From The Rio To The Sierra: An Environmental History Of The … · 2009-02-13 · Crawford, Cliff Dahm, Bruce Milne, and Manuel Molles. Wayne Lambert, West Texas State Univer-sity,

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United StatesDepartment ofAgriculture

Forest Service

Rocky MountainResearch Station

Fort Collins,Colorado 80526

General Technical ReportRMRS-GTR-5

From the Rio to the Sierra:An Environmental History ofthe Middle Rio Grande Basin

Dan Scurlock

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Scurlock, Dan. 1998. From the rio to the sierra: An environmental history of theMiddle Rio Grande Basin. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-5. Fort Collins,CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain ResearchStation. 440 p.

Abstract

Various human groups have greatly affected the processes and evolution of MiddleRio Grande Basin ecosystems, especially riparian zones, from A.D. 1540 to thepresent. Overgrazing, clear-cutting, irrigation farming, fire suppression, intensivehunting, and introduction of exotic plants have combined with droughts and floodsto bring about environmental and associated cultural changes in the Basin. As aresult of these changes, public laws were passed and agencies created to rectify ormitigate various environmental problems in the region. Although restoration andremedial programs have improved the overall “health” of Basin ecosystems, mostold and new environmental problems persist.

Keywords: environmental impact, environmental history, historic climate, historicfauna, historic flora, Rio Grande

Publisher’s Note

The opinions and recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authorand do not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA Forest Service. Mention of tradenames does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the FederalGovernment. The author withheld diacritical marks from the Spanish words in textfor consistency with English punctuation.

Publisher

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Fort Collins, Colorado

May 1998

You may order additional copies of this publication by sendingyour mailing information in label form through one of the followingmedia. Please send the publication title and number.

Telephone (970) 498-1719

E-mail rschneider/[email protected]

FAX (970) 498-1660

Mailing Address Publications DistributionRocky Mountain Research Station3825 E. Mulberry StreetFort Collins, CO 80524-8597

Cover photo: View northeast of Laguna Pueblo and landscape. Ben Wittick photo, ca. 1883.Courtesy School of American Research and Museum of New Mexico,

Santa Fe (negative no. 16051).

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USDA Forest ServiceGeneral Technical ReportRMRS-GTR-5 May 1998

From the Rio to the Sierra:An Environmental History

of theMiddle Rio Grande Basin

Dan Scurlock, Environmental HistorianWingswept Research

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Rocky Mountain Research StationU.S. Department of AgricultureFort Collins, Colorado

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CONTENTSPage

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiTABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiiMAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6BENEFICIARIES OF RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

CHAPTER 2MODERN AND HISTORICAL CLIMATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CLIMATIC RECORDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7CLIMATIC REGIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7CLIMATOLOGICAL HISTORY OF ALBUQUERQUE: A CASE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Climatic Regime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Precipitation Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Temperature Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Wind Direction and Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Solar Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

HISTORIC CLIMATE: OVERVIEW AND RECONSTRUCTION, 1540-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Early Colonial, 1540-1680 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Middle-Late Colonial, 1681-1821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Mexican-Territorial, 1821-1912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Statehood, 1912-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

HISTORIC PRECIPITATION: VARIABILITY AND TRENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30LIVING WITH THE RIVER: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HISTORICAL

FLOODS IN THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32HISTORIC DROUGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42CHRONOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

CHAPTER 3HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERNS, POPULATIONS, AND RESOURCE USE . . . . . . . . . . 82

NATIVE AMERICAN SETTLEMENT, POPULATION, AND RESOURCE USE, 1400s–1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Native American Environmental Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Pueblo Settlement Patterns and Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Navajo, Apache, Southern Ute Settlement Patterns and Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Native American Populations and Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Native American Resource Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Livestock Raising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Hunting and Gathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Flora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Rocks and Minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Resource Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

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CONTENTS (continued)Page

SPANISH EXPLORATION, SETTLEMENT, POPULATION, AND RESOURCE USE,1540–1856 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Spanish Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Settlement Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Spanish Population, Hygiene, and Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Spanish Resource Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Agricultural Fields and Irrigation Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Spanish Livestock Raising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Logging and Wood Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Hunting and Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

ANGLO AMERICAN PENETRATION, SETTLEMENT, POPULATION, AND RESOURCE USE, 1821-1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Fur Traders and Trappers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Anglo Settlement and Land Grant Adjudication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Anglo Population and Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Anglo Resource Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Agriculture and Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Livestock Raising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Logging and Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Fuelwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Military Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Healing and Hot Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134CHRONOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

CHAPTER 4THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE BASIN: HISTORICAL DESCRIPTIONS AND RECONSTRUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

GEOLOGY-PHYSIOGRAPHY-SOILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181HYDROLOGY-GEOMORPHOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Rio Grande . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Santa Fe River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Jemez River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191Las Huertas Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Rio Puerco-of-the-East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Rio Salado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

FIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199PLANT COMMUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Riparian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Grasslands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Desert Grassland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Plains-Mesa Grasslands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Scrublands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Juniper Savanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Ponderosa Pine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Subalpine and Mixed Coniferous Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Alpine Tundra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

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FAUNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Mammals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213Insects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215CHRONOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

CHAPTER 5HISTORICAL IMPACTS AND CHANGES: BIOTIC RESOURCES AND HUMAN POPULATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265EFFECTS OF FIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Fire History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Native American Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268Euro-American Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

EFFECTS OF GRAZING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269EFFECTS OF CLEARING, CUTTING, AND THINNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272HUMAN IMPACTS AND CHANGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Colonial Period, 1540–1821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273Mexican and Territorial Periods, 1821–1912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274Statehood Period, 1912–1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Middle Rio Grande Geomorphology and Hydrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281Vegetation Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282Water and Air Pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

IMPACTS AND CHANGES IN THE RIO PUERCO, 1846–1980: A CASE STUDY . . . . . . . . 288IMPACTS AND CHANGES IN UPLAND GRASSLANDS,

WOODLANDS, AND FORESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291CHANGES IN PLANT SPECIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Extirpated Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293Introduced and Naturalized Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

CHANGES IN ANIMAL SPECIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294Extirpated, Rare, Endangered, and Threatened Fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298CHRONOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

CHAPTER 6OVERVIEW OF EARLY SCIENTIFIC WORK, RESOURCE DATA COLLECTION, MANAGEMENT, AND CONSERVATION 1812–1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

EARLY NATURALISTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS IN THE STUDYREGION, 1831-1924 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358CHRONOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

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CHAPTER 7SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385Environmental History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389Research Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Model I: Middle Rio Grande Valley in the 16th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390Model II: Middle Rio Grande Valley in the 18th to Mid 19th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390Model III: Middle Rio Grande Valley in the Late 19th to Early 20th Century . . . . . . . . 390Model IV: Middle Rio Grande Valley in the Mid to Late 20th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394Ecosystem Management: Restoration and Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394Role of Traditional Eco-cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395Specific Resource Management Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many individuals and institutions provided invaluable assistance of various kinds to me overthe 23 months of researching, writing, and editing this report. First, I would like to thank someindividual librarians who were always helpful: Frances J. Barney and her staff at the U.S. ForestService Library, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colorado. At theOffice of the State Engineer, Santa Fe, librarian Maida L. Gonzales, now retired, cheerfully andefficiently retrieved manuscripts and published materials. In Albuquerque several University ofNew Mexico libraries and their staffs provided various services: Nancy Brown, Terry Gugliotta, andother staff members at the Center for Southwest Research, Zimmerman Library; Teresa Marques andstaff at Government Documents, Zimmerman Library; Christina Carter and staff, Reference Depart-ment, Zimmerman Library; and Donna Cromer and reference staff and Mary Wyatt and staff, Centen-nial Science-Engineering Library. The staff at the Griegos Branch Public Library also were helpful.

Photo archivists Mo Palmer at the Albuquerque Science and History Museum; Art Olivas at theMuseum of New Mexico Library, Santa Fe; Bob Eveleth, Bureau of Mines, Socorro; Joe McGregor, U.S.Geological Survey Library, Denver; and Bernie Schermatzler, University of Wisconsin Library, Madi-son, all aided in historic photo research and copying.

Various individuals at government agencies contributed their time and shared their knowledge:Linda Beal and Mike Kernodle, U.S. Geological Survey, Albuquerque; Julio Betancourt, U.S. Geologi-cal Survey, Tucson; Tony Tolsdorf, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lakewood, Colo-rado; Chris Gorbach and Steve Hansen, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Albuquerque; Phil Norton andJohn Taylor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, near Socorro,New Mexico; Paul Tashjian, Charles McDonald, and Jim Lewis, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albu-querque; Charles Liles, Diedre Kann, and Raymond Jojola, U.S. Weather Service, Albuquerque; BillKrausmann and Dave Gillio, Regional Office, U.S. Forest Service, Albuquerque; and Dick Tinus, U.S.Forest Service, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Several University of New Mexico biologists shared their resource data and expertise: CliffCrawford, Cliff Dahm, Bruce Milne, and Manuel Molles. Wayne Lambert, West Texas State Univer-sity, provided direction and materials on repeat photography for the study region. Harold Malde,retired U.S. Geological Survey geologist, Boulder, Colorado, directed me to archival sources for earlyimages in the Middle Rio Grande Basin. Alan Johnson and Sandra Turner, New Mexico State Univer-sity, Las Cruces, and Chris Baisan, Laboratory of Tree-ring Research, University of Arizona, assistedin various ways.

Dennis Hunter and Dave Love at the Bureau of Mines, Socorro; John Hawley, Bureau of Mines,Albuquerque; Erik Galloway, Environmental Improvement Division, Santa Fe; Lionel Maestas, StateEngineer’s Office, Santa Fe; and Sandy Williams, New Mexico Game and Fish Department, Santa Fe,provided invaluable help. Chris Baisan, Bill de Buys, Dan Flores, Charles Liles, Dave Love, and HalRothman peer-reviewed portions of the manuscript. The following persons provided field support:Bob Cooper, Sandia Park; Alison Franks, Albuquerque; and Suzanne Smith, Socorro. Several RockyMountain Research Station personnel at Fort Collins, Colorado, and Albuquerque furnished techni-cal assistance for the project: Lane Eskew, Judy Perry, and Carolyn Lunar. Jim Zuboy was contractedto perform the final edit.

Several colleagues at the U.S. Forest Service Albuquerque station made this project possible andsupported me along the way. I gratefully acknowledge the encouragement and professional guid-ance of Joe Tainter, Project Leader, Cultural Heritage Research, and Deborah Finch, Wildlife Biologistand Team Leader, both part of the Middle Rio Grande Basin Ecosystem Program. Carol Raish, SocialScience Researcher, ably acted as U.S. Forest Service liaison for this project during 1995 and early1996 and as style editor. Nora Altamirano and Carmen Gallegos helped with administrative andlogistical matters. Financial support was provided by the Middle Rio Grande Ecosystem Manage-ment Research Program and the Cultural Heritage Research Work Unit of the Rocky MountainResearch Station in Albuquerque.

Four individuals in Albuquerque worked as project employees at various times over the past 2years: Ellen Atkinson, research assistant; Ron Stauber, graphics; Carole Meyers, editorial assistant;and Jennifer Hughes, word processor. Jennifer efficiently entered and corrected several drafts of thislong report. I am deeply appreciative for the contributions of the above persons and extend apologiesto anyone I may have overlooked.

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TABLESPage

Table 1. Historic weather stations, 1849–1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Table 2. Average annual precipitation at selected stations, 1951–1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Table 3. Mean historic snow depths (inches) at selected Upper Rio Grande stations

(Colorado) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Table 4. Mean historic snow depths (inches) at selected Upper Rio Grande stations

(New Mexico) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Table 5. Average annual snowfall at selected stations, 1931–1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Table 6. Daily and annual mean discharges at selected USGS gauging stations:

Upper and Middle Rio Grande drainages, 1895–1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Table 7. Average monthly distribution of annual runoff (acre–feet) at two Middle

Rio Grande gauging stations, 1890–1935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Table 8. Average annual temperatures (°F) for New Mexico, 1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Table 9. Average high and low temperatures (°F), 1951–1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Table 10. Average annual number of frost–free days, 1951–1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Table 11. Ten driest years, Albuquerque, 1850–1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Table 12. Average decadal temperatures, Albuquerque, 1893–1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Table 13. Ten coldest years, Albuquerque, 1893–1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Table 14. Dust storms in Albuquerque, 1945–1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Table 15. Sunrise and sunset at or near equinoxes and solstices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Table 16. El Nino years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Table 17. Historic Rio Grande floods, 1591–1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Table 18. Historic New Mexico droughts, 1542–1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Table 19. Nomadic Indian raids and drought years, north and central New Mexico,

1580–1867 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Table 20. Siting of extant Rio Grand Basin pueblos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Table 21. Pueblo land/grazing holdings, 1858–1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Table 22. Pueblo population in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, 1680–1821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Table 23. Pueblo population in the Middle Rio Grande, 1904–1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Table 24. Annual cycle of Santa Ana and Cochiti land use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Table 25. Middle Rio Grande Valley Pueblo irrigation, 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Table 26. Historic Native American cultigens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Table 27. Annual traditional farming activities, Cochiti Pueblo, 1880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Table 28. Pounds of meat sold and consumed, Acoma and Laguna, 1938–1943 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Table 29. Santa Clara use of mammals (non–food) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Table 30. Santa Clara use of bird feathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Table 31 Pueblo plant use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Table 32. Pueblo use of rocks and minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Table 33. Historic Native American trade items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Table 34. Private land grant claims in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, 1693–1846 . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Table 35. Colonial Spanish population: Middle and Upper Rio Grande Basins

(Rio Arriba–Rio Abajo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Table 36. Irrigation in the Middle Rio Grande Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Table 37. Livestock numbers in New Mexico, 1598–1830 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

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TABLES (continued)Page

Table 38. New Mexico population, 1850–1910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Table 39. Irrigation agriculture in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, 1850–1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Table 40. Irrigation agriculture in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, 1898 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Table 41. Principal crops in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, 1919–1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Table 42. Livestock numbers in New Mexico, 1850–1900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Table 43. Major mining areas/activities, 1600 to 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Table 44. Principal tributaries of the Rio Grande in the Middle Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Table 45. Upper and Middle Rio Grande streamflow gauging stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188Table 46. Rio Puerco–of–the–East: historical conditions and environmental changes,

1599–1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198Table 47. Changes in width of Rio Salado, 1882 and 1918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Table 48. Historic floral community dominant plant species, Middle Rio Grande Valley . . . . . 202Table 49. Fauna identified from faunal remains and kiva murals—Kuaua Pueblo . . . . . . . . . . . 208Table 50. Fauna identified from Pottery Mound kiva murals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208Table 51. Beaver (pelts) trapped or shipped over the Santa Fe Trail, 1824–1841 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Table 52. Mammal populations, 1900–1935 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Table 53. Birds recorded by Abert (Alameda to south of Socorro), fall 1846 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212Table 54. Fish identified from Spanish records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214Table 55. Middle and Upper Rio Grande dams and reservoirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281Table 56. Historical change in areal extent of floodplain vegetation communities from

Cochiti Dam to San Marcial, 1918–1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284Table 57. Rio Puerco–of–the–East: historical conditions and channel changes, 1846–1964 . . . 289Table 58. Plant species extensively decimated or extirpated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293Table 59. Extirpated grass species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293Table 60. Introduced plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295Table 61. Introduced fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298Table 62. Extirpated, threatened, rare, and endangered fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299Table 63. National and state forests, wildernesses, wild rivers, parks, monuments,

and refuges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343Table 64. Conservation improvements on Pueblo lands, 1935–1944 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350Table 65. Rio Grande Pueblo irrigation projects, ca 1940 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

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MAPS

PageFigure 1 Study region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Figure 2 Middle Rio Grande Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Figure 3 Upper Rio Grande Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Figure 4 Historic weather stations, 1849–1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Figure 5 Snow survey data sites, Colorado and New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Figure 6 Climatic subtype areas and precipitation isolines in the New Mexico

Rio Grande Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Figure 15 General locations of Pueblo and nomadic Native American groups 1598–1680 . . . 83Figure 16 Major historic Pueblo language groups and villages, 1598–1680 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Figure 25 Some early Hispanic settlements, 1598–1680 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Figure 26 Major Hispano settlements, 1693–1821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Figure 27 Spanish-Mexican land grants in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, 1693-1846 . . . . . . . 111Figure 33 Major trails and roads, 1821–1880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Figure 35 Major railroads, roads, and highways, 1879–1915 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Figure 39 Major mining districts and towns, 1600–1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Figure 40 Study region: streams and mountain ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Figure 41 Middle Rio Grande Basin: Major streams, mountain ranges, and historic

settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Figure 43 Meanders and multiple channels (braided) of the Rio Grande east and

southeast of Lemitar, 1906. USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Figure 52 Reconstructed primeval vegetation types, 1870–1900 (after Gross and

Dick-Peddie 1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Figure 57 Major Middle Rio Grande channel movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267Figure 66 Major 20th century dams on the Rio Grande and tributaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282Figure 70 Bureau of Reclamation vegetation map, Rio Grade Valley, Tome area, 1917 . . . . . . . 286Figure 74 Miera y Pacheco’s map of the Middle Rio Grande Basin, 1779 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333Figure 79 National forests, parks and monuments, national wildlife refuges, and

major state parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

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1USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS–GTR–5. 1998

For more than 450 years the ecosystems of the MiddleRio Grande Basin have evolved dynamically with the in-terrelated vagaries of climate, land forms, soils, fauna,flora, and most importantly, human activities. Variousland use practices have caused an array of environmentalproblems. Activities such as grazing, irrigation farming,logging, and constructing flood control features, combinedwith climatic fluctuations, have produced changes instream flow-morphology, groundwater levels, topsoils,biotic communities, and individual species. Indigenoushuman populations have, in turn, been impacted by modi-fications in these resources. This report examines theseprocesses, impacts, and changes in depth.

SCOPE OF THE PROJECTThis study of the environmental history of the Middle

Rio Grande Basin, and to a lesser degree the Upper Basin(Fig. 1), was begun on June 1, 1994, and continued untilFebruary 15, 1996. This project is part of a mult-idisciplinary research program called “Ecology, Diversity,and Sustainability of Soil, Plant, Animal and Human Re-sources of the Rio Grande Basin” and was initiated by theU.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Al-buquerque, in 1994. The larger 5-year study is focused onthe retrieval, synthesis, and interpretation of extant andnew data on the Middle Basin to better understand eco-logical processes, including not only the interrelationshipof physical and biological components of ecosystems butalso the human element. As the dominant force and agentof change, various human groups or eco-cultures1 haveimpacted all Basin ecosystems for more than 10,000 years(Stuart 1986: a–c).

To address these interrelationships over time, the studyteam, under the direction of Deborah M. Finch, identifiedfour areas of research: (1) responses of upland ecosystemcomponents to “natural” as well as human perturbationsand how these responses have affected or will affect thedynamics, stability, and productivity of these ecosystems;(2) interrelationships of lowland riparian and upland eco-systems of the past and present; (3) species responses tobarriers in dispersal, migration, and reproduction alongthe Rio Grande and selected tributaries and identificationof those plants or animals and their needs for sustainablemanagement; and (4) environmental history of the Basinto better understand the kind and extent of human inter-

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

actions with ecosystems and the sustainability of such tra-ditional eco-cultural activities within regional ecosystems.

The focus and context of these research areas are inter-related and grounded in environmental history as theyrelate to human uses, impacts, and changes within a con-text of climate, fire, and other ecosystem dynamics. Fur-ther, environmental changes generated by various groupssometimes resulted in modification of their world viewsand economic systems. Without a better understandingof these historical processes and their end results,bioremediation and sustainability of Basin ecosystems,including traditional lifeways, will be difficult if not im-possible to accomplish. This report on the environmentalhistory of the Middle and Upper Rio Grande basins2 pro-vides data pertinent to all four research areas.

The Middle Basin includes the Rio Grande fromBandelier National Monument to the upper end of El-ephant Butte Reservoir and seven major tributaries—SantaFe River, Galisteo Creek, Jemez River, Las Huertas Creek,Rio Puerco, Rio San Jose, and Rio Salado. Within this re-gion are three national forests—Carson, Santa Fe, andCibola—in which lie the southern Sangre de Cristo, Jemez,Sandia, part of the Zuni and Datil, Manzano, Ladron, LosPinos, Magdalena, and San Mateo mountains (Fig. 2).

The Upper Basin extends northward embracing theEspanola Basin, the Rio Chama, the Rio Grande Gorge,the uplands of the Carson National Forest, and the up-permost watershed of the river in southern Colorado (Figs.1 and 3). This latter area includes the San Luis Basin, partof the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and the east-ern extension of the San Juan Mountains in the Rio GrandeNational Forest.

The Upper Basin is included in this study for severalreasons. The Middle Valley ecosystem is first and fore-most driven by water, and much of this resource comes

1 For these distinct groups interacting with and changing theirenvironment, the term eco-cultures will be used in this report toreflect their ecological use of, impact on, and interaction with theresources and ecology of the area. Also, archeological remains ofthese groups will be referred to as eco-cultural resources. This termprecludes the use of more cumbersome, and misleading,compound descriptors such as “cultures and environments” or“humans and nature.”2 Collectively, these two basins will be referred to as the “studyregion.” Use of the term “region” refers to the study region andadjacent areas.

2 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS–GTR–5. 1998

Figure 1—Study region.


Figure 2—Middle Rio Grande Basin.


Figure 3—Upper Rio Grande Basin.


from the Upper Rio Grande and tributaries above the northboundary of the Middle Basin (Figs. 1 and 3). Floodwa-ters generated in the Upper Basin affected virtually allcomponents of the middle one. Upper Basin droughtsclearly affected the Middle Valley ecosystem in otherways. Further, some plant communities and animal popu-lations also extend across this boundary, and various hu-man groups moved from one basin to the other over time,impacting both basins with their activities. Sustainabilityof ecosystems, and their significant human component,clearly lies in studying and managing both basins as one.

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGYEnvironmental history has been recognized only re-

cently by the academic community as a viable and neededapproach to better understanding human history by plac-ing it in an environmental context. However, decades be-fore this, several individuals, such as Aldo Leopold, JamesMalin, and Walter Prescott Webb, were developing andapplying environmental history methodology and theoryto understanding and describing human groups and theirinterrelationships with ecosystems. Although Leopoldcalled for “an ecological interpretation of history” morethan 50 years ago, environmental history was not a rec-ognized academic discipline until the 1970s, following thedynamic and influential environmental movement of thelate 1960s and early 1970s (Worster 1993: 2). The Ameri-can Society of Environmental History was formed in thebicentennial year of 1976. Since then, this new field ofstudy has embraced related fields such as climate history,fire history, landscape ecology, forest history, agriculturalhistory, anthropology, ethnohistory, and history of con-servation and science. Some specific topics addressed byenvironmental historians, and discussed in this study, in-clude historic floods and droughts, hydrology and geo-morphology of streams, the “Columbian exchange,” en-vironmental views of groups in a given area or region, envi-ronmental impact and change, and evolution of conserva-tion and scientific research (Merchant 1993: vii–ix).

Aldo Leopold has been called the “father of wildlifemanagement,” and his prolific writings have significantlyinfluenced the philosophy and methodology of environ-mental sciences. Leopold’s published books, such as ASand County Almanac (1944), and papers have also helpedshape the view of many contemporary ecologists and en-vironmental historians, such as Donald Worster of theUniversity of Kansas. This influence is reflected inWorster’s (1993: 4) definition of his own field of study:“[Environmental history] deals with the role and place ofnature in human life. . . .” and “Its goal is to deepen ourunderstanding of how humans have been affected by theirnatural environment through time, and conversely andperhaps more importantly in view of the present globalpredicament, how they have affected that environment

and with what results.”Importantly, this discipline has not only expanded the

view and “data base” for historians but has also providedpertinent data for biological scientists and resource man-agers to use in developing a more comprehensive ap-proach to bioremediation, reconstruction of ecosystems,and determination of sustainability.

The ecosystem, or watershed, approach to study of ar-eas or regions used by ecologists for some time is emu-lated by the bioregional approach that some environmen-tal historians have used. This focus on a definable abi-otic-biotic region in which various groups have employeddistinctive adaptive and exploitive strategies was dis-cussed by Dan Flores (1994: 8):

. . . [A] given bioregion and its resources offer arange of possibilities, from which a given humanculture makes economic and lifeway choicesbased upon the culture’s technological abilityand its ideological vision of how the landscapeought to be used and shaped to meet its defini-tion of a good life.

The Middle and Upper Rio Grande basins, with a longhistory of human occupation, have been studied by ar-cheologists and historians for more than a century. Theregion’s prehistory and history, reconstructed from anarray of physical and documentary evidence possibly ascomprehensive and detailed as that of any region in theUnited States, lend themselves to the bioregional ap-proach. The distribution of the protohistoric Pueblo groupswas mainly limited to the Middle and Upper Rio Grandebasins; the Zuni and Hopi Pueblos were the exceptions.Subsequent Spanish settlement was confined to the ba-sins as well until the early 1800s. The Spanish also recog-nized the environmental distinction between the Upperand Lower basins, which they named the Rio Arriba andRio Abajo, respectively, for purposes of administration.Further, early Anglo settlers almost exclusively occupiedthese two ecological units. Also found here are descen-dants of the two earlier eco-cultures, Native American andHispanic, who still practice traditional lifeways to somedegree, so there is a continuing historic record today.

In general, this study focuses on identifying and inter-preting the roles of various human groups in affectingBasin ecosystems and their responses to the environmen-tal changes that they and “nature” have produced. Al-though it was known that human groups had, over time,shaped all regional ecosystems from the Rio Grande tothe tundra of the highest peaks, the processes of thesetransformations were poorly understood. This study ex-amines in detail the interrelationships of various eco-cul-tures with their Middle Basin environments, with a spe-cial focus on how groups have viewed and exploited theirenvironments. In addition, the general role and relation-


ship of politics, economic institutions, and social organi-zations to resource exploitation and its resulting impactson the environment are clarified. Finally, a number of spe-cific environmental changes and their spatial and tempo-ral occurrence, nature, and impacts were identified andare discussed.

Because an environmental history of this spatial andtemporal magnitude has never been attempted in NewMexico, the first priority was to review and integrate thereadily available, pertinent data on human prehistory(late) and history with data from the physical and bio-logical sciences. Important sources of this type of infor-mation were published works on local environmental his-tories within the study region, such as Man and Resourcesin the Middle Rio Grande Valley by Harper et al. (1943) andEnchantment and Exploitation (Sangre Cristo Mountains)by deBuys (1985). Publications dealing totally or in partwith the historical use of specific environmental compo-nents, such as the Climate of New Mexico by Tuan et al.(1973), Water in New Mexico by Clark (1987), Birds of NewMexico by Ligon (1961), and Fishes of New Mexico bySublette et al. (1990), were also helpful in providing gen-eral context, as well as more specific data on topics of spe-cial interest. Recent comprehensive studies on the ecol-ogy of the study region, such as the Middle Rio GrandeBiological Survey by Ohmart and Hink (1984) and theMiddle Rio Grande Ecosystem: Bosque Biological ManagementPlan by Crawford et al. (1993), provided a sound basis forunderstanding the interrelationships of the river and thevarious biotic components of the Middle Basin. Most ofthe allocated research and analysis time was devoted toreview of these and other pertinent published books, re-ports, papers, and documents. Unpublished manuscripts,maps, and photographs were consulted as time permit-ted. Data from selected oral interviews conducted by meand other researchers were also reviewed. There is a hugebody of archival material in various state and regionaldepositories that was not researched during this projectowing to time constraints but should be included in fu-ture regional or local environmental history projects.

Early in the project, 10 research problems requiring en-vironmental history data were identified for inclusion inthe study: (1) effects of climatic phenomena, such asdroughts, on human views of and responses to the envi-ronment; (2) effects of human activities on changing lo-cal, regional, or global climatic components and regimes;(3) effects of the temporal occurrence and magnitude offlooding on historic land use activities; (4) effects of graz-ing on different ecosystem components such as plant com-munities; (5) effects of erosion on fauna, flora, and other

components; (6) effects of various water control structureson riparian fauna and flora; (7) effects of fragmentationof the Rio Grande bosque on riparian ecosystems; (8) ef-fects of introduced plants and animals on ecosystems; (9)effects of past resource management by various agencieson these same ecosystems and their traditional residenteco-cultures; and (10) effects of environmental impacts onhuman responses, specifically attitudes, to these pertur-bations. These 10 problems guided the research presentedin this report. Four spatial-temporal models of impact andchange in the Middle Rio Grande Valley were also devel-oped for “testing” during the study.

ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORTChapters 2 through 6 describe and reconstruct the his-

tory of occupation and use of the study region by varioushuman groups, the historic environmental conditions inthe basins, and the impact on and modification of abioticand biotic components of Middle Rio Grande ecosystemsby natural and human events over the last 455 years. Thesechapters include historic and recent climates (Chapter 2),human settlement and land use (Chapter 3), historicaldescriptions and reconstruction (Chapter 4), impacts andchanges (Chapter 5), and the origin and development ofa conservation ethic and related land management agen-cies and organizations (Chapter 6). A chronology of perti-nent events is provided at the end of each of these chap-ters. The final chapter (7) is a synthesis of the informationpresented in the previous chapters, with conclusions andconsiderations for using the data from this report in fu-ture research studies and management programs.

BENEFICIARIES OF RESEARCH

In addition to potential data uses by various public re-source management agency personnel at all levels, thisstudy should be useful to a myriad of other Basin com-munities and organizations—Pueblos, Hispanic landgrant associations, the Middle Rio Grande ConservancyDistrict, universities and schools, environmental groups,and private contractors and individuals involved inMiddle Rio Grande Basin research. Potential uses includeevaluating current resource use and management, plan-ning for bioremediation of environmental problems atspecific locales or areas, evaluating sustainability of pastand current land use practices, locating field trip and studyarea sites for schools, and identifying, and hopefully re-solving, critical environmental issues.

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS–GTR–5. 1998 7

Climatic elements such as precipitation types and pat-terns, temperature patterns, wind, solar radiation, frosts-freezes, and evaporation affect human activity and healthpositively or negatively. Effects of intense rain, drought,floods, deep snow, hail, freezes, lightning, intense heat,and so forth on such endeavors as hunting, fishing, gath-ering, farming, ranching, mining, travel, and recreationhave been a long-time interest of archaeologists, clima-tologists, and environmental historians working in theSouthwest. The siting of dwellings, fields, villages, live-stock facilities, mining operations, trails, and roads weregenerally related, at least in part, to one or more climato-logical elements (Calvin 1948; Hambidge 1941; Upham1986).

Precipitation and other weather phenomena are alsomajor influences on formation and maintenance of plantcommunities, availability of wild plant foods, and dynam-ics of wildlife populations. Variations within these ele-ments, coupled with human activities, have led to seri-ous environmental problems such as intensive flooding, fluc-tuations or exhaustions of water supplies, and soil erosion.

The following sections of this chapter include discus-sions on various climatic elements. Coverage of interrela-tionships of climatic events and human activities are pre-sented in Chapters 4 and 5. Also following in this chapterare sections on climatic stations and records, recent cli-mate, reconstruction of the region’s historic climate, cli-matic impacts on human populations, historic droughtsand floods, historic snowfall, and a chronology of climaticevents.

CLIMATIC RECORDSEvidence of the earliest climate patterns and changes

for the region has been derived from tree-ring chronolo-gies from various prehistoric archeological sites. Thesechronologies provide indications of relative dry or wetperiods over a specific period. For the historic period, thesefluctuating patterns appear to generally correlate withhistorical observations and, after 1846, scientifically col-lected data.

The earliest written historical observations of weatherwere made by Spanish explorers, missionaries, govern-ment personnel, and settlers. In general, Spaniards whocame to New Mexico thought the climate was similar tothat of Spain, except for the Rio Arriba, which they foundto be colder (Tuan et al. 1973: 4–5). All historical accounts,of course, have to be evaluated for their accuracy, as per-

CHAPTER 2

MODERN AND HISTORICAL CLIMATE

sonal views of untrained observers were sometimes ex-aggerated or otherwise inaccurate.

The first scientific climatic records were collected by afew Anglo-American explorers in the first half of the 19thcentury, followed by those recorded by U.S. Army per-sonnel beginning in 1849. Observers were either militarydoctors at various military posts or volunteers, who re-ported their recordings to the Smithsonian Institution until1870. In that year, Congress authorized the Chief SignalOfficer of the Army to record climatic data; this programcontinued until July 1, 1891, when the Weather Bureauwas created in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Fromabout 1892 to 1931 weather observations were made byCooperative Observers. First Order Weather Stations, suchas that at Albuquerque, were first established in 1931 (Bra-dley 1976: 11–12; Taft 1980: 1; Table 1, Fig. 4).

Precipitation and temperature were the primary datarecorded in the early decades of record keeping. How-ever, due to personnel changes and the closing of record-ing stations, records are generally noncontiguous, spotty,or of short duration. Only Santa Fe, Albuquerque, andSocorro have reliable scientific records that extend backcontinuously for more than a century; these include pre-cipitation and temperature (Bradley 1976: 11–13; Tuan etal. 1973: 11–12; Table 1).

Scientifically recorded snowpack measurements in theUpper Rio Grande basin (Colorado and New Mexico)were begun in 1936–37. Since that time, these measuringstations have been operated by the Soil Conservation Ser-vice (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service).From 11 stations established in the 1930s, the total num-ber has grown to 63 stations, with 31 in Colorado and 32in New Mexico. Of these, eight in Colorado and seven inNew Mexico were selected for their distribution acrossthe Upper Basin, and for continuous annual records thatgenerally predate 1940, although three date only to 1950(Fig. 5). Data from these stations were compared with run-off, flood, drought, and other precipitation records, andthese data are summarized in the following sections.

CLIMATIC REGIMEThe Middle Rio Grande Basin ecosystem has evolved

with, and is basically driven by, the regional climate. Es-pecially important to the hydrologic regime, as well as toplants, animals, and human activity, is the availability ofmoisture from rain or snowfall, which varies widely di-urnally, seasonally, annually and over longer periods.

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS–GTR–5. 19988

Figure 4—Historic weather stations, 1849–1994.


Location Temperature Precipitation

County: BernalilloStations: 4Albuquerque 1850–1867 1893–1975

1878–18791889–1994

Sandia Crest 1953–1975 1953–1975Sandia Park 1939–1994 1939–1994Sandia Ranger Station 1910–1994 1915–1994

County: CatronStations: 2Datil 1905–1908 1905–1908

1916–1951 1920–1951Hickman 1944–1994 1957–1994

County: CibolaStations: 6

Bluewater 3WSW 1896–1903 1896–19031908–1919 1908–19191925–1959 1925–1959

Cebolleta Jan. 1894?Laguna 1850–1851 1905–1921

1905–1915 1927–19941919–192119241927–1994

Prewitt Ranch 1887–1894San Fidel 1920–1976 1920–1975San Rafael 1904–1915

County: Los AlamosStations: 1Los Alamos 1910–1994 1919–1994

County: McKinleyStations: 1Fort Wingate 1864–1911 1897–1911

1940–1966 1940–1966

County: Rio ArribaStations: 9Abiquiu (Near) 1940–1948Abiquiu Dam 1957–1994 1957–1994Bateman Ranch 1909–1970Chama 1889–1897 1889–1897

1905–1994 1905–1994El Vado Dam 1906–1907 1906–1907

1936–1994 1936–1994El Vado Dam (Near) 1923–1927Embudo 1889–1893 1893Espanola 1895–1929 1895–1902

1938–1975 1905–19291938–1975

Velarde 1940–1948

County: SandovalStations: 7Bandelier National Monument 1924–1975 1937–1975Bernalillo 1889–1892 1895–1901Bernalillo 1948–1982 1948–1982Cuba 1938–1994 1938–1994Jemez Springs 1910–1994 1910–1994Johnson Ranch 1944–1994Regina 1914–1969 1914–1969

Table 1—Historic weather stations, 1849–1994.

Wolf Canyon(Senorita, Selsor Ranch) 1912–1994 1912–1994

County: Santa FeStations: 6

Cundiyo 1909–1923Fort Marcy Jan. 1849–1890?Galisteo 1894–1903Nambe #1 1889–1892 1930–1931

1930–19311947–1974

Nambe #2 1940–1950Santa Fe 1850–1994 1874–1994

County: SocorroStations: 15

Augustine 1926–1939 1926–19391959–1973 1959–1972

Augustine 2E 1939–1959 1939–19591973–1994 1973–1994

Bosque del Apache 1851–1862 1894–19451865–1881 1950–199418841889–18911894–19451950–1994

Bosque del Apache A 1945–1950 1945–1950Fort Conrad 1851–1854Fort Craig 1940–1950?Gran Quivira National

Monument 1905–1906 1940–199419291938–1994

Gran Quivira NationalMonument A 1929–1938 1930–1934

Kelly Ranch 1945–1975Magdalena 1889–1890 1906–1915

1905–1993 1918–1975Rienhardt Ranch 1951–1994Rosedale 1905–1932 1906–1932Rosedale A 1927–1928 1927–1928Socorro 1850–1851 1850–1851

1879–1881 1879–18811891–1994 1891–1994

Socorro Post 1849–1851County: TaosStations: 6

Cerro 1910–1920 1911–19201932–1966 1932–1966

Cerro 5NE 1920–1931 1920–19311966–1994 1966–1994

Penasco Ranger Station 1929–1976Red River 1906–1994 1909–1994Taos 1889–1897 1889–1896

1901–1994 1901–1994Tres Piedras 1905–1995 1905–1995

County: ValenciaStations: 3

Los Lunas 1889–1941 1889–1941Los Lunas A 1944–1958 1944–1958Los Lunas 3SSW 1957–1994 1957–1994Belen 1948–1976 1962–1994Bernardo 1962–1994 1962–1994

Location Temperature Precipitation

Total counties: 10; total stations: 63Sources: Gabin and Lesperance 1977: 11–34; Kann et al. 1995


Figure 5—Snow survey data sites, Colorado and New Mexico.


Temperature has fluctuated widely over time and, alongwith precipitation, is a major determinant of vegetationtypes, their distributions, and surface water amounts.These two elements have also, of course, impacted hu-man activities in various ways (Tuan et al. 1973: 185).

The continental climate of the study region is charac-terized by light precipitation, a wide range of diurnal andannual temperatures, abundant sunshine, low relativehumidities, and high evaporation over water surfaces.These characteristics are determined by New Mexico’slocation relative to the moderating influences of the Pa-cific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, distance from the equa-tor, and topography, including ranges in elevation (Tuanet al. 1973: 185–186, 188; Von Eschen 1961: 1).

The Middle Rio Grande Basin lies within three climaticsubtypes: arid, of the valley reach and lowlands (below5,000 feet) from Bernalillo to Elephant Butte Reservoir;semi-arid, of the adjacent uplands (to 9,000 feet) to theeast, west, and north of Albuquerque; and sub-humid, ofthe mountains above 9,000 feet (Tuan et al. 1973: 186–187;Fig. 6).

In the arid areas temperatures and evaporation are high,and annual precipitation is below 10 inches. The frost-free season ranges from 180 to 210 days (Tuan et al. 1973:189–190).

The semi-arid portions of the study region, sometimesreferred to as grassland or steppe, have average tempera-tures in the warmest months in the 70so F and in the coolestmonths around 32o F. Annual precipitation ranges fromnear 11 to 18 inches; the average is 15 inches. The semi-arid climate extends over most of the region. Tempera-tures are somewhat lower than in the arid subtype. Theannual moisture deficiency is between 10 and 21 inches.Winter cyclonic storms, with snow, are more common here,although they are of relatively short duration. Springwinds with blowing dust are annual events (Tuan et al.1973: 191–192; Fig. 6).

The sub-humid areas are the locations of greatest an-nual precipitation and the chief sources of water for thestate. Precipitation averages 20 to 30 inches annually inthe higher ranges, with a great annual range of variabil-ity. Temperatures generally decrease 5o F for every 1,000feet in elevation gain. Higher peaks, of course, have manynights when temperatures fall below freezing. The gen-eral frost-free season is 60 to 90 days (Bennett 1986: 47;Tuan et al. 1973: 192, 194–195; Fig. 6).

For the study region, precipitation falls during two dis-tinct periods—winter and summer (early July to late Sep-tember). The principal sources of moisture for this pre-cipitation are the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.About 43 to 54 percent of the annual precipitation falls insummer from thunderstorms, which are uplifted over highmountains by convection-heated air. Snow falls mostlyfrom cyclonic storms of moist Pacific air masses, gener-ally moving eastward over the mountains. The least

amounts of precipitation fall in November and May orJune (Tuan et al. 1973: 20–34).

From north to south, precipitation generally decreasesand temperature increases over the study region. Also,the variability of precipitation in the southern half of thestudy region has a greater range than the northern half(Tuan et al. 1973: 56; Fig.6). Average annual precipitationin the Upper Basin varies from 19.01 inches at Chama to9.42 inches at Espanola. In the Middle Basin it varies from25.43 inches at Jemez Springs to 8.84 inches at Bosque delApache National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) (Table 2). About50 percent of the annual precipitation in the region falls frommoist, unstable air invading the region from the Gulf ofMexico from early July to late September. The summer thun-derstorms are generally intense but brief and local in extent.Lesser amounts of precipitation occur in spring and fall, butthese rains are sometimes longer in duration and producemoderate to severe flash floods (Bennett 1986: 44–45, 52–54;Crawford et al. 1993: 8–9; Tuan et al. 1973: 188–193).

Most snowfall in lower elevations occurs from Decem-ber through February, with larger amounts occurring inhigher elevations for this period and into March and April.These snows generally result from moist, eastward-mov-ing storms originating over the Pacific Ocean (Bennett1986: 52–54). Average annual precipitation and snowfallfor 14 selected weather stations in the study region areshown in Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The correlation between precipitation and streamflowdepends mainly on geographical and seasonal conditions.The mean annual runoff in the arid Southwest is 0.25 to10 inches per year or 1–40 percent of annual precipita-tion. Mean annual streamflow in cfs (cubic feet per sec-ond) per square mile “... is very low, often less than 0.1CSM” (de Wiest 1965: 62). Various mean discharges at nineselected stations between the years 1895 and 1994 are listedin Table 6).

Table 2—Average annual precipitation at selected stations,1951–1980.

Location Inches

Chama 19.01Taos 13.42Santa Fe 14.22Espanola 9.42Cuba 13.06Jemez Springs 25.43Bernalillo 8.19Albuquerque 8.12Laguna 9.45Grants 10.26Gran Quivira 14.25Socorro 8.63Bosque del Apache 8.84

Sources: Bennett 1986: 43, 45; Gabin and Lesperance 1977


Figure 6—Climatic subtype areas and precipitation isolines in the New Mexico Rio Grande Basin.


Table 3—Mean historic snow depths (inches) at selected Upper Rio Grande stations (Colorado).

Year

19361937193819391940194119421943194419451946194719481949195019511952195319541955195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970

Avg.mean

CochetopaPass

(elev.10,000 feet)

25.009.25

17.7524.5012.009.50

16.0020.0029.5023.7517.5018.5021.5021.7513.2518.5026.7514.255.50

22.7518.0034.50

19.09

SantaMaria(elev.

9,600 feet)

8.005.00

23.0012.5016.5025.0011.251.75

10.7520.7523.7511.258.50

28.008.757.00

10.5013.7520.5019.259.75

15.259.50

22.006.75

10.7524.3318.2511.0020.7514.505.40

14.19

Upper RioGrande(elev.

9,400 feet)

9.5023.0019.009.757.75

32.0012.0016.7535.2516.007.75

17.2536.7537.2519.0034.5013.5014.5017.5016.0020.7529.5030.0017.7524.2519.7534.0012.7514.7535.7523.0014.2523.8326.2514.50

21.03

Wolf CreekPass

(elev.10,320 feet)

58.0096.3385.3356.3337.2589.2569.7562.2590.2572.5036.5056.5082.0095.0073.5068.00

114.2548.7550.5054.0076.25

104.5069.5041.2571.0056.7583.7545.2555.0099.2561.0082.0080.2580.0058.75

70.31

Note: Months snow depths recorded.Cochetopa Pass: Feb.–MaySanta Maria: Feb.–MayUpper Rio Grande: Feb.–May; except 1936, April–May; 1937–38, Mar.–MayWolf Creek Pass: Feb.–MayLa Veta Pass: Feb.–MaySilver Lakes: Feb.–May; except 1937–39, Mar.–May; 1965, April–May; 1966, Mar.–MayCulebra: Feb.–May; except 1958–59, Mar.–MayCumbres Pass: Feb.–May

La VetaPass

(elev.9,440 feet)

19.5022.3316.2534.2524.5017.0028.5029.2512.0023.5032.2525.0012.0016.0038.0016.0016.7512.7517.0031.0019.2517.5019.2521.7523.2513.5023.7533.7519.7511.2525.0021.5020.25

21.62

SilverLakes(elev.

9,500 feet)

17.6717.6712.676.75

25.0013.2515.7525.5015.0010.0016.7523.7526.7515.7511.7534.507.758.009.25

22.5029.0020.009.25

16.2518.5025.338.00

19.0028.5013.679.50

23.2523.259.00

17.31

Culebra(elev.

10,500 feet)

24.7549.7537.0014.2535.2541.5012.2535.2533.5037.0017.5019.2555.0029.5022.5015.7517.7537.7542.3315.6724.0025.2528.2519.2519.0032.5029.5015.5028.2526.5025.25

27.96

CumbresPass

(elev.10,022 feet)

45.5078.3363.3050.0036.2587.7556.0052.5065.0071.5025.5038.7549.5063.7542.0042.7560.2536.2524.0025.0041.7566.7553.0031.7552.2544.7563.5029.7036.0073.0046.501.00

47.2570.2535.25

48.76

In general, there is a correlation between high snow-pack levels and spring floods caused by large runoff onthe Rio Grande and major tributaries, such as the RioChama, Jemez River, and Rio Puerco for the period from1936 to 1970. For the period 1890–1935, the May volumeof runoff is the highest monthly flow; winter is the lowest(Table 7).

The 3 years of greatest measured snowfall for the eightstations in the Upper Rio Grande Basin in Colorado were,in decreasing amounts, 1952, 1941, and 1957 (Table 3). InNew Mexico, 1941, 1952, and 1937 were the years of great-est snow depths recorded (Table 4). El Nino (wet) condi-tions occurred in 1941 and 1952, and above-normal pre-cipitation was recorded in 1937 and 1957.


Table 4—Mean historic snow depths (inches) at selected Upper Rio Grande stations (New Mexico)

Year

1937193819391940194119421943194419451946194719481949195019511952195319541955195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970

Avg.Mean

ChamaDivide(elev.

7,820 feet)

22.025.316.712.717.020.36.58.3

12.026.65.77.0

14.711.38.79.0

13.713.715.02.7

18.014.013.75.02.7

22.013.36.09.3

20.30.0

12.7

RedRiver(elev.

9,850 feet)

40.5024.0015.0019.6735.3325.6720.6731.6736.338.67

20.6725.6727.6718.3312.3338.337.00

14.3311.6715.3331.6717.669.33

21.3322.6729.3317.0013.1029.6721.0011.6724.0021.6717.00

21.65

Bateman(elev.

9,300 feet)

32.720.753.031.734.726.339.745.753.029.539.535.549.035.533.048.535.529.538.547.530.7

37.6

Taos Cany.(elev.

9,100 feet)

30.5012.0013.0016.0035.7020.3013.7024.0029.3010.7021.7024.3014.3012.307.70

24.7013.0010.0012.0012.0016.7017.0010.0018.0014.3017.309.70

13.0018.2515.007.70

16.7023.7010.70

16.63

Tres Ritos(elev.

8,600 feet)

6.019.716.332.327.715.026.327.010.317.730.724.010.310.026.316.310.712.311.719.323.713.720.721.019.315.319.328.012.75.0

19.317.310.7

18.1

Quemazon(elev.

9,500 feet)

23.319.742.529.026.512.522.031.049.025.041.339.040.725.020.739.030.014.730.332.727.3

29.6

Elk Cabin(elev.

8,250 feet)

20.015.04.02.39.08.33.76.78.74.0

16.04.7

18.09.7

11.310.010.313.79.31.7

15.38.34.3

9.3

Note: Months snow depths recorded.Chama Divide: 1940–62, Feb.–April; 1963–70, Feb.–MayRed River Pass No. 2:1937–39, Mar.–April; 1940, 1945–51, 1953–64, 1966–70, Feb.–April; 1941–44, 1952, 1965, Feb.–MayBateman: 1950–57, Feb.–April; 1958–69, Mar.–April; 1970, Feb.–AprilTaos Canyon: 1937–39, Mar.–April; 1940–70, Feb.–AprilTres Ritos: 1938, Mar.–April; 1939–70, Feb.–AprilQuemazon: 1950–51, Feb.–April; 1952–59, Mar.–April; 1960–70, Feb.–AprilElk Cabin: 1948–70, Feb.–May

The 3 years of least snow depth for Colorado, in de-creasing amounts, were 1946, 1967, and 1951 and in NewMexico were 1967, 1951, and 1955. All four of these years(1946, 1951, 1955, and 1967) were substantially below nor-mal in annual precipitation, as recorded at the nearestweather stations (U.S. Soil Conservation Service 1994).

Seasonal, annual, and decadal precipitation in NewMexico vary greatly, resulting in dry or drought periods,which may last a season, a year, or longer. The year 1956

was a dry, or La Nina, year. In fact, 1956 was the driestyear since the advent of scientifically recorded annualprecipitation in New Mexico. In Santa Fe the mean pre-cipitation for 1916–17 was 4.5 inches below normal. In thesummer of 1929, during an El Nino year, Santa Fe recorded8 inches above normal. Drought years often occurred in“swarms,” while wet periods generally lasted only a yearor, more rarely, a few years. Wet years tend to follow anextended drought. For example, Chama experienced its


Table 5—Average annual snowfall at selected stations,1931–1983.

Location Inches

Chama 102

Taos 38

Santa Fe 36

Espanola 18

Cuba 39

Jemez Springs 35

Bernalillo 9

Albuquerque 11

Grants 18

Gran Quivira 29

Socorro 6

Bosque del Apache 6

Truth or Consequences 7

Source: Bennett 1986: 52

Station Discharge (cfs)

Red River near QuestaYears: 1910, 11, 12–24, 25, 26–93

Annual mean discharge (1966–93) 41.9Highest annual mean (1979) 87.6Lowest annual mean (1971) 11.8Highest daily mean (June 9, 1979) 557.0Lowest daily mean (January 6, 1971) 2.5

Rio Pueblo de TaosYears: 1911–16, 40–51, 52–93

Annual mean 29.8Highest annual mean (1979): 72.3Lowest annual mean (1972) 7.7Highest daily mean (May 26, 1979) 926.0Lowest daily mean (January 27, 1950) 0.2

Rio Chama near ChamitaYears: 1912–93

Annual mean 588.0Highest annual mean (1987) 923.0Lowest annual mean (1972) 234.0Highest daily mean (May 5, 1985) 3,570.0Lowest daily mean (September 16, 1971) 1.2

Rio Grande at Otowi BridgeYears: 1895–1905, 1909–93

Annual mean 1,559.0Highest annual mean (1987) 2,764.0Lowest annual mean (1977) 602.0Highest daily mean (May 11, 1985) 12,000.0Lowest daily mean (August 4, 1977) 195.0

Santa Fe River near Santa FeYears: 1910, 13–93

Annual mean 8.18Highest annual mean (1919) 26.20

Station Discharge (cfs)

Santa Fe River near Santa Fe (continued)Lowest annual mean (1951) 1.90Highest daily mean (September 23, 1929) 3.80Lowest daily mean (February 7, 1927) 0.10

Jemez River below Jemez Canyon DamYears: 1936–38, 43–93

Annual mean 58.9Highest annual mean (1973) 17.8Lowest annual mean (1953) 10.6Highest daily mean (January 19, 1958) 3,640.0Lowest daily mean (May 24, 1943) 0.0

Rio Grande at AlbuquerqueYears: 1942–74, 75–93

Annual mean 1,440.0Highest annual mean (1987) 2,486.0Lowest annual mean (1977) 356.0Highest daily mean (1985) 8,650.0Lowest daily mean (1977) 0.0

Rio Puerco near BernardoYears: 1939–93

Annual mean 44.1Highest annual mean (1941) 171.0Lowest annual mean (1978) 5.5Highest daily mean (May 5, 1941) 5,980.0Lowest daily mean (November 1, 1939) 0.0

Rio San Jose at GrantsYears: 1912–26, 49–66, 68–93

Annual mean 0.8Highest annual mean (1980) 8.1Lowest annual mean (1978) 0.0Highest daily mean (April 21, 1980) 355.0Lowest daily mean (June 1, 1968) 0.0

Table 6—Daily and annual mean discharges at selected USGS gauging stations: Upper and Middle Rio Grande drainages, 1895–1993.

Source: USGS 1994

driest period in 1951–55 and its driest year ever in 1956,recording only 8.7 inches. For the next year, 1957, this com-munity measured its greatest ever annual precipitationof 31.4 inches (Bennett 1986: 42; Tuan et al. 1973: 50, 52).

New Mexico experiences a wide range of temperatures,primarily due to its elevation range and latitude. For eachdegree of latitude change from south to north in the re-gion, the temperature decreases 1.5o to 2.5o F. For every1,000-foot gain in elevation, there is a decrease of about 5o F.The topographic configuration of the region affects tem-perature as well (Tuan et al. 1973: 65–67). Slope and expo-sure, or aspect, as primary determinants of temperatureare relatively well understood. One cited example is tem-perature readings taken at Frijoles Canyon in BandelierNational Monument on October 28, 1962. In mid after-noon, temperatures at the north-facing wall of the can-yon, in shade, were from 8o–13o F lower than those at thesouth-facing wall, in sunshine (Tuan et al. 1973: 68). Simi-lar differences in temperatures, which determine vegeta-


Table 7—Average monthly distribution of annual runoff(acre–feet) at two Middle Rio Grande gauging stations,

1890–1935.

Month Otowi Bridge San Marcial

January 37,900 37,900February 41,000 41,600March 77,000 63,400April 185,800 138,500May 379,300 318,200June 275,100 230,800July 94,700 81,700August 60,400 48,900September 51,400 41,200October 62,900 52,700November 46,700 34,400December 40,800 38,400Total 1,353,000 1,127,700

Source: National Resources Committee 1938: 29

tion type, can be observed on east versus west sides ofnorth-south trending mountain ranges.

Like precipitation, temperatures vary greatly for diur-nal, seasonal, annual, and longer periods. Average maxi-mum temperatures, which usually occur in late June orearly July, range from 69o F at Cochiti Dam to 76o F at theBosque del Apache NWR. For the coldest month, Janu-ary, the average annual temperature for Espanola is 31.9o

F, while at the Bosque del Apache NWR, it is 38.8o F(Bennett 1986: 37; Crawford et al. 1993: 8–9; Table 8).

Another effect of topography is air movement or drain-age. Cooler air warmed during the morning begins to riseupslope or up canyon, usually by mid morning. Con-versely, warm mountain air cools in the evening and night,producing a downslope drainage or movement of coolerair into valleys or onto canyon floors (Tuan et al. 1973:69–70).

July is normally the warmest month in the study re-gion, with average temperatures in the 70so F, and Janu-ary is the coldest month, averaging in the 50so F (Table 8).Mean monthly temperatures, however, vary far less fromyear to year than does average monthly precipitation.Daily temperature ranges average 30o–34o F. Summerthunderstorms usually mitigate afternoon temperatures,and rapid cooling, due to high elevations, occurs overmuch of the region. Humidity averages less than 30 per-cent during the heat of the day, making even high sum-mer temperatures relatively comfortable in the shade(Bennett 1987: 34–36; Tuan et al. 1973: 69–72). Averageannual temperatures and maximum-minimum of tem-peratures for some representative stations in the studyregion for 1991 and 1951–80 are shown in Tables 8 and 9.

Two kinds of frost, radiation and advection, occur inNew Mexico. The former, which occurs almost entirely atnight, is the most common, while the latter is more rare,

Table 8—Average annual temperatures (oF) for New Mexico, 1991.

Location January July Annual

Chama 18.6 61.5 40.4Taos 20.3 67.0 45.7Santa Fe (Santa Fe 2) 28.7 67.9 49.2Espanola 31.9 72.4 52.7Cuba n.d. 66.5 n.d.Jemez Springs 31.0 69.7 51.1Bernalillo n.d. n.d. n.d.Albuquerque 35.7 76.9 56.8Laguna n.d. 73.5 n.d.Grants 27.3 71.2 50.5Gran Quivira 34.3 71.3 53.7Socorro 36.3 74.7 57.1Bosque del Apache 38.8 77.3 58.3

n.d. = No data available.Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1991

Table 9—Average high and low temperatures (oF), 1951–1980.

Location High Low

Chama 88.8 –17.7Taos 94.0 –14.5Santa Fe 93.7 –4.4Espanola 98.6 –9.0Cuba 94.4 –14.8Jemez Springs 96.3 –2.1Bernalillo 102.4 –2.9Albuquerque 100.8 3.6Laguna n.d. n.d.Grants n.d. n.d.Gran Quivira 97.0 –2.4Socorro 101.3 2.6Bosque del Apache 103.3 1.7

n.d. = No data available.Source: Bennett 1986: 38

but can occur any time and is the most dangerous. Radia-tion frost generally occurs on clear, windless, or nearlyso, nights when the air is dry. Cold air drainage into lowareas then can produce frost, causing damage to crops andother vegetation. Duration is usually just a few hours(Bennett 1987: 46–47).

Advection frost results from an unseasonable invasionof cold, polar air masses, usually accompanied by strongwinds. Temperatures may remain low for many hours oreven a few days. Frost damage can be severe and wide-spread (Bennett 1987: 47).

In the Upper Basin the average frost-free, or growing,period extends from early June to early September. To thesouth, in the Socorro area of the Middle Basin, the frost-free period generally extends from late April to late Octo-ber (Bennett 1986: 46–47; Crawford et al. 1993: 9). The av-


erage annual number of frost-free days for 1951–80 areshown in Table 10.

That central and northern New Mexico are part of the“sun belt” is common knowledge. Insolation, or solar ra-diation, the total radiant energy from the sun that reachesthe ground, has significant effects on the environment andhuman activity. The intensity of sunshine is greatest athigher altitudes and in atmospheres of low humidity andpollution levels. The region receives 70 to 80 percent ofpossible sunshine, except in the higher mountains (Tuanet al. 1973: 99–101). Plant growth, species distribution,evaporation, solar heating of structures, and human healthare some of the environmental and cultural aspects deter-mined or influenced by solar radiation.

Potential evaporation is two to five times greater thanprecipitation amounts. This evaporation varies from 40to more than 80 inches of water; the areas with the leastprecipitation have the highest rates. Loss of water throughactual evaporation, less than that of potential evapora-tion, adversely impacts native vegetation, crops, runoff,stream flows, lake levels, and ground water. Lossesthrough evaporation are obviously larger in summer thanin winter. Evaporation is influenced by many environmen-tal factors, including solar radiation, air temperature, rela-tive humidity, wind, water turbidity, water temperature,soil texture, depth of water table, and vegetation (Bennett1987: 48–49; Tuan et al. 1973: 112–115).

Wind, which constantly changes speed and direction,is the least stable climatic element. Continental air masses,local air drainage, ground cooling or heating, configura-tions of the terrain, and human structures affect surfacewind speed and direction. Convection heating usuallyreaches its peak in the afternoon, causing the highestwinds. Average wind speeds for the region are 9.8 mph.Although wind direction is highly variable, southeast

Table 10—Average annual number of frost–free days,1951–1980.

Location Days

Chama 100Taos 139Santa Fe 164Espanola 170Cuba 120Jemez Springs 173Bernalillo 180Albuquerque 191Laguna 180Grants 140Gran Quivira 160Socorro 195Bosque del Apache 200Truth or Consequences 228

Sources: Bennett 1986: 47; Tuan et al. 1973: 86–98

winds in summer and west winds in winter generally pre-dominate (Bennett 1987: 50–51).

When winds reach 14 to 18 mph, small amounts of dust,called dust streams, are picked up from the ground.Higher winds of 20–30 mph result in mild dust storms.Sustained winds of more than 45 mph may carry dustmore than 12,000 feet above the ground, with visibilitydecreasing to a range of three-quarters to 2 miles. Springdust storms are more frequent than those of the other threeseasons; an average of five occur in April. Over a 16-yearperiod (1945–60) Albuquerque experienced a total of 364days with some blowing dust, for an average of almost 23occurrences per year (Tuan et al. 1973: 105–111).

CLIMATOLOGICAL HISTORY OFALBUQUERQUE: A CASE STUDY

IntroductionTo document the variability and extreme ranges of the

Middle Rio Grande Basin’s historical and modern climate,and to provide a “model” for researchers working withthe region’s eco-cultural resources, a somewhat detaileddiscussion of Albuquerque’s climate, past and present, ispresented here. In addition to the references cited, a rela-tively large collection of documents on the city’s weathermay be found at the National Weather Service, NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, AlbuquerqueInternational Airport.

Albuquerque’s climate has been heralded, like that ofmost of New Mexico, as one of its major attractions. Siz-able populations of Native Americans adapted to the va-garies of the area’s climate in various ways, and the Pueblopopulation in the Middle Rio Grande Valley at first Euro-pean contact was higher than that of any other part of theregion at the time. This concentration was due in part toavailable surface water for runoff and irrigation ditchfarming.

The Duke City’s abundant sunshine and low humidity,extolled by journalists, promotionalists, and public offi-cials, attracted thousands of midwesterners and easternersto farm, ranch, retire, or be cured of various illnesses, pri-marily respiratory, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Tubercu-losis, especially, brought many patients to the city’s sani-tariums or convalescent homes during this period(Simmons 1982: 343–346). The local climate has contin-ued to be a major factor in attracting tourists and newresidents from out of state.

Albuquerque, located on the east side of the Rio Grande,about halfway between the Colorado-New Mexico stateline and Elephant Butte Dam, has perhaps the best cli-matic documentation of any location in the study region.Located on the Camino Real-Chihuahua Trail and a longused east-west trail, Albuquerque was frequented by anarray of travel