🇺🇸Friends🇺🇸 It's friday. You made it. Each of us makes it through the week with some help here and there. Working together- a bunch of us are passionately managing our water (yours and mine).
So, that's one less thing on your plate for next week's to do list. Yeah, no problem. You're welcome. Have a good weekend. And dont forget to drink 🇺🇸💧water💧🇺🇸.
#water #publiclands #BOR #USFWS #friends #USA #riogrande #nmtrue #Sevilleta
🤜Friday, you made it!🤛 You probably survived the week with some help from your family and friends. Thank goodness for communities that move each of us forward and remind us we are individuals, but also part of a larger group of people.
We're back in the Region 2 office, inside (out of the wind) processing some field data. Watch the next few posts to hear some basics about some of our 🇺🇸friends🇺🇸 at US agencies that help our week (month, and year) run smoothly. (They help you too, actually👍). #publiclands #usfws #happyfriday #friends #USA #NGS
🇺🇸💧💧Facts Matter💧💧🇺🇸 Luckily for us we know how to search for them...You could say, we're Pros!
Saving wildlife from extinction is one of our missions that relies on facts gathered from the field. Here along the Rio Grande's Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge our Department of Water Resources folks supply Refuge and Biology managers with essential data that ensure fact-based decisions and planning.
Pro Tip: you can search for facts too.
💧💧🇺🇸Facts are the 💣🇺🇸💧💧
One of the benefits of having the auto-tour route between two of the water gaging stations we monitor. #publiclands 🇺🇸
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In case you haven't heard, the snowpack in the headwaters of the Rio Grande in Colorado have finally reached ~100% of the median SWE, Snow Water Equivalent, for this time of year. This is the section of the watershed from which much of the river's water comes. So we are psyched! (And so are some skiers we know). Our birds and other animals are also psyched (they will be at least).
Still, Spring temps, and the runoff dates and amounts caused by them, are a big factor in how the Rio's water is managed.
Happy skiers⛷🏂✔
100% SWE, ❄👍✔
Happy animals 🦃🦅🦆🦉🐜🐁🐟✔
Happy hydrologists❄=💧,💧=life✔
Spring temps⏳⏱🔎📈📊📋❓
Meantime, we love being back at work, measuring what we have. Here is hydrologist and policy guru, Joaquin Baca, getting out for some flow measurement fun in one of YOUR beautiful Refuges, Bosque del Apache.
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Want to know more about Oklahoma? Check out our next few posts, where we'll highlight our recent work at Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge near Lawton, OK.
Wichita Mountains NWR is the place bison were brought back from near extinction. It also has some awesome rock climbing, trails, and...our favorite... 13 public use lakes (We love water ;-) ).
Follow our next few posts to learn more about this awesome American resource, and check out the refuge page to learn about the water resources it has. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/wichita_mountains/
Water: it's important.
So, to keep tabs on our water, we use radios to transmit our flow data to the master station and on to the office. Signal strength, reflectivity, and noise all play a part in how well the radio signal works.
But, you guessed it, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge has these HUGE, beautiful cottonwoods that love to block our line-of-sight. So, small improvements to our instrument can make a big difference in the signal.
This is our hydrology technician, Quinn Martine, feeling pumped that the signal is good! And, well, I'm working hard taking in the scenery.
--Dan
PS The recent storms filled our Riverside gage a bit, but remember stormwater does little to affect a drought.
Darrell and Critters
It's National Monitoring Day! When we're out in the field, we can never know exactly what'll happen. Sometimes, things don't always go as planned--you might get some trouble from a critter friend!
Rattlesnake in the Desert
It's #NationalPetDay! Did you know rattlesnakes don't lose water by evaporation? Instead, they're covered in scales with a lipid bi-layer that allows them to conserve the maximum amount of water. This guy isn't a pet by anyone's standards - but comment with a name for him!
Quantina Martine
Overcoming countless challenges in her life and career, hydrologist Quantina Martine has worked hard to succeed as a woman in science. After her time in the military, she took a seminal class that inspired her to dive into the environmental field—and the rest is history. Her advice for young women? Just do it, and never give up. #InternationalWomensDay #WomenInScience #WomensHistoryMonth
Langemann #9 at Bosque del Apache NWR. Maintenance day, mostly we enjoy the sound.
Water is the lifeblood of ecosystems - Jaques Cousteau
Chief Andrew HautzingerAlong the banks of the Rio Grande, near Pate Bend Hidalgo Texas. #6secondsofcalm
Short Discharge Measurement
"A bad day in the field is better than a good day in the office"
What is a bad day for you?
For a hydrologist a bad day is trying to make a discharge measurement in a stream with equipment that does not work. Check out this video for a glimpse of a bad day in the field for USFWS Hydrologists
FWS UTV ride at Agassiz NWR
View from inside a FWS UTV as we drive around dry Agassiz Pool and large cattail stands at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge
Partners Program Youth
Happy #latinoconservationweek This is Ilene Flores of the Aguas Vidas program talking about her role installing a rain water harvesting system. Go Ilene!
Hiding under the gage box Hydrologist Kundargi replaced this week was a bull snake that had just shed his skin. He (the snake) was not happy to be bothered but was carefully moved from harms way. We have never seen Mr. Kundargi jump so high as when the snake struck at him: high jump records were broken.
Time Lapse
Living the dream! Hydrologist Darrell Kundargi replaces old monitoring equipment at Laguna Atacosta National Wildlife Refuge.
Natural spring at Bitter Lake
The Big Flush out. Each year we Work with our partners at the Bureau of Reclamation in order to flush out sediment from the low flow conveyance channel at Bosque del Apache NWR. This action is needed in order to keep the channel clear of sands, silts and other debris.
In a classic example of early 20th century engineering, the Rio Grande was deemed inefficient in transporting water. A channel was dug in order to lower evaporation, cut down on seepage loss and increase velocity. While the channel has been successful, the changes along the river due to its construction mean that its long term use is doubtful.
For more information visit, http://wrri.nmsu.edu/publish/watcon/proc44/gorbach.pdf
Evening flight of Sandhill cranes at Bitter Lake NWR. Perks of the Job!