An ongoing pollinator study highlighting the important role of plants is among several wildlife conservation initiatives conducted at the Bluewater, New Mexico, Disposal Site.
The pollinator study showed showy milkweed, a plant that helps the western monarch butterfly survive, is in moist areas at the disposal site. Future phases of the study will discover if butterflies at the site "are part of the western population of migrating monarchs,” a Dec. 20 news release said.
“As monarchs migrate, they find ‘stopover’ sites to rest, breed, and refuel on nectar sources, such as milkweed,” Bluewater Site Manager Nicole Olin said in the release. “So, it is possible that the lush grasslands at the Bluewater Site and the surrounding area play an important role in the migration of monarchs from the Rocky Mountains to central Mexico.”
The study will help "inform site maintenance and repairs, revegetation management activities and conservation reuse opportunities" across other Office of Legacy Management lands, the release said.
An elk biologist and a reclamation habitat specialist from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish conducted a recent site tour at Bluewater, which could be located “along a potential elk migratory path between the Zuni Mountains and Mount Taylor,” the release reported. Wildlife-friendly fencing options and provisions for water sources were suggestions for site enhancements. It was noted onsite lava formations could provide bat habitats.
“Some of the potential water source improvements we are considering include the installation of water catchment systems, known as drinkers and guzzlers, and restoration of natural water features, such as ponds or wetlands,” Olin said in the release. “By supporting and studying various wildlife species, LM is not only adding to the ecological value of the site but also gathering information that can be used to help inform conservation efforts across other LM sites.”
