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Mission
Statement...
| "To
Preserve and Protect A Healthy and Free Flowing Rio
Ruidoso..." |
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| The River of Noisy Water...
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The Rio Ruidoso, or "Noisy River," is located
high in the mountains of south central New Mexico and embodies the spirit of the Billy the
Kid country that surrounds it: free-spirited swashbuckling, resolute. From the headwaters
near the 12,003 ft. peak of Sierra Blanca in the Sacramento Mountains, the Rio Ruidoso
begins a 30 mile course in which it falls more than 6000 vertical feet as it tumbles
through the Mescalero Apache Reservation and down through the scenic mountain village of
Ruidoso. Weaving through this spectacular setting, the Rio Ruidoso has for years been a
magnet for thousands of tourists from far and wide. It has also been an outstanding high
quality cold water fishery, featuring rainbow, brook, cut-throat and German brown
trout.
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 Unfortunately, over the past ten years rapid economic development
and citizen apathy have taken their toll on this proud river and it is now struggling to
retain its unique identity. Unbridled construction in a steep canyon setting has delivered
untold yards of sediment into the streambed, suffocating not only the fishery, but also
the river itself. Excessive nutrient loading has nurtured the growth of algae that is
unsightly and deprives the fish of oxygen. In addition, intermittent upstream diversion
for domestic water use without regard for the health of the river has played havoc with
the ecosystem.
The degradation of this once noisy and wild river would
be sad enough alone were it not for the fact that the Ruidoso River is the crown jewel of
a tourist driven economy. Each summer the resident population of the area swells to five
times it normal size when visitors come up in droves to escape the heat of the surrounding
plains. Thousands come to enjoy the river directly, but all consider it an integral part
of a mountain paradise. If the degradation of the Rio Ruidoso is allowed to continue it
would have devastating effects on the local economy.
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It is not too late to save the Rio Ruidoso, but it will take all the help we can muster as quickly as
possible. A resilient stream that will respond to tender loving care, the Rio Ruidoso
cries for two things on a continuing basis that will restore its health and recapture its
designation as a high quality fishery: (1.) a minimum amount of water in the streambed at
all times and, (2.) water clean enough to support a sensitive fish habitat.
As
any riverkeeper knows, these are interdependent. The first will take village officials
working to develop and manage a waterworks that is more efficient and less dependent of
the Rio Ruidoso. Significant progress has already been made toward this end, but the work
has just begun.
The second can be accomplished by an intense effort to
locate and mitigate the sources of sediment and nutrient loading. The entire effort will
be helped immeasurably by a campaign to redirect the public’s attention back to the
importance of the river, both aesthetically and economically, and that is where the
Ruidoso River Association comes into the picture.
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| The Ruidoso River Association The
Voice of the River...
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A clarion call was sounded in the summer of 1996
when the effect of these insidious killers was exacerbated by a drought that nearly dried
the river up. Responding to the crisis, a small group of concerned citizens formed the
Ruidoso River Association to give the besieged Rio Ruidoso a voice. The group was
incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in February of 1997, and by the spring of
1999 it had a due-paying membership of more than 650. The Association is registered with
the IRS as a Section 501-c-3 public charity so that all donations to it are tax exempt to
the fullest extend of the law.
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" A river is more than an amenity,
it is a treasure"
Oliver Wendell Homes
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