The President’s Corner

D’Ann Waters

I would like to thank all the wonderful volunteers and sponsors that helped make Riverfest 2022 the great success that it was with around 25,000 people attending. Evan Noel and Jim Neidhart did a wonderful job of co-chairing the event! I would also like to thank the City of Farmington Parks and Recreation employees that went above and beyond their duties to help make the event a success. They also gave over 100% to help everyone Sunday afternoon when the high winds hit the area. Be sure and visit our website:  www.riverfestnewmexico.com as it has many wonderful pictures of some of the events and will shortly have a video that was done by Zia Drones. Please see the article “Riverfest 2022 Recap” for more information on the event.

We are in the final days of summer and soon school will be back in session. As Fall approaches, the Foundation will be turning its attention to projects and upcoming events. In August we will revisit our strategic planning process and make any changes that are needed. We welcome any comments or suggestions from you, our newsletter recipients and Foundation members. We also move into the organizational phase of our second annual Animas River Jam.

SAVE THE DATE!!!

Our second annual Animas River Jam will be held Saturday October 8, 2022. It will be held from 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM at the River Reach Terrace. There will be three bands playing, a western band, a Spanish band, and a classic rock band. We will also have a beer and wine garden, food trucks, and some arts and crafts vendors present. Early October is a beautiful time of the year when the trees are changing colors and the weather is comfortable. Bring your chairs and blankets and come enjoy some good music, food, and conversations! See you then!

Riverfest 2022 Recap

Riverfest 2022 was a huge success after missing the last two years because of the COVID pandemic. Gloria Lehmer’s sponsorship team raised over $70,000 by 39 Corporation and local business donations and sponsorships. She did a fantastic job! Riverfest’s overall event donors and sponsors were Basin Coordinated/ Home Health & Hospice and KSJE 90.9 FM. Our main partners were the city of Farmington and the Chamber of Commerce along with Clancy’s, San Juan County, the Farmington Indian Center and Rio del Sol Kiwanis. A complete list of the companies is included in this newsletter as usual, the Wiener dog races, the duck race, the Gourd Dance, and Joe Tohonnie & the White Mountain Apache Crown Dancers were huge hits. The Desert River Guides provided rafting along the Animas River, and we also held our first River Raft parade which provided a lot of excitement to say the least! There was something for everyone this year as we had 65 arts and crafts vendors, 27 food vendors, and 42 non-food vendors spread throughout the park. There were 17 bands, a magician, and a yo-yo exhibition by Luke Renner.

The trails were really crowded and that is something the Foundation along with the City of Farmington will be looking into for next year. They will also be exploring ways to expand better handicap access to the center of the park. Finally, congratulations to the duck race winners! First place of $2,000 went to Arnold James, second place of $1,000 went to Kelly Ho, and third place of $500 went to Kaibah Gorman.

2022 Riverfest Sponsors and Donors

Overall Event Sponsors

Partners

Sponsors & Donors

“What’s the Scoop on Poop in the San Juan Watershed?”
Study Results

By Alyssa Richmond, San Juan Watershed Group Coordinator

The initial article on this report was published by Alyssa Richmond in our January “Ripples” newsletter. A brief conclusion is that bacteria pollution has been an ongoing concern since 2005 along the San Juan & Animas River. In a 2013-2014 study 46% of the San Juan River E. coli samples exceeded the standard for primary contact such as swimming or any recreational water use and that posed a significant health hazard. That study provided the baseline for determining the presence of human fecal bacteria in the San Juan Watershed of New Mexico. Between July and October 2021 17 sites along the San Juan, Animas, LaPlata Rivers, and the Stevens and Shumway arroyos were taken.

The purpose was to find out where the poop was coming from and what could be done about it. The conclusion of the study showed that while there was a huge improvement in the reduction of human source bacteria over the past 8 years, the detected quantities suggest that work still needs to be done to improve water quality. Various projects such as expanding the sewer infrastructure, community outreach on septic care and illegal dumping contributed to the improvement. However, bacteria continue to be a water quality concern in the San Juan Watershed of New Mexico. Strategic public education on water quality impairment is recommended and further watershed planning, and water quality monitoring is needed.

IN OTHER NEWS

Sadly, we said goodbye to the San Juan Watershed Group Coordinator, Alyssa Richmond. She and her partner have moved to the Espanola area on July 1st. She will be working remotely with the Animas Environmental Services team as an Environmental Project manager. We wish her the very best in this new career and life change.

On another sad note, our Foundation Treasurer, Debbie Braff, recently lost her sister Fran. The Foundation extends their deepest sympathy to Debbie.

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