Natural Resource Management

		Can traditional knowledge help manage the environment? Early residents of the river basin developed ways of living suited to the fragile natural resources of a desert environment. As new people moved into the area, they brought new ways and ideas. Knowledge for living in this environment grows through experiment and dialogue.

	Today basin residents combine traditional and Western knowledge to maintain a livable environment. Managing limited water resources is a crucial part of this. In northern New Mexico, centuries-old Native American and Hispano acequias (irrigation ditches) combine with 20th-century locks and canals to irrigate a diverse, interdependent landscape. In South Texas, rancher Lauro Gutiérrez uses modern watering systems in conjunction with a hand-dug, turn-of-the-century presa (dam) to water the livestock at Rancho Niño Feliz. Michael Blakeman of the San Juan/Rio Grande National Forest combines his attention to the natural and cultural resources of the region with an educational philosophy of "teaching to minds and hearts."