Natural Resources

             Santo Domingo Pueblo is located in northern New Mexico between Albuquerque and Santa Fe on the Santo Domingo Indian Reservation. Their sovereign status has been recognized by the King of Spain, the Mexican Government, the State of New Mexico, and the United States. The Santo Domingo Tribal Government is the administrative branch of the people and holds steadfastly to the sovereign right to manage all resources with the boundaries of its Tribal Lands.

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“What’s the story?”

The Tribe’s History—in brief

Invasive Vegetation

             The placement of the Cochiti Dam and Galisteo Dam in the 1970’s continue to affect the ecology on the Santo Domingo lands. The installation of these impoundments had changed many ecological processes, allowing exotic trees to invade and displace native vegetation. The encroaching vegetation had reduced pulse flows, amplified fuel loads, and changed the Rio Grande and Rio Galisteo mosaic of ecosystems.

Legislative Funding

             The Santo Domingo Tribe worked in collaboration with the Upper Rio Grande Phreatophyte Control Project and NMACD to the Rio Galisteo. Subsequently, funding to revegetate and manage the dead standing Russian Olive and Salt Cedar begin to sprout throughout much of the restored areas in the Rio Galisteo.

· FY 2003—$126,725,00

· FY 2004—$29,133.00

· FY 2005—None

· FY 2006—$66,000,00

Practical Results

· The Phreatophyte Control Program was initiated by Governor Everett Chavez and continued by Governors Sisto Quintana, Julian Coriz, and Nelson Pacheco.

· The Santo Domingo Tribe’s Natural Resources Branch was successfully collaborated with federal, state, tribal, private, and university organizations to conduct phreatophyte management practices in both the Rio Grande and Rio Galisteo.

· In 2003, approximately 700 acres of Russian Olive and Salt Cedar trees in the Rio Galisteo were aerially treated with herbicide.

· 2004 was the inaugural year for the Santo Domingo Tribe—Natural Resources Program, which successfully completed a 70 acre phreatophyte thinning project.

· In the Fall and Winter of 2005, 100 acres of phreatophytes were mulched on both the east and west sides of I-25 in the Rio Galisteo corridor.

· In 2006, the Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation funded two separate extraction projects in the Rio Galisteo totaling 300 acres,

· In 2007, over 300 acres of Rio Galisteo will be re-vegetated with native shrubs and grasses. Additional restoration efforts include the installation of weirs (water velocity reduction structures) made of natural materials will be installed in the Rio Galisteo to reduce channel incision.

· Santo Domingo Tribal Government participated in an educational video entitled, “Natural Thief.”