Rio Grande River

33,000 BCE – present

The Rio Grande stretches nearly 1,900 miles from the San Juan Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. Plagued by drought and over use, long stretches of dry riverbed are common as water is diverted to nearby communities. Home to several native endangered species including the javelina, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, silvery minnow, and southwestern willow flycatcher, the Rio Grande ecosystem has provided water and shelter to humans and animals for hundreds of years. The bosque forests of the riparian flood plains are home to cottonwood trees, coyote willow, New Mexico olive, and numerous birds, turtles, and snakes. Several major dams have been built on the river system since the early 1900s, diverting water for agriculture and irrigation. The Rio Grande is one of the longest rivers in the United States, and one of the most managed. As climate change affects the needs of local settlers, there is less and less water to serve both urban developments and the native species that depend on it. Invasive species like the salt cedar and Russian olive have proliferated throughout large portions of the Rio Grande, consuming large quantities of water and destroying wetland habitats. This desert mountain river faces many challenges including low flows, increasing water demands, an increase in droughts, and the aridification of the region.

BIRDS: 36 species are endangered
FISH: 2/3 of species are extinct in the region
MAMMALS: 9 species are extinct in the region and 18 are endangered
BIVALVES: 43 invertebrate species are endangered
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS: 35 species are endangered

The territory of the Rio Grande River falls within the ancestral homelands of the Carizzo/Comecrudo, Cheyenne, Chiricahua Apache, Chiso, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Concho, Jicarilla Apache, Jumanos, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, Mansos, Mascogo, Mescalero Apache, Piro, Pueblo, Sumas, Tigua, and Ute peoples.

Territorial recognition: https://native-land.ca/

Most Pressing Issues

Dams

Water from the river has been used for irrigation for thousands of years. Today several large dams divert the river for the Southwest region’s agricultural needs, providing hydroelectric power and flood control. Damming negatively alters flow, affecting native fish and wildlife, and decreases the available water for downstream habitats.

Climate Change

Increasing global temperatures affect precipitation levels throughout the year, ultimately causing more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow in the mountains that feed the Rio Grande. Changing climatic conditions put further stress of native species and the water needs of local farmers. As the region becomes dryer, droughts become more frequent and dangerous.

Pollution

Agricultural and industrial runoff negatively affects native species and their habitats along the Rio Grande. As water levels decrease, concentrations of pollutants increase putting wildlife at risk. Chemical imbalances can lead to algal blooms that kill fish and amphibians.

Forest Fires

As the region becomes drier with climate change, forest fires have increased in frequency and size. Large fires cause flooding and debris flow, increase sediment and turbidity, and change water chemistry and biota. Macroinvertebrates and fish get wiped affecting the entire food chain.

Water Flow

The San Juan Mountains have seen a decrease in yearly snowfall, directly decreasing the amount of water that makes it into the Rio Grande through snowmelt. Increasing global temperatures causes more water to escape the river through sublimation, further decreasing the flow. Demands from local populations divert water for irrigation, disconnecting the mainstem from its side channels, eliminating the meandering sloughs that provide habitats for the endangered silvery minnow.

How You Can Help

WWF

Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Solutions works to promote more efficient irrigation practices and the restoration of environmental flows.

Wildlife For All

Wildlife For All works to protect & restore native wildlife & their habitats through grassroots advocacy, education & on-the-ground restoration projects.

The Nature Conservancy

The Rio Grande Water Fund is investing in the restoration of forested lands upstream to secure clean water for communities downstream.

U.S.-Mexico Border 20-20 Program

The U.S.-Mexico Border 20-20 Program works to address the lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate treatment of wastewater & storm water pollution, & the impacts of climate change on the river.

WildEarth Guardians

WildEarth Guardians’ efforts rely upon a delicate balance of strategic Endangered Species Act litigation, collaboration and public education to assure that the Rio Grande secures sufficient flows to sustain endangered fish and wildlife.

Sources:

Henry Fountain, "In a Warming West, the Rio Grande is Drying Up," New York Times, May 24, 2018.

Michael Wines, “Mighty Rio Grande Now a Trickle Under Siege,” New York Times, April 12, 2015.

Nancy Stotz, “Refuge in the Desert: Life on the Lower Rio Grande,” The Bosque Education Guide: Lower Rio Grande Edition (Albuquerque, NM: Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center, 2003), 32-33.

Wong, CM, Williams, CE, Pittock, J, Collier, U and P Schelle, World's Top 10 Rivers at Risk (Gland, Switzerland: WWF International, 2007), 19. & Nancy Stotz, “Refuge in the Desert: Life on the Lower Rio Grande,” The Bosque Education Guide: Lower Rio Grande Edition (Albuquerque, NM: Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center, 2003), 30.

Wong, CM, Williams, CE, Pittock, J, Collier, U and P Schelle, World's Top 10 Rivers at Risk (Gland, Switzerland: WWF International, 2007), 19.

“History of Golden Alga in Texas,” Texas Parks & Wildlife.

“Middle Rio Grande Project,” US Bureau of Reclamation, last updated May 20, 2009.

Jim Robbins, “The Vanishing Rio Grande: Warming Takes a Toll on a Legendary River,” Yale Environment 360, June 2, 2022.

“Rio Grande Valley State Park,” Albuquerque Parks and Recreation, accessed Sept 8, 2022.