For the second straight year, and the third in four years, the conservation group American Rivers has targeted a New Mexico waterway in its annual ranking of the country’s most endangered rivers. This year, the state’s last free-flowing river, the Gila, came in at number seven.


The Gila is threatened by an archaic and costly water diversion project despite the fact that future water supply needs can be met through cheaper alternatives. The unnecessary diversion not only would harm the river’s health but would negatively impact a region where the economy and residents’ quality of life increasingly depend on natural values, the report states.



Gov. Bill Richardson, who has opposed building dams on the river since the early days of his administration, told the Associated Press that he may ask the state Legislature to pass a law prohibiting construction on the Gila.



Some may recall that the Santa Fe River, bone-dry much of the year, topped the American Rivers survey last year. A movement is underway in the City Different to restore a year-round flow in the river, which is captured in mountain reservoirs and accounts for a significant portion of the city’s water supply. McCrystal Creek in northern New Mexico’s pristine Valle Vidal ranked the second-most endangered river in 2005, due to threats from energy development (which has since been banned in the area). The Rio Grande has also been named in past reports.