Pecos Watershed Conservation Initiative on the Land Conservation Assistance Network

Pecos Watershed Conservation Initiative
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last updated: March 2024

The Pecos Watershed Conservation Initiative supports conservation projects in the Pecos River Watershed, which extends from eastern New Mexico into West Texas, and comprises a large portion of the energy-rich Permian Basin. The initiative identifies strategic conservation opportunities and works to enhance and restore the natural resources and wildlife habitat in the region.

The Pecos River winds more than 900 miles from its headwaters in the ponderosa pine forests of northern New Mexico through the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. The river supports some of the most biodiverse arid and semiarid ecosystems in the world. These ecosystems play host to a large number of fish and other aquatic species found nowhere else.

The habitats dependent on the Pecos River and its tributaries maintain a precarious existence as development, invasive species and unintended consequences of land management choices fragment the landscape, allow for encroachment by invasive species and strain scarce water resources.

Native grasslands that historically covered a vast amount of the region have dwindled to just a fraction of their former extent and productivity. This puts pressure not only on the hardy wildlife that inhabit those areas, such as pronghorn and migratory birds, but also on working ranches that need high-quality forage.

The Pecos Watershed Conservation Initiative will:

'strengthen the health of existing habitats along the Pecos River and its tributaries in eastern New Mexico and West Texas
Protect some of the last remaining populations of native fish and other aquatic species found only in the Chihuahuan Desert
Improve the management and function of native grasslands
Address water quality and scarcity concerns for wildlife and agricultural uses
Identify opportunities to expand species to areas of their range where they have been lost, or bolster small remnant populations

The Pecos Watershed Conservation Initiative is a partnership between NFWF, Anadarko Petroleum, Chevron, Noble Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Shell Oil Company, XTO Energy Inc., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in New Mexico and Texas.

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Pecos Watershed Conservation Initiative is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.