The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Surface Water Quality Bureau Wetlands Program (SWQB) has mapped and classified wetland and riparian resources and deepwater habitats in a portion of the state. While the projects map the northcentral and northeastern parts of the state and the U.S. Forest Service Wilderness Areas, the goal is to map and classify the wetlands in the entire state. The SWQB believes that the information from this effort will help state and federal agencies alike to improve wetland planning and restore and protect wetlands.
In addition to providing a resource for state government, the project involves outreach and technical transfer to encourage stakeholders to use the information. As a result of the outreach, the information has been used by stakeholder groups in wetland action plans and to identify “wetland jewels” that are important headwater and highly functional wetlands.
NMED staff have been working to develop web maps of the data that will be available soon here. A more detailed report on the project is available in SWQB’s quarterly newsletter. For more information, contact Maryann McGraw.
