Cooperative Agreement L23AC00548

THE CHAVES SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT (SWCD) IS THE LEAD AGENCY OF THE CHAVES COORDINATED WEED MANAGEMENT AREA (CWMA). THIS PROJECT IS A MULTI-AGENCY COLLABORATED EFFORT, LED BY THE CHAVES SWCD, IN CHAVES COUNTY FOR MANAGING INVASIVE BRUSH WITHIN THE BLM PECOS DISTRICTS PECOS RIVER WATERSHED (ROSWELL FIELD OFFICE). THIS PROJECT WILL INCLUDE INVENTORY AND TREATMENT OF INVASIVE SPECIES, AND WILL ALSO INCLUDE POST-TREATMENT MONITORING AND MAPPING, ALONG WITH GPS DATA COLLECTION.1.INVENTORY, MANAGE, PREVENT, AND ERADICATE WHENEVER POSSIBLE PLANTS THAT ARE INVASIVE AND OR CONSIDERED NOXIOUS INCLUDING MESQUITE, SALT CEDAR, AND RUSSIAN OLIVE.2.PROMOTE A HEALTHY WATERSHED AND REDUCE THE THREAT OF LARGE CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRES.3.PROVIDE A FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEM BY ENHANCEMENT OF NATIVE PLANT AND WILDLIFE BIODIVERSITY.4.PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES TO COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL LANDOWNERS TO RESTORE DIVERSITY IN A HIGHLY VISIBLE AND UNIQUE AREA.5.ESTABLISH NATIVE VEGETATION INSTEAD OF NON-NATIVE AND MONOTYPIC VEGETATIVE COMMUNITIES.6.TO ENCOURAGE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE WATERSHED RESTORATION EFFORTS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS.7.TO DEVELOP, DEMONSTRATE, AND EVALUATE ECOLOGICALLY SOUND RESTORATION TECHNIQUES FOR A DIVERSE AND COMPLEX AREA.8.TO FOLLOW ESTABLISHED INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT PLANS IN THE BLM PECOS DISTRICT TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING: (1) INVENTORY, MANAGE, PREVENT, AND ERADICATE WHENEVER POSSIBLE PLANTS THAT ARE INVASIVE AND OR CONSIDERED NOXIOUS AND (2) EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AS TO THE EXISTENCE OF THE INVASIVE AND NOXIOUS PLANTS.9.CONTINUE THE ONGOING COLLABORATIVE EFFORT THROUGH THE HEALTHY LANDS INITIATIVE RESTORE NEW MEXICO PROGRAM BY PROVIDING AN AVENUE TO PULL TOGETHER FUNDS IN THE PROCESS OF TREATING RESTORATION RECLAIMING A LARGE AREA OF WATERSHED, INSTEAD OF SMALLER PROJECTS SCATTERED ALL OVER THE AREA.PUBLIC BENEFIT:INVASIVE WEEDS IMPACT WILDLIFE HABITAT AND FORAGE, THREATEN RARE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES, ALTER FIRE FREQUENCY, INCREASE EROSION, AND DEPLETE SOIL MOISTURE. THEY ALSO REDUCE SPECIES RICHNESS, DIVERSITY, AND COMMUNITY PRODUCTIVITY, ALTERING THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. INVASIVE WEEDS IMPACT THE LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY BY LOWERING YIELD AND QUALITY OF FORAGE, INTERFERING WITH GRAZING, POISONING ANIMALS, REDUCING LAND VALUE, REDUCING QUALITY OF MEAT, MILK, WOOL, AND HIDES, AND INCREASING COSTS OF MANAGING AND PRODUCING LIVESTOCK. MANY BELIEVE THAT WEED INFESTATIONS CAN CAUSE MORE ECONOMIC LOSS THAN ALL OTHER PESTS COMBINED ALMOST 120 BILLION PER YEAR, WITH AN ESTIMATED RATE OF SPREAD OF 8-14 PER YEAR. WORKING TO ELIMINATE THESE SPECIES FROM THE PECOS WATERSHED WILL BENEFIT PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LAND AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE, PLANTS, AND ANIMALS THAT INHABIT THE AREA