NMACD Outstanding Awards Awards were given during the NMACD Annual Meeting banquet on October 25th at the Courtyard Marriott Conference Center in Farmington. The Caballo District, Region 3, is the recipient of the 2016 SHINING DISTRICT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD  Caballo District’s proudest accomplishment was the Garfield Dam Sediment Removal Project. The district began the project in 2003 with the introduction of the NRCS Watershed Rehabilitation Program. The intent was to remove sediment from the pooling are of the structure bringing the dam back to its original capacity, using this program, but changes to specs and standards of the Dam Safety Bureau, the structure designed to control flood water for a 50-year flood, would now need to meet standards for a 100-year flood. NRCS designs and plans projected the cost at about $500,000. Upon in depth soil sample studies, added measures would be necessary to insure the integrity of the Spillway, raising the cost of the project to over $3 million. The required 10% match funding for the project was beyond reach for the Caballo district. But, the District wanted to show due diligence in maintaining and protecting the health and safety of the residents and ag land below the Garfield Structure, so the Caballo district began lobbying for Capital Outlay Funds to begin the rehabilitation of the structure. Over several years, the Caballo district was able to attain $300,000 and made plans to remove 12 feet of sediment from the pooling area of the Garfield Structure. On April 13, 2016, thirteen years after the project began, the Caballo District removed the first load of sediment and the estimated date of completion is Fall of 2016. There were many funding and permitting obstacles along the way, but the District Board adapted and deserve this shining district achievement award! ***** This year as always we had several deserving land stewards, but The 2016 Outstanding Land Stewardship award goes to the Johnson Family Ranch: Steve and Maureen, the Taos District Board Chair, Jes and Clay.
 The Johnson family has been in the district thirty years. Their ranch is located in the northern most part of Taos County. They own 8,332 acres, 7800 of which is improved pasture land, several acres of hay land, brush land and 80 acres of forest and lease additional acres of range and hay land. They have a cow/calf operation, 65 head with a Carson National Forest permit. They have a commercial herd of Sale X Angus cows and registered Limousin herd. They consider themselves grass farmers first and ranchers second. Their conservation practices are brush management, managed rotational grazing, cross fence to rotationally graze pastures, monitored grazing areas; rotate supplement and feeding areas; NUTBAL PRO, wildlife set aside pastures and water escape ramps. They take time to observe the results and adjust accordingly. Keeping water and soil on the land is their number one priority; their dedication is evident in the abundance of grass and healthy livestock. Congratulations to NMACD’s 2016 OUTSTANDING LAND STEWARDS, The Johnson Family! ***** Gary Hathorn, the 2016 NMACD OUTSTANDING CONSERVATIONIST, sponsored by the San Juan SWCD, gets things done!
  He has dedicated his career and his “retired” life to conservation. Gary is out in his community daily, applying for grants, meeting with landowners, chasing his cows or volunteering at one of the many ag-related organizations he is involved within San Juan County. If you want to get a conservation project completed, you want Gary on your team. Gary retired from the NMSU Extension Service, but is still a trusted source of knowledge for many in the San Juan County community. He’s constantly teaching conservation! Gary has worked relentlessly since 2009 to address the huge problems of Russian olive and salt cedar in the San Juan district. As the Invasive Weed Coordinator for the District, with over 16 grants, totaling more than $5.5 million, Gary spearheaded removal of over 6,000 acres of invasive weeds posing fire hazards. For the San Juan district Gary has tirelessly pushed invasive Phreatophyte removal, partnering with San Juan County, NM Game & Fish, New Mexico Sate Park, the BLM and the cities of Aztec, Bloomington and Farmington. The City of Farmington is a great example of his continued push to enhance their understanding of conservation. Gary worked with staff at the fire department, parks and recreation and public works over several years. His goal was to get them to finally understand and address the high risk of fire due to invasive Russion olive growing for years, due to misplaced desire "not to cut down trees." He then successfully applied for funds to remove invasive trees on their property, with little or no cost to the city. Several of these projects are being revegetated in 2016 and will be a lasting gift to the people of Farmington, with over four miles of riperian revegetation along the San Juan and Animas Rivers. ***** Deming is the 2016 Outstanding Soil & Water Conservation District.
The district sponsored a legislator appreciation Banquet and annual meeting. The district continues to take a leadership role in holding Local Work Group meetings to provide input for EQIP activities. Pennie Hooper is in a unique position as the NMACD’s Farm Bill Program Specialist, assisting NRCS’ Team 7, and the Deming District Clerk. She and four supervisors attended the NACD annual meeting in New Orleans and one supervisor gave a presentation on the WSA resolution. With the Federal Range Improvement Funds (FRIF), 50% Luna County and 50% rancher funding, four projects were completed for a total of $38,888. The district attended a FSA producer meeting and Luna county commission meeting to educate them about the FRIF program. Working with the New Mexico Forestry, the district provided 900 tree seedlings at a minimal cost for farmers, ranchers and landowners to plant for erosion control or windbreaks. The Deming district hosted booths for conservation education projects at the SW NM State Fair, Border Belles meeting and the Deming High School. The district donated to the New Mexico Envirothon. One of the Deming supervisors hosted Conservation Planning at his farm for two days for NRCS employees. The district works tirelessly to provide leadership in the conservation of water and natural resources to preserve the cultural heritage and tax base for future generations. That is the mission of the Deming District, this year’s Outstanding District! ***** NEW MEXICO ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
LENGTH OF SERVICE RECOGNITION - 2016 (These were presented during the 2016 Region meetings.) (First ten years from 2016 (2006) recognition, then in increments of 5 years) 10 years (2006) BY – Region: Vern Andrews San Juan REGION 1 Paul Bandy San Juan Vern Andrews San Juan 10 Scott Daniel Upper Hondo Paul Bandy San Juan 10 Mark Daugherty Lea Julian Sanchez Cuba 10 Steve Harkey Carrizozo Timothy Johnson Cuba 30 Rhea Howe Lea REGION 2 Julian Sanchez Cuba Steven Trujillo Taos 10 Steven Trujillo Taos Maureen Johnson Taos 20 Ronnie Woolf Sierra REGION 3 15 years (2001) Ronnie Woolf Sierra 10 Justin Bennett Northeastern Walt Anderson Hidalgo 20 20 Years (1996) Russell Walraven Salado 25 Lewis Derrick Central Valley Jack Bruton, Jr. Salado 35 Lawrence Herron Mesa David Ramos Hidalgo 35 Tommy Holmes Border REGION 4 Maureen Johnson Taos Justin Bennett Northeastern 15 Larry Perkins Canadian River Lawrence Herron Mesa 20 Robert Runnels Upper Hondo Harry Hopson Ute Creek 40 Eddie Vigil Otero REGION 5 25 years (1991) Tommy Holmes Border 20 Russell Walraven Salado Larry Perkins Canadian River 20 30 years (1986) REGION 6 Walt Anderson Hidalgo Scott Daniel Upper Hondo 10 Timothy Johnson Cuba Mark Daugherty Lea 10 35 years (1981) Steve Harkey Carrizozo 10 Jack Bruton, Jr. Salado Rhea Howe Lea 10 David Ramos Hidalgo Lewis Derrick Central Valley 20 40 years (1957-1966 & 1986 – 2016) Robert Runnels Upper Hondo 20 Harry Hopson Ute Creek Eddie Vigil Otero 20 ***** The 70th NMACD Annual Conference theme in 2016 was Watershed Health: Past, Present and Future! Many photos were taken of the different events. Those photos have been developed into an album that is available at the bottom of this page. To access a specific group of photos, please see the second page for a listing of headings. The Memorial presentations from the Conference and prepared by Kim VanDyke are also contained in the two files below. ***** |
