EL PASO. More than 300 acres of Rio Grande wetlands are tucked away on the outskirts of El Paso’s city limits, butted against the border fence.

The Rio Bosque Park, operated by the University of Texas at El Paso, is a prime example of Western water use, requiring multiple red tape and years of negotiation between multiple federal agencies, county and city governments, non-profit organizations, and the irrigation district. and a waterworks.

Even after decades of effort, much of the Park remains dry for much of the year. In May, the earth cracks like an eggshell in the cells of the marshes. There is only a memory of winter water, how the wind whistles in dry cattails.

But within reach of the wells, a small stream feeds a grove of coyote willows, the water gurgles under the bridge, joined by the trilling of frogs and the cotton rat moving in the deep shade.

This is the work of a man some call “the father of the bosca”.

John Sproul, 73, speaks softly. With binoculars around his neck, he stands in the shadow of the park, to which he has devoted more than 25 years.

“It’s great to see this area transforming,” Sproul said. “We are returning to something that even approximates what was once found in the valley of this region.”

The Rio Bosque Park was not named after a grove of tall poplars, willows, mesquite trees, or any native plants. Instead, it was named after the thick tangle of invasive salt cedar that hid the old bend of the Rio Grande when the land was given to El Paso by the federal government in the 1970s.

UTEP ultimately took over park management and costs under a joint agreement with the city in the 1990s after years of discussions about what to do with the site. Later, the city transferred responsibility to the management of the water utility.

Cattails grow in a dry wet cell in Rio Bosque Park along the US-Mexico border. Due to high temperatures and drought, the cells cannot stay moist for much of the spring and summer. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

UTEP appointed Sproul as manager in 1996. With the help of bulldozers from the International Boundary and Water Commission, he began to uproot invasive plants and plant new ones. He reopened the riverbed and cultivated wetland cages according to a plan by conservation group Ducks Unlimited.

The first poplar plantations were planted upstream the Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. Then came lynxes, beavers and coyotes, as well as birds of all kinds.

“Build a habitat and the wildlife will come,” he said.

Hydraulic structures

At first, the water for the Río Bosque was supplied entirely by the Roberto Bustamante wastewater treatment plant through canal outlets. The 372-acre park now has rights to the Rio Grande and groundwater wells, and uses about 4.5 million gallons of water per day.

Gilbert Trejo, who oversees the El Paso water treatment plant, described the utility as an intermediary between Sproul and the local irrigation district, paying and negotiating the park’s water rights, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Algae and reeds grow in shallow pools in Rio Bosque Park. These shallow pools are supplied by a nearby well that pumps out groundwater. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

The utility is expanding the Bustamante plant to include a new wastewater treatment plant that converts more wastewater into potable water. Trejo said the reuse plan would not lead to starvation in the park.

“It’s not a commitment, but we want to make sure we always have water for the Rio Bosque,” Trejo said. “Our responsibility is great. It’s all about water, not just the demand for water from customers, but also the demand from the environment.”

The utility supported a joint feasibility study with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the wetlands and add additional habitat, and entered into a deal to pay for the non-federal portion of a $12 million federal investment.

“The good news is that the study was funded, the design was funded, and if you get them, you usually get the money to build as well,” Trejo said.

John Sproul and Sergio Samaniego fill buckets from a water bladder on the morning of June 17, 2022. Sproul brings water to the park every morning in his truck to manually water the poplar and willow seedlings, hoping they will survive the harsh heat. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

New Generation

Sproul is not alone in his work. Assistant manager Sergio Samaniego now manages a two-man team. In addition, many volunteers help harvest cattails or plant poplars.

Born and raised in El Paso, Samaniego only discovered the park in his twenties during a field course at UTEP.

“I’ve found a magical place,” he said as he walked through the swampy cages, dried cattails crackling in the wind, occasionally raising his binoculars to look for hawks. “Everything is interconnected. I see the importance of water and how rare it is.”

Flows were limited until mid-June this year, requiring more hands-on work to keep the park alive. Together, Samaniego and Sproul drove a truck with a leaky water tank to save willow and poplar seedlings from the scorching heat of May and June. They worked in tandem, talking to each other, gathering the tangled drops into five-gallon buckets to water the seedlings, nothing more than shriveled branches in the ground.

At the old river bed, even the leaves of some poplars turned yellow and brown, dried up. Sproul has a deep memory. As he pumps water out of a truck in 90-degree heat, he points to each poplar or willow and when they were planted or when they died.

Every few feet, John Sproul drags buckets around to water the poplar. In mid-June, when the monsoons finally rise and hit El Paso, there is a palpable relief throughout the park. The moisture of the earth and petrikor create a heady aroma. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

The whitening trunks and twisted branches of the first poplars, planted 20 years ago, lay downed, drought-stricken and uprooted by strong winds. Sproul said that accepting failure means hoping for the next landing, and the next, and hopefully sustainable survival.

“You just have to remember that it’s all part of the process,” he said.

However, higher temperatures cause stress in all plants and animals. And urban development is encroaching, projects cutting off open space corridors for the movement of wild animals.

“Then it will only get harder,” said Samanyego, looking for bugs on a poplar tree. “It will take more effort for us to water things by hand. There’s so much building going on there that this little island has come into being, making it harder for the animals to get to.” And if there are fewer predators like lynxes, he added, it will upset the balance of different rat populations.

Rio Bosque Park Manager John Sproul looks through dry cattails for signs of water flowing into the riverbed. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

According to Samaniego, the development and climate issues threatening Rio Bosque Park are not unique. It is imperative to protect the upstream Bosca now rather than waiting for the crisis to take effect.

“You have to work so hard to get something done. Whether it’s trying to keep trees alive with the limited amount of water we have, or wiping out the invasive species that water scarcity is bound to follow, he said, it takes a lot of dedication and time. Someone has to take responsibility, take matters into their own hands.”

Find the following article, Still pools: life boils on the edgeon SourceNM.com on Monday.

This project was funded by a grant from Water Desk and State Newsroom, the network of nonprofit news organizations that hosts Source NM.

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