Become a soil and water conservationist, with district assistance

If a drying Middle Rio Grande and uncertain monsoon rains have you thinking that it might be time to consider harvesting water from your rooftop to a backyard garden, or if you are dreaming of becoming a soil health champion, Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District is here to help.

In July, the district opens the application season for its financial and technical assistance program. This competitive program promotes residential and in-the-field soil and water conservation measures with complimentary technical advice, soil testing, and investment. Urban dwellers, backyard gardeners, small-acreage farmers and community organizations are eligible for district investment for conservation, if they pay into the district’s 1/4 mill levy.

As a first step, search the archives of the Valencia County News-Bulletin for this column’s advice, including “Good Dirt About Healthy Soil” and “Promoting Healthy Soil” and begin to formulate your ideas for natural resource conservation. Keep in mind that improved soil health conserves water by increasing the soil’s filtration capacity, stores and cycles vital nutrients to sustain plants, provides habitat for animals big and small, and mitigates erosion and flooding.

Applications are ranked by completeness and the strength and longevity of the landowner’s planned conservation practices. For this program, conservation practices includes specific natural resources management practices or systems for conservation, enhancement or restoration of soil and water, which are the foundation of watershed health and productive agriculture. The application period closes on Sept. 30, 2025.

Awards are made on a percentage reimbursement basis and cap at $7,500. If the project’s conservation practice(s) rank high, the reimbursement rate is 75 percent of actual expenditures. Soil and water conservation practices that rank high include practices that implement the five soil health principles, conserve irrigation water and promote or improve wildlife habitat.

Applicants can earn extra points on the ranking sheet for cost effectiveness, having plans designed by a professional engineer, and for securing support from adjoining landowners and federal, state, and local agencies. Plans that will not be funded include those that cause environmental degradation or include invasive species, tilling, and well drilling. Consult the district’s 2026 ranking sheet for more information.

Complimentary technical assistance will be provided to awardees to create and implement a conservation plan for their projects, with the assistance of the district’s natural resource specialist.

The financial assistance program also includes stand-alone conservation measures that can begin at home. With this funding, folks can buy a water-conserving toilet with a 75 percent reimbursement or may be similarly reimbursed for adding a rain barrel gutter system to capture and divert rain to a backyard garden.

Bioreactor composting kits, hoop houses and native pollinator plants are also conservation projects that backyard gardeners and small-acreage farmers can undertake with a little training and financial input from the District. For fiscal year 2026, which began on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2026, applicants may apply for stand-alone funding or conservation-plan based financial assistance, but not both.

Readers of this column may remember that the district’s recent survey of engaged residents ranked financial assistance to implement conservation practices (on small-acreage farms and in backyard gardens) or to promote conservation at home within the top five most important services offered by Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District. Your district is listening.

Another program available to all district residents is the Valencia SWCD’s community gardens in the east mesa. Individuals, families and organizations are encouraged to contact the district if they would like to establish a garden bed for food cultivation. Growing food locally can be an important measure to reduce inflation and food insecurity. Call the Environmental Education Program Manager Jeff Sanders at 505-864-8914 or email him at jeffsanders@valenciaswcd-nm.gov, if interested.

Finally, in the interest of encouraging district residents to get out in nature — safely — the district may offer extended summer visitation hours at the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area in the morning and evening. In this manner, by opening early and closing closer to sundown, folks can explore the 1.1-mile perimeter walking trail in cooler temperatures than those under the sky-high sun. Please express your support of extended visitation hours at Whitfield by writing to public-input@valenciaswcd-nm.gov. Watch this space for announcements about upcoming cool summer evening programs at Whitfield.

(Teresa Smith de Cherif, the board chairwoman of the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District, is a soil health champion. In the summer, she advocates healthy nature walks during early morning and early evening hours.)