New Mexico
Water managers push for funding to remove invasive plants from the bosque
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) — It’s a major problem, sucking up lots of water from the Rio Grande. Now, some water managers are asking lawmakers to get serious about ripping invasive plants from the bosque by spending millions. An “out of control bosque” is how the head of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) describes the areas around the river in central New Mexico, and he said it’s time for a generational project to take on the problem.
Not everything green in the middle valley’s bosque is helping New Mexico’s water supply, with a newer study highlighting how the Rio Grande’s riparian species are taking just as much water as surrounding farms. In fact, they’re actually consuming a percentage point more than agriculture.
Jason Casuga, the MRGCD’s CEO and Chief Engineer, said conversations are not being had across the board regarding water conservation. “We’re not having a fair conversation about riparian depletions,” said Casuga.
He said he thinks both the bosque and farming are worth protecting. “If we’re going to have standards for depletions on urban areas, standards for depletions on reducing those across farming, then the only way to have a realistic discussion about reducing depletions, as a whole, is to include the riparian area.”
Casuga said that invasive Salt Cedar and Russian Olive plants drive the problem of the extreme riparian water depletion, and that it’s unfair to farmers and cities to ignore what he calls a “takeover.” And that is especially when irrigators are often the first to cut back on water use. “Are we really going to ask farmers and have cultural farms on the Rio Grande go away? And leave hundreds and hundreds of acres of invasive species of Salt Cedar and Russian Olive? Is that what we’re protecting?
He stressed that he thinks if there are standards for agriculturalists and municipal entities, then there ought to be standards for invasive species as well. That feeling has Casuga pushing for a massive, coordinated invasive plant removal effort. He’s calling on lawmakers to fund a multi-million dollar investment in the project next session.
He said not everyone is quick to get on board with proposals like this. “Right now, everyone says, ‘Hey, it’s expensive, and it’s hard, and the easy thing to do is to target ag.’ But, I pose the question back, ‘If we love the Rio Grande in the Middle Valley, and we love the heritage of ag, is it a conversation worth having?’”
He said the millions would also ideally pay for bosque upkeep and native plant restoration. But one hurdle is finding qualified contractors to take on that difficult job
A Mississippi crew is now working to clear invasives near Belen. The MRGCD said while saving water, the job also cuts wildfire risk, and makes a big difference if firefighters do need to move in.
The MRGCD’s Bosque Management Coordinator said the next step in the Belen bosque restoration project is to plant more native grasses and bushes, which is expected to help wildlife. The methods used to eradicate the invasives protected the native plants that were already there.
“The more diverse food sources you have available for the wildlife, the different types of wildlife you have, and you’ve got a healthy food system that’s supporting multiple species throughout the year,” she said. “The species that come here in the summer to breed, and the species that come here in the winter will still have access to be able to find bugs under the ground, find any of the seeds from the species that have been seeding out, and still have access to water and then access to places where they can hide and they can have burrows and sustain themselves through multiple conditions.”
The MRGCD is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It was founded to create the infrastructure capable of transforming the Middle Rio Grande Valley—by building and connecting more than 1,200 miles of canals and hundreds of miles of levees—to support agriculture and enable the growth of Albuquerque and surrounding communities.
Casuga said that it was a difficult endeavor then. “Tremendous amount of effort and resources were put in for that day—to set the river for essentially a hundred years that we’ve enjoyed with some problems here or there,” said Casuga.
He took a moment to think. “This might be generational work that needs to be done that sets the stage for the next hundred years.”
The MRGCD said Valencia and Sandoval counties need the most attention in removing invasive plants. While the District is still considering its exact proposal for a large removal effort, and doesn’t have a specific dollar figure on potential cost, it’s thinking of a project worth at least several million dollars.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Some call the multi-million-dollar El Camino Real Heritage Center an architectural masterpiece. Others, however, call it one of New Mexico’s most expensive blunders. In 2021, former Speaker of the House Don Tripp weighed in on the project, “As far as benefit, it really didn’t have any benefit to anybody.”
Taxpayers paid more than $4,000,000 to build it, a few million dollars more to operate it and, now, a half million to tear it down.
The El Camino Real Heritage Center is a history museum dedicated to the historic ‘Royal Road of the Interior’. Established by Spanish conquistadores in 1598, the historic byway extended from Mexico City to north of Santa Fe. Armed with $4,000,000 from the state legislature and the Bureau of Land Management, consultants were hired to find the best place to build the new museum. After studying various locations, they chose a remote spot on the prairie 37 miles south of Socorro.
The experts said, ‘build halfway between Socorro and Truth or Consequences,’ and the museum will draw 100,000 visitors a year, bring in $10,000,000 to the region, and create 174 new jobs. Back in 2004, no one raised a red flag about putting a tourist attraction in an out-of-the-way location. It was only after construction was complete that officials learned the so-called experts were dead wrong. The project was doomed to fail before it even opened its doors. “Who the heck thought it was a good idea to build it where they built it?” State Rep. Gail Armstrong told KRQE News 13 last year.
The state’s newest museum opened in 2005. An estimated crowd of 2000 turned out for the dedication ceremony. Socorro Mayor Ravi Bhasker was there. “We had Bill Richardson out there cutting the ribbon, and then we had the Vice President of Spain come down here with his beautiful wife, and we had dignitaries everywhere. It was exciting,” Mayor Bhasker said.
But the excitement was short-lived. Where the historic El Camino Real trail was in use for three centuries, the museum with its namesake lasted just eleven years. The remote location meant few visitors, meager revenue, inadequate staffing, expensive utilities, and maintenance.
In 2016, New Mexico’s Cultural Affairs Department pulled the plug on the El Camino Real Heritage Center, padlocked the doors, and permanently closed the museum. The parking lot is deserted, tourists are gone, artifacts are packed away, display cases vacant, exhibits dismantled, interpretive panels removed, and the gift shop is bare. All there is to show for millions of tax dollars is an abandoned building on the prairie.
“Eleven years is disgraceful. There was a real failure in this particular project,” the late State Senator John Arthur Smith said in a 2021 interview. We asked the retired Senate Finance Committee Chair, when the history of this project is written, what will it say? “They’re going to shake their head and (use this as) another example of government waste,” the retired Senator Smith said in 2021.
So what do you do with a $4,000,000 deserted building in the middle of nowhere? Time and vandals have taken a toll. The museum was closed and boarded up in 2016, and then state officials abandoned the site. Because little effort was made to secure the empty building, it is no longer habitable. Copper wiring has been stolen. There is significant structural damage, mold, a rodent infestation, and no electricity or lights. Most of the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, water, and septic systems are either obsolete or inoperable.
Faced with a whopping $3.5 million repair bill, the Museum of New Mexico’s Board of Regents made the difficult decision last year to demolish the building. Board of Regent’s President, Dr. George Goldstein, calls the building, “A loss, a huge loss.”
“What a complete waste of taxpayer dollars,” says State Rep. Gail Armstrong who’s District 49 includes the museum site. And what did taxpayers get for their $4,000,000 investment? “Nothing. It just cost them a ton of money. Nothing,” Representative Armstrong said.
This week, a state-hired demolition crew began the task of tearing down the museum complex. Tons of concrete, steel, and glass will be hauled away. The parking lot and nearby caretaker’s house will also be ripped out. The prairie will be graded, reseeded with native plants, and returned to the Bureau of Land Management in restored, pristine condition. The demolition project is expected to take four months.
The El Camino Real museum was planned and built during the Governor Bill Richardson administration. All of the State Legislators involved in the funding of the museum project have since left government service.
Soon, the El Camino Real International Heritage Center will be just a bitter memory. All clues to the existence of a pricey government blunder will have been erased. Pay a visit to the remote spot south of Socorro later this fall, and all you will find will be desert creosote, prairie dogs, and a few rattlesnakes.
CLOVIS, New Mexico (KVII) — A baby giraffe was born at the Hillcrest Park Zoo in Clovis.
The city announced a male calf was born around 1 a.m. Thursday to Jerrica, a Rothschild giraffe who has lived at the zoo since she was born there in January 2012.
Zoo officials said Jerrica, a first-time mother, and her calf are doing well.
Baby giraffe born at the Hillcrest Park Zoo in Clovis, New Mexico on July 9, 2026 (Credit: Hillcrest Park Zoo )
The calf will make his public debut from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment you won’t want to miss! Bring your family, your camera, and your excitement as we welcome the zoo’s newest (and tallest!) superstar!” said the zoo.
Because the calf is male, he will eventually be moved from Hillcrest Park Zoo to another zoo or facility, according to the city.
The zoo plans to ask the public to help name the calf in the coming weeks.
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