ESA Collaborative Media Event

Pueblo of Isleta officials, Eileen Grevey-Hillson and Estevan Lopez at the bosque.

On January 14, 2004, Governor Alvino Lucero of the Pueblo of Isleta hosted a media event with Interstate Stream Commission Director Estevan López and members of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program to observe the Pueblo’s river restoration activities along the Rio Grande. The Pueblo is one of the newest signatories to the Collaborative Program.

The event was held to highlight the efforts of the Pueblo of Isleta to protect the river and the bosque, while providing for the recovery and protection of the Rio Grande silvery minnow and the southwestern willow flycatcher.

In addition, the Collaborative Program Progress Report was released to signatories present at the event. This report highlights the accomplishments made by the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program over the last three years to help protect and recover endangered species in the Middle Rio Grande, while simultaneously ensuring the viability of water projects.

The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission played a key role in convening the diverse stakeholders in the Middle Rio Grande, who now constitute the program's participants.

The Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program operates under an interim memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strive for the survival and recovery of threatened and endangered species in the Middle Rio Grande, while simultaneously protecting existing and future water uses in compliance with state and federal law, including compact delivery obligations. Its members represent a wide array of agencies and groups.

Interim MOU signatories are: Alliance for Rio Grande Heritage, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, City of Albuquerque, Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, New Mexico Attorney General, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, New Mexico Environment Department, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, New Mexico Lieutenant Governor, New Mexico State University, Pueblo of Isleta, Rio Grande Restoration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.D.A. Forest Service—Rocky Mountain Station, the University of New Mexico, and Assessment Payers Association of the MRGCD.