Get involved today…
Make New Friends, while helping the land and wildlife!

Take the time to sign up for a Volunteer Service Project today for the experience of a lifetime.

Here are some briefings from Craig Chapman on great events you’ve already missed, and even more to come!

...April 2-4: Embudo Acequia, Junta y Cienega. After a day of hard work helping cleaning the community Acequia, we were on a patio overlooking the fields we had just helped to irrigate; our hard work was to be well rewarded. As the sun was setting we were serenaded by traditional Spanish folk music (a harp and classical guitar) as we treated ourselves to a home cooked lamb dinner. The day and the evening were a feast for the soul.

...April 16-18: Double Circle Ranch. Over the last couple of years and over the last weekend I went to Alpine Arizona in search of wolf friendly ranchers. What I found were the owners of the Double Circle Ranch. Wilma and Doug love the land and recognize that the wolf plays a part. They have a great land ethic. They are constantly working on watershed restoration. They are also installing butterfly gardens and improving bat habitat.

“We want to be a model for sustainable agriculture-- and volunteers may well prove to be an important part of that effort.” - Wilma and Doug.

For NMWA members the following offer applies: The Ranch has room for 2, 3 or 4 volunteers at a time, all year. Jobs include various native and non-native plant surveys; add to the bird inventory list just to name a few. Are you handy with tools? Help install solar panels or build erosion control structures. For people with horse skills, you can clean up old fence, or install water lines, repair troughs, try your hand at herding cattle, or just “ridin” fence with Wilma. If you have a talent, even if it is just picking up trash, they will put you to work, feed you dinner, and give you a nice place to stay for free.

This is how it works. E-mail Wilma; tell her you are a NMWA volunteer, she will make the proper arrangements.
This is a first come, first serve offer and space is limited 2 to 4 people per week. The accommodations are unique, rustic and but above ordinary. They are tents built on a deck overlooking the Bosque. The tent is an oversized outfitters tent, with 15 foot ceilings, showers, compostable toilets. Just one detail: Adirondack rocking chairs. For dinner, Wilma will also invite you into her house for home “cookin”.

This is a special offer to NMWA members. Let’s work hard and respect their rules.

Future projects:

This weekend:
April 30 – May 2
Mills Canyon
Steve West is leading a wildlife discovery weekend. John Wenger, Professor Emeritus is showing up with his artistic influence and support. It is not too late to attend. There is still room for two or three more people! Don’t miss this.
REGISTER HERE for the event.

Next weekend:
May 7-9
Birding in the Continental Divide Wilderness Study Area, located in Catron County: Spend the day traversing the WSA, and participate in an important bird survey with Ornithology expert and staff scientist Steve West. Also meet, assist and guide 20 future leaders, who are volunteering and traveling from Zuni high school located on the Zuni reservation. Help us educate them on the value of wilderness.
REGISTER HERE for the Catron County birding trip!

Coming Soon:
June 4-6
Chacon, La Acequia de la Sierra: The highest Acequia in the country at 11, 947 ft. Built in the 1800’s it was in its day and remains an engineering marvel. It takes water from the Rio Grande watershed and diverts it to the Canadian River watershed.
REGISTER HERE to help maintain this historical site.