World Wildlife Fund

Join WWF’s Cathy Plume for an insider account of how WWF is conserving this place. Meet local people whose eco-businesses are the hope of this desert. Experience nighttime border crossings, a day on horseback and the culture of the Southwest. Learn what WWF and partners are doing to keep water flowing through the Rio Grande – while also meeting the needs of the five million people who call this desert home. 

Part 1: Arrival in Chihuahua | Part 2: Goals and Ghouls | Part 3: Thirsty Rivers | Part 4: Hermelinda's Story | Part 5: Señor Vallina's Vision | Part 6: Bighorn Sightings | Part 7: Starry Night | Part 8: Coffee and Congress | Part 9: Re-thinking Water | Part 10: Conserving Together

Part 3: Thirsty Rivers

Sprinkler irrigation system on a farm at the beginning of the irrigation season. WWF´s Chihuahuan Desert program works with farmers to develop alternative irrigation methods.
© WWF Mexico/Jenny Zapata

It’s Saturday and we’ve checked out of the hotel and are eating breakfast by 7AM.  I’m wearing a t-shirt with a huge WWF panda logo and the Brits all agree that I win the WWF branding contest for the day. On this beautiful morning we’re all happy to be hitting the road to see some of this gorgeous desert.   

We head northeast out of Chihuahua City towards the Ojinaga/Presidio border crossing.  We’ll eventually end up in our U.S. office in Las Cruces and are going to check out some of the program’s conservation activities along the way.   The ultimate goal of WWF’s Chihuahuan Desert program is to restore enough water to the Rio Grande (known as the Río Bravo in Mexico) to reestablish and maintain critical wildlife habitat in targeted sites along the river. 

Photo of the creeping daisy, Wedelia trilobata. The plant is native to Mexico, northern South America and the West Indies.
© WWF/Cathy Plume

Maintaining sufficient water flow through Mexico’s Río Conchos – a main tributary of the Rio Grande – is key to the overall health of the Rio Grande. For four months a year, the Rio Grande runs dry between El Paso and Presidio because all the water is allocated for irrigation or municipal use.  It’s only because of water flowing through the Río Conchos – which joins the Rio Grande at Presidio, Texas – that there is any flow at all through the Big Bend River during the irrigation season. 

It goes without saying that water is a precious resource in this desert environment and it is governed by treaties between the U.S. and Mexico. According to these agreements, Mexico delivers a certain amount of water to the United States each year. WWF is working with federal and state governments in both countries to ensure that enough water is allowed to flow through the river system to maintain a healthy habitat.  We’re currently undertaking studies to determine the minimal amount of water needed by the river system to maintain optimal biodiversity levels.

 Part 1: Arrival in Chihuahua | Part 2: Goals and Ghouls | Part 3: Thirsty Rivers | Part 4: Hermelinda's Story | Part 5: Señor Vallina's Vision | Part 6: Bighorn Sightings | Part 7: Starry Night | Part 8: Coffee and Congress | Part 9: Re-thinking Water | Part 10: Conserving Together