Activity Report Explorer

Rio Grande Valley Broadband • Entered by Susan Ostlie on December 31, 2022

Sandia Collaborative meetings – management and general meetings and writing/editing summaries for all of these

May 3, 2022 – November 15, 2022

Key Issue: Multiple apply
Activity Type: Relationship Building with non-white and/or frontline communities (relational meetings, attending events, community support, etc.)
Key Partners: Ciudad SWCD, Coronado SWCD, EMRTC, FOSM, Friends of Tijeras Pueblo, Central NM Audubon, NM Native Plant Society, Pathways, Sandia Mt. Natural History Center, ABQ Open Space, Bernco Open Space, Sandoval County Commissioner’s Office, AMBA, San Felipe Pueblo, Turquoise Trail Regional Alliance and East Mountain Coalition of Neighborhoods Association; Tijeras Creek Watershed Collaborative, Los Acequia De Placitas, Sandia RD personnel, Rio Puerco Field Office BLM, etc.
Landscape/area: Sandia Mountain Wilderness (37256 acres)

Short Description of Activity

These meetings occur twice a month – management meetings, and general meetings; I write and edit the summaries for both with the management team, of which I am a member. Dates for management meetings are 5/3, 6/7, 7/5, 8/2, 9/6, 10/4, and 11/1/2022; each meeting is 1.5 hours and summary take an additional 3 hours; general meeting dates are 5/17, 6/21, 7/19, 8/16, 9/20, 10/18, and 11/15; each meeting is 2 1/2 hours and summaries take an additional 4 hours to write, share and edit with Mgmnt team. All of these meetings in 2022 have been online.

Reflection/Evaluation

Goals are to plan for collaboration with various interested parties to protect and enhance the wilderness character of the Sandia Ranger District, to protect local flora and fauna, and to provide for recreational opportunities for the public, including hiking, birding, etc. Trail maintenance needs and educational needs are also emphasized, as well as wildlife drinkers and corridors and catastrophic wildfire prevention, although that is difficult in wilderness, which most of the Sandias is. Educating the public that attend these meetings about firewise properties in the WUI and watershed health are also major goals. It is an ongoing process. general meeting. For example, here is a summary of the last general meeting of the collaborative in November of 2022.
Sandia Collaborative General Meeting Summary
November 15, 2022, 10:00 – 11:30 AM, on Zoom
Attendees:(23 attending)
10:00 – Opening Remarks
Any new folks? Jay updated his status with AMBA.
This meeting is being recorded for note taking purposes, to be deleted later.
10:05 – Projects
Invasive Plants – Tom Stewart’s update: Tom’s newest resource page is available on SC Google docs under the Westside team. Tom led a hike on 11/10 at the ABQ Open Space Pino Trail w/the Great Old Broads. The group learned about spotting invasives as well as beneficial native plants. Today, Tom showed slides of new and older cheatgrass plants and how to find them in more open areas. Comment: Tim used 30% acetic acid – restaurant grade – in his area to spot spray cheatgrass, and it seemed to work so far, at least on the plants themselves, although not on the many seeds that have been dropped. This form of acetic acid is very strong – beware not to get this on your skin. (see info in chat.) Tom also showed photos of blue grama grass – seed heads are upward facing (like eyelashes), unlike cheatgrass. Tom also showed photos of nodding brome – a higher elevation, taller grass than cheatgrass. This is a native plant, so don’t pull it! Cheatgrass usually doesn’t grow higher than 7500- 8000 feet. Tom will be willing to lead plant ID hikes next spring for the Collaborative.
Wildlife Corridors – Peter Callen’s update: Mimi Stewart will look into funding for the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan (WCAP), which was approved earlier this year. The 2023 60-day State Legislature Session will consider funding. The plan is accessible through the NMDOT website. There was discussion of a proposed Sandia Mt. – crossing of I-25 to connect the Sandia Mountains with the Jemez Mountains. This is known as the I-25/Hwy 550 project for the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan on the NMDOT website. Santa Ana Pueblo is also looking at wildlife crossing data – cameras have been set up and they are also tracking collared cougars. Cougars, deer, elk and antelope don’t like box culverts, due to their inability to detect predators, so the I-25 crossings will need to be overhead vegetated bridge crossings. I-40 in Tijeras uses three bridges under the freeway west of Deadman’s Curve as wildlife crossings. The I-40 easternmost bridge gets the most use. Comment: Tim – the upper Zamora bridge under I-40 also gets a lot of use.
Wildlife Drinkers on the SRD – Mike’s update: Robert and Stephanie Long take care of three drinkers. Comment: Judy Liddell – Capulin/Bird Log drinker – Audubon NM would like to adopt – needs to work with SRD to make it more usable for wildlife and birds. FS guidelines for clearing vegetation around the drinker are too extensive.
La Madera trail limiter and pipe fence project – Mike’s update: Materials for pipe fence, gates, and limiters are ready to be installed.
Sandia Nordic Ski Club Project – Scott Dietrich’s update: Scott had a slideshow that showed the status of clearing areas on the upper part of the mountain. (The link to the slide show can be found in the chat.) The presentation included a history of groomed trails in the Sandias; an overview of the SN Trails Improvement Project. The GPS footprint was part of the presentation.The SNSC was established in 2017. Their Mission Statement was shared. Articles of Incorporation and permits to make changes to FS trails were included. There was no opposition at scoping meetings to proposed trail changes, so the group continues to upgrade the winter trails, especially to reroute some sections to follow land contours more accurately. $40,000.00 was the approximate grant amount received in 2021 to rent heavier equipment, etc. Grant funding was used to dig out large stumps with a mini excavator. Chat comments/questions: Is there extensive and timely regrowth of grasses? Scott – yes. $400 spent on native grasses and wildflowers to rehab the trails; deer have used the trails to graze in the following years. Lee – are there no trails being worked on in the west side? They are only working on the eastside, between the Ellis and 10K trailheads. These trails are designated as winter only trails that self-revegetate and are not used by recreational users (except for a few hikers) in the summer season. The SNSC is also addressing erosion issues on the road from the ski area. – they have built some check dams to deal with erosion on the road from the ski area. Recontouring also helps mitigate erosion issues. A link will be posted on the Sandia Collaborative website to view this SNSC slide show.
Las Huertas Forest Thinning Alternatives Team – Lynn Montgomery’s update: The group is meeting on a regular basis, but the process is slow. Community of Placitas has been very concerned about fire hazards in the canyon. Link in the chat is posted to look at the Fire Risk for the area. Wilderness designation is an issue on the west side of the canyon. Susan Harrelson USFS, retired silviculturist, has been working on drawing up projects that are the low hanging fruit for right now, focusing on the east side, not in wilderness. Riparian area of the creek itself may be problematic, due to various agency issues. Actual Wilderness Boundary is difficult to find – it’s not clear exactly where it is – is it down to the road? or is a 200 foot easement on each side in play there? Grant money is needed for much of the work to be done. The watershed’s complete restoration all the way north to Algodones should be a part of the plan. A Watershed Group should be formed to look at the big picture. November 21st at 1 pm is the next meeting of this team.
11:05 – Announcements
Signage, Education, Recreation Mgmt Plan, Julie’s update – not available.
La Madera Project formal scoping status, Crystal’s update – not available.
Facilitation Agreement status – (SRD/Ciudad SWCD) Steve’s update: met at the Tijeras biozome education center and had a wide ranging conversation. Steve has provided the agreement documents to Crystal and Julie to consider so the various entities can reach agreements with the SRD.
Rio Grande Trail Alignment Subcommittee – Mike’s update: There will be a meeting of this committee on 11/16. Mike will update us on this at the January meeting.
2023 Land and Water Summit NM, March 1-3 at Indian Pueblo Cultural Center – the meeting will be a hybrid. Theme is Communities, Collaboration and Climate Change. Landandwatersummitnm.org