Wetlands

Back in the trees is La Capilla Wetland, picnic tables and hiking paths. Nineteen Youth Conservation Corp (YCC) workers from Aldo Leopold High spent 2.5 weeks improving the water flow from hillsides, Robert St diversions and the Senior Center parking lot into the wetland area witch contains cattails native willow trees and more.

When my kids and I stumbled upon the wetland in 1981 it was a dumping place for trash; there were piles of unused asphalt left over from road paving and piles of discarded broken-up concrete but remarkably lush and green, today it is part of the La Capilla Heritage Park and easily accessed from the Senior Center parking lot although any of the trails around the 23 acre park will take you there.

Sometime in the early 2000's the area was cleaned up, brick paths installed and picnic tables built but the water flows needed more help to get to the actual wetland. 

Following a design by Stream Dynamics the group moved a brick path, cleaned out an old culvert, dug a catchment pond, installed a new culvert and many more improvements to the water flows. Above shows the layout for the new path on the left (the old path used to extend straight back from the wheel barrow) and a catchment pond filled by the short culvert under the old section of brick pathway which, when full will now "sheet flood" towards the cattails and willows.

After three years of getting approvals, permits and studies, the Bog Springs restoration project is finally underway and nearing completion.

The project engineered to restore wetlands along Warrior Drive and further enhance the ecology in the area of Ruidoso High School is a collaborative effort that includes city, village, students, teachers and high school departments.

"The 'get 'er done' attitude on ground level has been outstanding," said Van Clothier, owner of Stream Dynamics, a stream restoration, water harvesting and erosion control company. "I'm really impressed at the cooperation."

"The city's doing the heavy lifting and Stream dynamics is doing the detail work," said Clothier, who is overseeing the project on Ruidoso High School land.

The project engineered to restore wetlands along Warrior Drive near Ruidoso High School is a collaborative effort that includes city, village, students, teachers and high school departments. (null) heavy lifting and Stream dynamics is doing the detail work," said Clothier, who is overseeing the project on Ruidoso High School land. The project is part of a settlement agreement coming out of a lawsuit that an environmental group filed against the village of Ruidoso.

"After three years, it's exciting to see it actually happening," said Nora Midkiff of the Restoration Committee.

Clothier said Midkiff was instrumental in bringing the project together and cutting through all the red tape,

"Without Nora's help we'd never have gotten this done," Clothier said. "Every time there was a problem she got it fixed."

Clothier explained that about 30 percent of the project is finished. Last week Stream Dynamics completed the creation of two ponds that ultimately will feed the wetlands restoration areas and create natural underground water storage reservoirs that will feed Bog Springs Creek slowly.

"The best part of it is the water is free," Clothier said.

See the rest of the article here