Formed in a series of volcanic eruptions between 1 and 2 million years ago, the Jemez Mountains dominate the cultural and environmental history of central New Mexico.

For more than four decades, forest ecologist Craig Allen has studied them, engaging in what has come to be known as “place-based ecology,” with deep roots in what the Nuevo Mexicanos would call “querencia” – a deep love and sense of place.

The resulting of Craig’s passion is a vast body of scientific work that shed light on the impact of climate change on a forest landscape. The results also reflect a deeply personal journey for Allen, as aridity and fire change a place he loves.

New Mexico’s summer monsoon is upon us. The rainy season began the last week of June, bringing moist air north from the Gulf of California – pumping up flows in drying rivers, wetting forested landscapes and in the process reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, and perhaps most importantly bringing the visceral joy that of rain.

Streaming up through the mountains of central Mexico, the moisture from what scientists call the “North American Monsoon” brings 50 percent or more of the annual precipitation to many areas of the southwest, from Tucson and Phoenix up through Albuquerque.

New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande responds, with monsoon rains temporarily lifting up flows in an otherwise drying river.

Winter snows falling on the mountain watersheds upstream of us provide the bulk of the water supply for people and ecosystems, concentrated into river valleys as they flow downstream. But monsoon rains add a critical piece of the weather and climate puzzle as communities of the West work to adapt to climate change.

The Middle Rio Grande is home to not only a myriad of species, but also to the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD). At first blush, environmental water uses, and agricultural water uses may appear to be in conflict, but the truth is more complicated.

This month Water Matters hosts Paul Tashjian, Director of Freshwater Conservation for Audubon Southwest, to discuss the agroecosystem of the Middle Rio Grande.

Tashjian talks about the interconnected water uses throughout the MRGCD benefitted area and explains how closely intertwined the human and nonhuman communities in this region are. He also invites listeners to reach out to local nonprofits that may benefit from volunteer support, including Audubon Southwest, New Mexico Wild, The Nature Conservancy, and Bosque Ecological Monitoring Program.

Our podcast is produced through the Utton Transboundary Resources Center, scripted by Rin Tara and John Fleck, and edited by Francesca Glaspell. Our music is written and performed by Sairis Perez-Gomez.