BLM plans public meeting on proposed Rio Bonito improvements

LINCOLN, N.M. - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Roswell Field Office plans to hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Anderson Freeman Visitor Center on Highway 380 in Lincoln, N.M.

BLM personnel intend to work collaboratively with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Oxbow Ecological Engineering, LLC and other partners to improve riparian and fisheries habitat along approximately two miles of the Rio Bonito River in Lincoln County, N.M. Specifically, the work would take place on the Salazar Tract. The proposed work would include installing instream fish habitat structures such as boulder clusters, log jams, riffles and excavating pools. In addition, personnel plan to plant native riparian vegetation along the riverbanks and in the floodplain. There are also plans to recontour sections of the floodplain to allow increased frequency of overland flow, giving the channel opportunity to evolve and adjust to future conditions, including floods.

The overall goal is to enhance wildlife and fish habitat within the stream and riparian corridor, and to provide high-quality recreation experiences for the public, including angling, bird watching and hiking. This continued improvement effort would be in addition to more than $1 million of habitat improvement the BLM has already completed on the Rio Bonito.

"The Roswell Field Office welcomes public comment on this habitat restoration project," said Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area Manager Warren Kasper. "The BLM manages public lands for many uses and public comment helps us to identify and study the potential impacts of our actions."

Representatives from the BLM and Oxbow Ecological Engineering, LLC will attend and be on hand to answer questions. For more information about the project, please contact BLM Wildlife Biologist Danica Cooke at 575-627-0318.