Land use and water - Rio Grande Water Stakeholders

Our book has a chapter concerning mitigation actions and adaptation practices that land managers, small governments, and agencies could use regarding Climate Change.  The Land chapter really has a good deal to do with water.  I started my career in water quality, and resources, and almost immediately recognized that what happens on the land has more to do with water quality and quantity than what happens in the water.  As I write this post, I am on the way to the 3^rd Rio Grande Stakeholders meeting in Alamosa CO.  This group is trying to piece together a way to manage water resources in an area of the country where water is a scarce and highly prized commodity.  I met with them in October to share some activities that US Customs and Border Protection and the USDA Agricultural Resource Service are working together jointly to accomplish.  The activities are centered on trying to control Carrizo Cane, a highly invasive weed that is rampant along many southern waterways, especially the Rio Grande.  The Mexicans call Carrizo Cane el ladron de agua – the water thief.  Water stakeholders are concerned with the cane because it grows in wet soil next to rivers and in irrigation canals, and uses up the water.  USDA studies estimate the amount of water use in a cane field higher than the amount of water used at peak growth by corn!  Hydrologists care about cane because is actually makes its own dry land by crowding into the rivers and drainage areas; trapping soils, and making dry land.  Some rivers in Mexico have not actually had flowing surface water in them in decades because of this plant.  Habitat managers are concerned with it because it grows a thick almost impenetrable monoculture which crowds out native plants and animals.  This impenetrable mass of cane – think of the densest stand of bamboo you’ve ever heard about and you get the idea – is of great concern to those tasked with managing the nation’s southern border.  I have personally seen a man in a red shirt disappear in less than 10 feet into the cane.  So controlling the cane can make more water available for agricultural use, industry, drinking water and habitat.  Controlling the cans can allow native stands of vegetation to re-establish and provide habitat, and allow much needed mobility and visibility along the southern border.

Carrizo Cane crowding the riverbank near Laredo, TX

Back to the Stakeholders meeting.  So these stakeholders are meeting, and the upshot is that there is a great deal of overlap in needs among agencies and groups that often seem to have conflicting missions.  The Rio Grande stakeholders group doesn't so much have conflicting interests, but rather is comprised of  many agencies that do something to support their agency’s mission (dabble) when what is needed is a coordinated effort that achieves something larger. No single agency has enough funding to reach the larger goal, so maybe cooperation and coordination can achieve this.  By meeting together and hammering out the needs and concerns, the similarities can be identified and synergy can be brought to bear on tough problems.  Not just Carrizo cane.  During this time of limited financial resources an approach like the stakeholders meeting can really help discover ways to move forward. 

Water availability is something I spent a good deal of time with in the Land chapter of the book.  It is a resource that is being greatly affected by climate change.  Changing weather patterns not only make for profound droughts like the current one in Texas, but also may change the time of year when water is available.  If there is no snow pack to slowly melt in the spring, will there be any water for the crops in the summer when they need it?  Recognizing some of these problems is only part of the solution.  Acting to adapt to them will require stakeholders to see where they can act in concert or at least not act in a counterproductive fashion.