New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

The Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico faces increasing challenges due to water scarcity and fluctuating water quality, which affect both wildlife and supplemental grain farming. The goal of this project is to support the long-term health and resilience of the refuge by addressing critical knowledge gaps related to water quality. Specifically, this project examines concentrations of major and trace elements, as well as nutrient levels, in both surface and groundwater, and assesses how these relate to agricultural practices and wildlife needs.

Temporal water quality monitoring is ongoing at the Bosque del Apache to capture essential data for effective resource management. This effort is partly supported by newly installed conductivity data loggers—water conductivity is a proxy for salinity—which provide high-resolution insights into seasonal salinity fluctuations. We are also monitoring the spatial distribution of water conductivity within the refuge. One data logger is positioned at the northern boundary and the other on the southern boundary, strategically placed to track water entering and exiting the refuge. These locations help assess the quality of incoming and outgoing water. Preliminary observations indicate that the northern boundary is less saline than the southern boundary. Monthly water samples are collected from the Low Flow Conveyance Channel (LFCC) and moist soil units to monitor spatial changes in water quality across the refuge. These samples are analyzed for major element chemistry, as well as trace elements which include toxic elements that can impact wildlife. Ultimately, this research aims to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge.