The Plug and Pond Treatment: Restoring Sheetflow to High Elevation Slope Wetlands in New Mexico

A Restoration Project in the Valle Seco of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, Jemez Mountains.

Project: The Valle Seco restoration project within the Valles Caldera National Preserve, with the plug and pond treatment as its primary tool, was contracted to Los Amigos de Valles Caldera, a non-profit organization, through the New Mexico Environment Department, Surface Water Quality Bureau (NMED-SWQB), Wetlands Program. Planning and design began in 2013. Construction was implemented in 2015-2016. Mechanized construction was contracted through Stream Dynamics, Inc. and Keystone Restoration Ecology, LLC. Hand work was donated by volunteers serving Los Amigos de Valles Caldera and the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation. Planning, design and construction oversight was provided by Zeedyk Ecological Consulting, LLC under contract to Los Amigos de Valles Caldera. Vegetation monitoring was by Keystone Restoration Ecology, LLC.