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While Audubon s 2019 lease on the Rio Gallinas was the first time state agencies agreed to let a river flow for its own sake, it’s not the only example. In 2020, the nonprofit Trout Unlimited leased nearly 3 acre-feet (nearly 975,000 gallons) per year from Dick Nordhaus, whose family owns a 243-hectare (600-acre) ranch in northern New Mexico. Ponderosa pine trees cover the ranch’s hillsides, and Nordhaus says they’ve spotted bears, elk, deer, ducks, herons, and eagles here—all drawn to the creek that spills out of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and runs through Nordhaus’s ranch before joining the Gallinas River.
In Nordhaus’s grandparents’ time, in the late 1800s, the creek’s banks were free of vegetation, likely from overgrazing. Now that the family is letting nature take its course, thick willows crowd the banks. Beaver have returned, and the family worked with a local watershed alliance to restore native vegetation. Last year they took another step in habitat restoration, leasing water previously diverted to a hay field to Trout Unlimited to keep the stream flowing—the second such permit approved by the state engineer. While the amount of water is small, it builds on the precedent set by Audubon’s lease.
The ranch is shared among family members as a vacation home, and Nordhaus says the additional income will help support and preserve the property. But mostly, “it was a good idea,” he says. The creek’s cold waters help cool the Gallinas River, improving its fishery. The downstream city of Las Vegas, New Mexico is also dependent on the Gallinas for its municipal water supply, so keeping water in the creek helps ensure a steady supply for city residents. “As far as we re concerned, there s nothing but benefit to this,” Nordhaus says.
In New Mexico, water rights’ holders must use their water in order to maintain their rights, but drought can make tight profit margins nonexistent during a bad year. If Trout Unlimited can offer farmers reliable income through leasing their water—instead of investing in a crop that may fail due to drought—“you don t even have to worry about producing a hay crop,” says Toner Mitchell, the New Mexico water and habitat program manager for Trout Unlimited. “You ll be compensated for the equivalent.”
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