| Upper Pecos Watershed Association

Día del Río y Camino: River and Road Cleanup – September 28, 2024

Join us for the annual Día del Río y Camino (River and Road) Cleanup event on Saturday, September 28, 2024! The Upper Pecos Watershed Association, in partnership with the Pecos Business Association (PBA), Pecos Canyon State Park, Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF), Truchas Chapter Trout Unlimited, Keep Carlsbad Beautiful, Keep Roswell Beautiful, San Miguel County, New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors (NMVFO), and Pecos, TX, is excited to host this important initiative that stretches from Pecos, NM, all the way to Pecos, TX.

Event Details

This cleanup is a coordinated effort across multiple communities along the Pecos River, with each location managing its own event while coming together on the same day to make a big impact. Volunteers will meet at the following locations:

Pecos, NM for details click here
Pecos Canyon State Park for details please email [email protected]
Villanueva State Park for details please email [email protected]
Sumner Lake State Park for details please email [email protected]
Roswell, NM for details please email [email protected]
Brantley Lake State Park for details please email [email protected]
Carlsbad, NM for details please email [email protected]
Pecos, TX or details please email [email protected]

Volunteers at each location will receive supplies such as vests, gloves, and trash bags, and be assigned specific areas to clean along the river or nearby roads.

How to Get Involved

To sign up or learn more, please contact us at [email protected] or 505-757-3600. The project areas include Pecos, NM, Pecos Canyon, Pecos Canyon State Park, Villanueva State Park, Roswell, Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad, and Pecos, TX.

Why This Matters

This event highlights the strong partnerships between communities and organizations along the Pecos River, all working together to protect and preserve our natural resources. Your participation not only helps keep our environment clean but also supports the ongoing stewardship efforts that benefit us all.

We look forward to seeing you there and appreciate your contribution to this vital cause!

The Upper Pecos Watershed Association (UPWA) was formed in July of 2006 to address non-point source pollution and related issues in the Pecos River watershed.

The Upper Pecos watershed covers over 400 square miles of drainage of the Pecos River and its tributaries. The area includes the Pecos Wilderness, the Wild and Scenic section of the Pecos as well as Cow, Bull and Glorieta Creeks and other tributaries north of I-25. This area provides over 100 miles of high quality cold-water fishing and as well as a broad spectrum of other recreational opportunities.

Our Mission

We are a community-based grass-roots organization with a common interest in protecting, maintaining and improving the health of both the watershed and the local economy and cultures. Additional purposes of the UPWA are:

To provide information about the watershed and serve as a focal point for watershed issues, providing a forum for discussion and development of strategies to meet recreational needs, honor historical uses, and improve the health of the watershed.
To seek additional funding to improve the condition and management of the Pecos watershed through the implementation of the Watershed Restorative Action Strategy, educational outreach and hands-on restoration projects.
To organize volunteer projects such as river clean-ups and field trips that engage stakeholders and anyone with an active interest in benefiting the watershed.
To engage in a process of improving the health of the river itself through monitoring issues of turbidity, excessive nutrient levels and temperatures.
To review projects with the aim of correcting problems and replicating successful actions in other parts of the watershed.

We cannot do this alone! We are a group of volunteers limited only by our numbers. You can do a lot or a little; no effort is too small. Volunteer for a UPWA project, become a stakeholder, make a tax-deductible donation, attend one of our meetings.

UPWA Goals

Protect and improve the health of the watershed
Address significant ecological, and environmental issues in the watershed
Preserve traditional and cultural uses and benefit the local economy

UPWA is the watershed’s coordinator for all the public and private entities with interests in the watershed; including the National Park Service, Forest Service, NM Department of the Environment, NM Department of Game and Fish, NM Departments of Parks, San Miguel County, Village of Pecos, advocacy groups as well as the numerous private landowners in the watershed.

UPWA receives funding from a mix of government and private grants, plus essential private donations, both in cash and in kind. Grants typically do not cover all of UPWA’s necessary administrative costs and we must rely on private donations to help cover maintaining our office in Pecos and part-time staff. Most UPWA grant funds must be matched with direct or in-kind donations. UPWA conducts events such as river cleanups, field days, and other volunteer projects and utilizes all volunteer hours for such events as match. Grants are typically “reimbursement only” funding which creates a need for “seed capitol” thus making fundraising even more critical for the organization.