Category Archive

BEMP is proudly observing the bosque in a new way – through phenology. Phenology is the study of when and how plants and animals change based on the seasons. Some of the data we collect at BEMP, through a program called Nature’s Notebook, helps us to understand the timing of bud bursts, leaf growth, flowering, migrating, nesting, etc. in many … Read More

My name is Keara Bixby and I am BEMP’s Crawford Intern for the 2016-2017 school year. I am currently finishing my last semester at UNM where I majored in Biology with a focus in Conservation and a minor Sustainability. Much of what I have learned throughout my undergraduate studies has boiled down to the idea that everything is intimately connected … Read More

On Friday, January 13th, BEMP staff and students spent the night out at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. A full moon helped these intrepid researchers conduct the winter jackrabbit survey of 2017. Four of our Bosque School seventh graders, BEMP Educator Kelly Steinberg, and BEMP’s Crawford Intern Keara Bixby drove a 21.5 mile loop around the Sevilleta’s long term ecological … Read More

Have a happy and healthy holiday! We are eternally grateful to our students, teachers, supporters, and science partners for a successful year of monitoring, learning, and researching. We’ll see you out in the bosque in 2017! Sincerely, The BEMP Team

As I complete my internship with BEMP, it is hard to sum up everything I have observed and learned. I came to BEMP because it seemed to combine two of my passions: youth empowerment and environmental stewardship. I was also interested in the idea of a program centered around watershed education, especially in the American southwest during this historic drought. … Read More

BEMP is committed to helping students succeed in all aspects of the scientific process: constructing hypotheses, performing hands-on research, analyzing their results, and communicating their findings. Our students know that they are making important contributions to a body of long-term data on the Rio Grande watershed. This information is used by policy makers and other local stakeholders. Many students also … Read More

Photo: Dan Shaw with students, trapping and collaring a porcupine.  Bosque School student Sarah (’17) and Delaney (Amy Biehl HS ’18) are partnering with the UNM Biology Department and NCGR (National Center for Genome Resources) to study porcupine genetics in the Albuquerque Bosque. Over the past 13 years, Dan Shaw, BEMP Co-Director and Bosque School Wildlife Biology Faculty, and his students have … Read More

“Are we going to see alligators in the river? Will there be tigers in the woods? Are there monkeys here?” The questions children ask when they make their first trip to the bosque reflect their curiosity, imagination, and sense of adventure. As exciting as it would be to see those animals, we won’t be seeing any in our bosque. However, … Read More

Pictured above: Sophie White, BEMP South Summer Camper   BEMP Summer Camp on the Bosque-2016 was held at the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park (MVBSP) and proved to be a wonderful experience for some dedicated 10-12 year olds. Campers joined us from Las Cruces, Mesilla, El Paso, and California along with two wonderful NMSU volunteers. Campers were able to experience … Read More

On October 14th, BEMP hosted its annual Fall Field Tour. We shared new findings about the bosque from the BEMP perspective and through the lens of the our partner agencies and communities. The Fall Field Tour allows us to present our work, receive feedback, and exchange ideas face-to-face with our collaborators, and gives them an opportunity to connect with one another. This year’s Fall … Read More