Activity Report Explorer

Rio Grande Valley Broadband • Entered by Susan Ostlie on March 28, 2021

Sandia Collaborative Project Committees – Tres Pistoles and Westside Invasives

January 6, 2021 – March 11, 2021

Key Issue: Public Lands Health & Protection
Activity Type: Advocacy (rallies, lobbying, meeting decision makers, letters/calls/emails)
Key Partners: RGVBB, NM Native Plant Society, NM DG&F, ABQ and Bernco Open Spaces, NMVFO, Friends of Tijeras Pueblo, Coronado and Ciudad SWCD, Various land grant and Acequia groups, etc.
Landscape/area: Sandia Mountain Wilderness (37256 acres)

Short Description of Activity

There were 6 project meetings for the first quarter of 2021; 3 for Tres Pistoles, of which I am the chairman, and 3 for the Westside Invasive group, which I am an active member of also. They occurred on 1/6, 2/8, and 2/8/2021 for Tres Pistoles and 1//14, 2/11 and 3/11 for the Westside Invasive group. Each meeting of the tres Pistoles group had 10-12 participants and the Westside group had between 3 and 8 participants. These meetings were designed to consolidate what was known about the project areas, what needed to be added to the information grid, what values the committee felt they could emphasize, and what problems the committee was willing to commit to solving over the next year. Again, I am responsible for writing, editing and posting the meeting summaries for the Tres Pistoles meetings, with the help of a Native Plant Society friend, which usually takes about 3 hours per meeting.

Reflection/Evaluation

The Tres Pistoles committee has managed to make decisions about values and problems they are willing to commit to. Some problems have been eliminated because of lack of participation from the land grant communities; the Perimeter mountain bike trail was also put on hold because it involves several other project committees and also the need to change the boundaries and do acreage swaps of wilderness that it would run through. This is a difficulty because wilderness boundaries are designated by Congress. Instead the Tres Pistoles group will concentrate on trail maintenance issues and ensuring wildlife corridors are supported, springs and water sources for wildlife are maintained and developed, and user created trails are eliminated whenever possible. The Westside Invasive project committee will work with the Bernco and ABQ Open space groups to educate the public and neighborhood associations about discriminating between native and invasive plants, and reporting and/or eliminating invasives like cheatgrass, Siberian Elm, Tamerisk, Russian Olive, Ravenna Grass, and Bull and Musk Thistles. This will enhance the work that the Broads are already doing on the Shining River Trail we have adopted and been working on since 2013. The chairman of the invasive group will set up an iiNaturallist database and work on training seminars. We had planned to write a LWCA grant to fund some QR code’s for trailheads and handouts for training activities, but Tom and I did not get the grant written. We needed info from the Sandia District Ranger, but could never get the data we needed and the letter of support from her. Maybe next year…The invasive committee will also be monitoring areas where restoration work – thinning and controlled burns – is being done.