WR 573 Water Resources III - Field Problems

WR 573 Summer 2008 Field Course

            The Water Resources Program has recently reached an agreement and completed initial planning for the WR 573, Field Methods class for the 2008 summer semester.  The class will conduct a baseline watershed assessment of the Rio Sapello, 20 miles north of Las Vegas in San Miguel County.  The focus of the project will be the Pritzlaff Ranch which is owned by the Biophilia Foundation.  The ranch consists of 3200 acres of meadows and Ponderosa pine forests and is operated in part to develop and demonstrate the benefits of improved forest & range management on the environment and watershed.  The ranch is managed by Sterling Grogan, with assistance from his wife Anne Watkins.  Sterling and Anne are long standing friends of UNM and the WR program.

            The class will be conducted during the last week of May and the first two weeks of June and will involve a week of field work on the Rio Sapello and its tributaries while camping on the ranch.  The class will investigate surface water resources, stream morphology and characteristics, ground water-surface water interactions, the economic implications of watershed management, and cultural aspects associated with acequias in the valley.  Recommendations will be developed for long term monitoring of water resources of the river that can be conducted through future collaboration between UNM and the Biophilia Foundation.

            Principal instructors for the course will be Bruce Thomson (Water Resources Program), Mehdi Ali (Earth & Planetary Sciences) and Bill Fleming (Community and Regional Planning).  In addition Ken Smith, Director of the New Mexico Forest & Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University has agreed to provide assistance.

            Students from all water related disciplines are welcome to participate, however, space is limited.  Interested students should contact Prof. Thomson soon.

WR 573 – Fall 2008

            A section of WR 573 will be offered Fall semester, 2008.  This will be taught in collaboration with the Surface Water Quality Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department.  One of the responsibilities of the SWQB is determination of whether the quality of NM streams is consistent with their designated uses as identified in the NM Stream Standards adopted by the Water Quality Control Commission.  This involves extensive field investigations of the water quality, stream characteristics, and aquatic organisms for each stream in the state.  Students in the class will participate in a number of 2 and 3 day field campaigns working directly with NMED SWQB staff.  Field studies will consist of field measurement of water flows and quality, collection of samples for water quality analysis, assessment of stream characteristics and aquatic habitat, and determination of aquatic organisms.