Introduction

The Rio Grande River extends approximately 1,800 miles across the southwestern states of  Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas as well as northern Mexico (Fountain, 2018).

                                                    Mr. Rosales tending to chile fields in New Mexico. (c) New York Times
Along with climate change, human water consumption for agricultural and industrial use has caused a reduction in the flow of the river. Warmer temperatures result in less snow, decreasing the snowpack that feeds the river at its headwaters in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. Dams and poorly engineered diversion systems result in water waste. Water treaties and allocation and irrigation rights further complicate river stewardship and management (Fountain, 2018).

                                                                                       Fields near Socorro, New Mexico. (c) New York Times
For over 20 years, U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists have run rescue operations of the federally protected minnow, an umbrella species, by transporting them to wetter areas upstream (Fountain, 2018).