have all these vacant waterways, and they could be repopulated by beavers, but we currently don't have a relocation and restoration program,” Smith added.

New Mexico doesallow the trapping of beavers, but only in certain areas at certain times of the year. Nowadays, tens of thousands of beavers are still snared, trapped, or shot across the country every year.

The Department of Game and Fish has tried its hand at some relocation and reintroduction efforts, namely at Bandelier National Monument.

In 2014, the New Mexico Senate passed a memorial requesting a beaver restoration plan from the Department of Game and Fish. They never got one.

The state does have some guidelines that make it fairly difficult for beaver relocation to happen – namely the five-mile upstream, five-mile downstream protocol, mandating all landowners within that radius give their explicit written consent for beavers to live there .

With a recent massive windfall of state revenue from the oil and gas industry, Smith wants some of that money to be set aside specifically for beavers to increase the state’s resilience to climate change.

“Beavers, I think, are one of the most cost effective ways to do that,” Smith said. “There's a budgetary reason to do it.”

In addition to helping with floods, beaver dams improve water quality, remove pollutants, and, surprisingly, help fight wildfires.

Emily Fairfax studies riparian beaver ecohydrology at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Geography, Environment, and Society.

“When beavers fight wildfires, that's actually sort of the last step of the number of disasters that they're helping us mitigate,” Fairfax said.

Fairfax says some people may see beavers as a “nuisance,” because they may chew on a property owner’s favorite tree, or accidentally flood a field or road.

But, she said the pros outweigh the cons.

The semi-aquatic rodents are really good at slowing down and storing water in the ground during storms and runoff seasons, she said. That allows water to be available to plants during droughts.

“Throughout the whole year, beavers are manipulating the hydrologic cycle in a way that builds up defense to a whole suite of natural disasters, and the wildfire really matters, because that's one that we struggle to manage ourselves,” Fairfax said.

These engineering marvels are pivotal to the survival of other species during a wildfire as well. Fairfax said beaver wetlands are too lush and wet to burn – providing a crucial fire break, slowing the blaze down.

“A single beaver family can engineer acres and acres and acres of these fireproof patches,” Fairfax said. “They are the safe place in the landscape, and we need more of it.”
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Fairfax and Smith said the challenge is to overcome societal perceptions that beavers are merely obnoxious, toothy rodents and teach people that the beaver is much more valuable than a perfume ingredient or a fancy hat.

Story and Images Courtesy of Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

​New and familiar faces joined forces for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum’s 11th annual Abiquiú Garden Project. Under the guidance of Agapita (Pita) Lopez, Projects Director of Abiquiú Historic Properties, Project Coordinators Josephine Dominguez, a former garden project intern herself, and Randy Garcia helmed the yearly undertaking of planting, tending to, and harvesting the beloved garden filled with the favorite foods of Georgia O’Keeffe. This year, three interns returned with two first-time interns who combined their experience and new ideas for a successful growing season.
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The project allows for Northern New Mexico high schoolers to care for the garden, learning how one’s natural surroundings can play an instrumental role in fostering a healthy lifestyle, while also learning about the historic and artistic legacy of the community in which they live. Through this process, the interns gain an understanding and appreciation for the land and edible subject matter that O’Keeffe often represented in her paintings, as well learn about her keen work ethic and attention to detail.

​Andrea is a junior at Los Alamos High School. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, softball, and riding horses. Family is important to Andrea, she has three brothers who are her best friends and she enjoys babysitting her cousins when not working. Her favorite part of the summer has been being outside and enjoying the apricots, blackberries, and figs.

​Art student Jazmine Dominguez plans to get her degree in graphic design and art history after graduating from Española Valley High School in 2026. When she’s not in classes, she is painting, drawing, and creating her own manga—a type of Japanese graphic novel. She also enjoys taking walks with her dogs.

​Gabriel attends Española Valley High School and returned to the Garden Project for a second year. He enjoys working at the Home & Studio because of the short morning commute, although he lives closer to Ghost Ranch than Abiquiú! In his free time, he likes to play guitar, tinker around with engines, and help on his family ranch.

By Sara Wright
Image Credit: Sara Wright

I love butterflies and have always grown perennials that are good pollinators because they attract bees and butterflies as well as providing nectar for my hummingbirds. I also have milkweed plants growing in every open area on my property, and up until recently, used to raise a monarch or two from caterpillar to chrysalis to adulthood. Now that these butterflies are scarce, I no longer do. This year I note that I am seeing fewer butterflies in general, much to my dismay. A couple of exceptions are swallowtails and fritillaries.

All summer long I have been entranced by the number of fritillaries that have been fluttering through my garden since early May. Such abundance, when so many butterflies are disappearing! The days of taking any wild creature for granted are over for me, and that includes the insects I see.

 After identifying the first fritillary that visited my garden as the Great Spangled Fritillary I began noticing others; some visit a meadow across the road. Over the course of the summer, I have also seen the Meadow, Aphrodite, and Atlantic varieties.  The Great Spangled fritillary is my favorite, but I am a walking welcome mat for all that choose to visit!

Fritillaries are a large group in the butterfly family with many species that inhabit this country. All have tiny front legs that lack claws, thus the phrase used to describe them is ‘brush-footed’ butterflies. Fritillaries are medium – to large in size (wingspan can be as much 3 and ¾ inches) and their wings are bright orange or somewhat rust colored (depending upon the species) all with spots and wavy black lines. Since most fritillaries look somewhat similar it is necessary to examine wing patterns closely, something I never did until recently.  For example, fritillaries look a lot like Checkerspot and Crecent butterflies so it’s important to check some resources to be sure what you are seeing. There are excellent photos online that are well worth looking at. So much variation and such astonishing hues and patterns!

Fritillary caterpillars vary in color depending upon the species, but most feature 6 rows of branching spines that go all the way down their two-inch bodies. They are somewhat unfriendly looking to me!

Their life cycle is similar to most butterfly species with egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages. The adults are active all summer long until September. Presently they are feasting on masses of scarlet bee balm, butterfly weed, and soon my old-fashioned hydrangea will claim the rest. All my plants and flowers are blooming about a month early, so I don’t know what is going to happen next. Butterflies need their nectar and host plants to coincide. Most species overwinter as larvae (wrapped in debris/ old leaf matter) and emerge in early spring as caterpillars that only eat violets. No violets, no fritillaries. Some fritillaries are endangered. Let’s hope that Maine Governor removes violets from the invasive species list. The last thing we need is the loss of another butterfly.

Fritillary adults and caterpillars are still ‘relatively’ common in mountain meadows, fields and other weedy areas. The Great Spangled fritillary, the one I see the most, has a Latin name that means Mountain or Earth Mother. They are the most frequently seen species inhabiting Northern and Eastern states. Let’s please do everything we can to keep them around!

The adult’s mate in the summer; afterwards the females take a nap for a few weeks (diapause). In late summer or fall they lay their eggs in patches of violets. Female Great Spangled fritillaries seem to be able to find the violets even after they have wilted. It is possible that they can smell their roots. The caterpillars emerge to feed when the violet plants are young and tender in early spring. Timing is important to the hungry caterpillar. It is feared that global warming may disrupt this synchronization; this would prove catastrophic to fritillary caterpillars. Studies are underway to verify whether this is already taking place.

Because the caterpillars feed only on violets, it is helpful to have carpets of them (which I refuse to have cut in either spring or fall – basically I live in a woodland jungle) I wonder if this is why I have so many of these butterflies? The adult butterflies feed only on flower nectar. Around here they love butterfly weed, milkweed blossoms, white phlox, bee balm and hydrangeas Joe Pye weed, black eyed susans, wild thistle (also on invasive plant list) Purple coneflower are other favorites. They do not hesitate to visit lilacs and butterfly bushes either.

Because I spent four years in Northern New Mexico where I also kept a flower garden, I saw the Great Spangled fritillary a number of times especially around the milkweed I planted under the drain-pipe (it spread). They also flocked to blue flax. Oddly they also visited my nasturtium patch, a practice i have not seen repeated here. When I checked a number of sources, I learned that New Mexico has its share of fritillaries too – many more species than we have in Maine – The Great Spangled fritillary was one, although it’s a bit smaller in size. Others included the Aphrodite, Edwards, and Southwestern fritillaries. What a diverse family of butterflies. I am thoroughly hooked! Most of these fritillaries live in wet mountain meadows where they can find violets on which to lay their eggs. Sante Fe is only an hour away and those forests have many wild violets, so it is possible to see them just about anywhere. I don’t recall seeing fritillaries in the fall in Abiquiu. The adults are quite fond of blue flax. If i ever spend another winter there I would also grow violets in the hopes of attracting some over the summer. Once the violets or pansies (also members of the violet family) have bloomed even if they droop and seem to die leave them. The fritillaries can apparently smell the roots of violets and will find some to lay their eggs on.

I would love to know who else has seen these gorgeous butterflies.   With so many insects disappearing at an alarming rate I am hoping that folks that read this article will consider buying pansies or adding wild violets to their desert gardens so we give these beautiful butterflies what they need doing everything we can to keep them around!

​A new court ruling allows Animal Protection Voters New Mexico and Española Humane to actively participate in defending Senate Bill 57 throughout the litigation process. Photos by Mattie Allen/Española Humane

Co-Curators Dr. Norman Doggett and Dr. Matthew Martinez
Exhibit continues thru October 31, 2024
Bond House Museum
Española, NM
 
Over the last twenty-five years the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project has worked diligently for the protection and preservation of the cultural landscape of the northern Rio Grande Valley region. There are well over 100,000 petroglyphs that encompass a vast timeline from Archaic periods through Spanish contact and 20th century influences. In addition to ancestral petroglyphs, Mesa Prieta includes numerous archaeological features such as grid gardens and historic trails that are interwoven in the Valley’s histories.

This exhibit includes photography by Norman Doggett and other materials that highlight the histories, traditions, and archaeological features of the region. We invite visitors to learn more about the education mission of the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project and to further engage with this special place known as Mesa Prieta, Tsikwaye to the Tewa people.

Exhibit hours are every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 4:00pm. The Bond House Museum also features a permanent exhibit detailing the grand history of the Española Valley area. Admission is free. Donations are welcomed.
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The Bond House Museum is located at 706 Bond Street, Española NM 87532. For more information: 505-747-8535 or email sg.history65@gmail.com
Partial funding was granted by the County of Rio Arriba Lodger’s TaX.