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  • November

    CONCHAS DAM, N.M., -- Albuquerque District Ranger Michael Vollmer and Maintenance Worker Carl Latham endured mosquitoes and leeches while setting the turtle traps.

    Staff Conducts ‘Operation Turtle Eviction’ at Conchas Dam

    The Corps’ Conchas project will be busy with activity during the next few months, as maintenance work is performed on the stilling basin. It has been 40 years since the basin has been cleaned and inspected. However, before the de-watering takes place, rangers and maintenance personnel wanted to make a concerted effort to trap and relocate any amphibious residents living in the basin.
  • JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR, COLO., -- Volunteers Deborah West and her granddaughter Kyra Bierbaum pulled weeds and sunflowers on the south shore of John Martin Reservoir to help promote critical nesting habitat for the Piping Plover and Interior Least Tern at the 2012 National Public Lands Day event held at the reservoir.

    Volunteers Improve Lands Managed by the Corps

    Volunteers arrived at the Albuquerque District’s lake and dam locations to help with improvement projects as part of National Public Lands Day (NPLD) Sept. 29.

  • October

    Albuquerque District’s Ordnance and Explosive Safety Expert Steve Carpenter is called to look at some debris at the site. Carpenter is part of the Corps’ team on hand to monitor project activity.

    District Cleans Up Weapons Disposal Site at Kirtland

    The Air Force identifies old or unneeded munitions and small arms that need disposed of at sites like the 165-acre Open Burn and Open Detonation site on Kirtland Air Force Base, created in the 1950s. In 2010, when the Air Force decided to close the site, initiating a mandatory cleanup required by regulation, they turned to the Corps.
  • By signing the cost-sharing agreement, the Corps’ and MRGCD commit to a feasibility study to construct a 50-mile stretch of levees.

    District, MRGCD Sign Cost-Sharing Agreement

    At the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) board meeting Sept. 10, District Commander Lt. Col. Antoinette Gant presented a cost-share agreement to the board that was subsequently signed by her and MRGCD Vice-Chair Eugene Abeita.
  • Trinidad Dam

    District Assesses Dams for Risk Management, Safety

    In 2005, the Corps overhauled how it looks at dams from a solely standards-based approach to a dam safety portfolio risk management approach, according to Suzi Hess-Brittelle, geologist and the District’s dam safety program manager.
  • Duane Nelson, a Corps’ contractor at John Martin Dam and Reservoir, received the Rich G. Levad Award Aug. 25, 2012 from members of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) near Barr Lake, Colo.

    Corps’ Contractor Receives Rich G. Levad Award

    Duane Nelson, a Corps’ contractor at John Martin Dam and Reservoir, received the Rich G. Levad Award Aug. 25 from members of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) near Barr Lake, Colo.
  • Participants in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new dorm were (L to R): Tech. Sgt. Matthew Smith, Airman 1st Class Samantha Crenshaw, Command Chief Master Sgt. Paul Henderson, Airman 1st Class Andrew Athanasiadis, and Airman 1st Class Kyle Riess.

    Corps Awards Contracts for Cannon Expansion

    District Project Manager Joe Almers and others attended a ground breaking ceremony for a new, 96-person dormitory at Cannon Air Force Base, in Clovis, N.M., Aug. 27, which is one of several Corps’ projects that are part of the base’s expansion. The increase in people and planes require new housing and new maintenance facilities, and the District awarded several contracts in fiscal year 2012 to accommodate those needs.
  • From L to R: District Project Manager Alicia Austin Johnson, District Commander Lt. Col. Antoinette Gant, Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Vice-Chair Eugene Abeita, and MRGCD Chief Engineer Subhas K. Shah accept the award for ecosystem revitalization work in the Rio Grande Bosque, providing foraging and nesting habitat for 80 percent of vertebrate species in the region.

    Bosque Project Earns Chief of Engineers Award of Excellence

    The Chief’s Awards of Excellence Program recognizes superior projects of innovation accomplished by the Corps and private sector design and construction community partners around the world. The District’s Ecosystem Restoration (Rt66) Project was selected for an Environmental Honor Award.

  • September

    Cochiti Park Ranger Chris Schooley (driving boat) and Kelly Burggraaf, a lifeguard from UNM, stay vigilant during the swimming leg of the Cochiti Triathlon.

    Cochiti Lake Hosts Second Annual Triathlon

    The 2012 Cochiti Triathlon was held at Cochiti Lake July 29. It was organized by Chasing 3 Race Productions and was an official triathlon, sanctioned by USA Triathlon, the national governing body for many types of sports and racing events and a federation member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. All participants in this triathlon were members of the USA Triathlon or needed a one-day pass in order to compete.
  • In January, representatives from the District’s El Paso Resident Office, Border Patrol and Mirador Enterprises (and subs) met for an important design charrette on a Border Patrol project.

    Charrettes Help Ensure Projects Come to Fruition

    The Corps most often uses charrettes at the beginning of the design process to meet with the customer and explore design options for a particular project.