Middle Rio Grande Environmental Water Leasing Program 2025 Request for Quotations

In the southwestern United States, several iconic rivers, including the Colorado, Pecos, and Rio Grande, define the landscape. These rivers are the lifeblood of this arid region, providing critical resources for local communities and wildlife as they descend from headwaters in lodgepole and ponderosa pine forests through the Chihuahuan, Mohave and Sonoran deserts. As more and more people are drawn to the Southwest by its natural beauty and abundant sunshine, and droughts grow longer and more frequent, the demands on these watersheds increase, altering habitats and resources for wildlife.

Wildlife species found in the desert Southwest are uniquely adapted to their harsh but beautiful landscape, and many are found nowhere else on earth. This is particularly true for fish and other species that call the narrow green ribbons surrounding rivers home. Many of these species are now found only in small portions of their historic ranges, as these rivers have been significantly altered by human development and threatened by drought.

Adjacent to these ribbons of green are dryland habitats supporting a similarly impressive diversity of species that are also at risk. The native grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert are home to many bird species, such as the chestnut-collared longspur, that migrate more than 1,000 miles from summer ranges on the Northern Great Plains to very restricted winter ranges. Other grassland species, including the iconic pronghorn, have seen their ranges diminished by fragmentation and historic management practices that have led to encroachment by undesirable brush species.

The Southwest Rivers Program works to:

• ​Improve stream corridors, riparian systems, and associated habitats from headwaters to mainstem rivers
• Improve rangeland for grassland species
• Develop a flow and habitat program with partners in the Middle Rio Grande

The Southwest Rivers Program will fund effective conservation projects that achieve measurable outcomes and fill knowledge gaps where they exist, reinvigorating habitats throughout this unique American landscape.