The Sacred Water Mountain Society was formed after Standing Rock by three Indigenous water protectors from Northern NM and consist of a growing diverse but unified membership of land and water guardians.. a large part of the society’s work is planting water. In the mountains and desert lands of the upper Rio Grand watershed, there are many examples of active water catchment sites from the work of ancient Indigenous people. When colonization disrupted this relationship and Indigenous people were detribalized, they stopped managing the land in these ways. SWMS has been focusing on learning from the catchment systems that still exist, protecting them, and implementing and replicating ancient methods of planting water, especially where rivers and streams have been desertified by overgrazing. SWMS reminds local water protectors that the water retention methods we are seeing emerge in other parts of the world Already exist thru out the upper Rio grande Water shed.
Project story
Planting water replenishes groundwater. When groundwater is sustained by the shape of the land, there is more opportunity for biodiversity to thrive as more ecosystems have access to that which resources their vitality. All wildlife benefits from the increase in biodiversity.
There is scientific research that shows that increasing ground water stabilizes the climate and prevents catastrophic wildfires and floods. Planting water increases the earth’s ability to absorb water thus retaining water during runoff rather than creating incised arroyos and creek beds that get flushed out when there is more water than they can retain. Increasing ground water also has the potential to stabilize streams and springs that may have gone dormant due to mismanagement of land and depletion of groundwater.
A Yale Climate Connections article highlights the vitality that comes through planting water in an arid landscape. The article speaks to the importance of refilling the aquifer “‘This is a desert,’ said Mónica Robinson Bours Muñoz, owner of Rancho La Piedra. ‘Before you extract anything, first plant the water.’”(Meinch, 2026) The language of planting water seen here reminds us that this is not new knowledge. The importance of remembering its indigeneity is illuminated by an article entitled “Indigenous knowledge systems in sustainable water conservation and management,”
For instance, in the area of water resource management, traditional and IK has been able to attain increasing research attention. This is because traditional water harvesting, storage, and other water-associated knowledge have allowed the indigenous communities to subsist in conditions such as arid lands and survive in drought for ages. (Borthakur and Singh, 2020)
Connecting and sharing these traditional and Indigenous knowledge systems throughout our region has the potential to reverse a lot of the damage done, especially if supported and practiced beyond the tribes and nations holding them.
What we can successfully model in Taos is applicable to the entire Southwest and beyond. Through implementing planting water in places that have been dehydrated by development, overgrazing, mining, etc, we provide a clear pathway and model for restoring watersheds by replenishing groundwater throughout the watershed rather than focusing solely on the creeks and streams. Planting water shows us how water absorbs and where it absorbs as well as how to read different geological indicators that guide the movement of water.
We are working on the development of a Planting Water Alliance to spread this revitalized indigenous consciousness of how water moves farther and deeper, inviting a deeper pride in the lineage left in the contours of the land and a wider motion to protect and continue work that has already been done here. We are already seeing our rivers drier than usual in spring. This is the time to prepare the earth to receive the water because that water is more scarce and everyone will be affected. We hope our organizing and education work can support a more cohesive strategy for addressing water scarcity that starts at the top of the watershed.
Project updates
Team
Plant Water, Sow Life
The Sacred Water Mountain Society was formed after Standing Rock by three Indigenous water protectors from Northern NM and consist of a growing diverse but unified membership of land and water guardians.. a large part of the society’s work is planting water. In the mountains and desert lands of the upper Rio Grand watershed, there are many examples of active water catchment sites from the work of ancient Indigenous people. When colonization disrupted this relationship and Indigenous people were detribalized, they stopped managing the land in these ways. SWMS has been focusing on learning from the catchment systems that still exist, protecting them, and implementing and replicating ancient methods of planting water, especially where rivers and streams have been desertified by overgrazing. SWMS reminds local water protectors that the water retention methods we are seeing emerge in other parts of the world Already exist thru out the upper Rio grande Water shed.
Project story
Planting water replenishes groundwater. When groundwater is sustained by the shape of the land, there is more opportunity for biodiversity to thrive as more ecosystems have access to that which resources their vitality. All wildlife benefits from the increase in biodiversity.
There is scientific research that shows that increasing ground water stabilizes the climate and prevents catastrophic wildfires and floods. Planting water increases the earth’s ability to absorb water thus retaining water during runoff rather than creating incised arroyos and creek beds that get flushed out when there is more water than they can retain. Increasing ground water also has the potential to stabilize streams and springs that may have gone dormant due to mismanagement of land and depletion of groundwater.
A Yale Climate Connections article highlights the vitality that comes through planting water in an arid landscape. The article speaks to the importance of refilling the aquifer “‘This is a desert,’ said Mónica Robinson Bours Muñoz, owner of Rancho La Piedra. ‘Before you extract anything, first plant the water.’”(Meinch, 2026) The language of planting water seen here reminds us that this is not new knowledge. The importance of remembering its indigeneity is illuminated by an article entitled “Indigenous knowledge systems in sustainable water conservation and management,”
For instance, in the area of water resource management, traditional and IK has been able to attain increasing research attention. This is because traditional water harvesting, storage, and other water-associated knowledge have allowed the indigenous communities to subsist in conditions such as arid lands and survive in drought for ages. (Borthakur and Singh, 2020)
Connecting and sharing these traditional and Indigenous knowledge systems throughout our region has the potential to reverse a lot of the damage done, especially if supported and practiced beyond the tribes and nations holding them.
What we can successfully model in Taos is applicable to the entire Southwest and beyond. Through implementing planting water in places that have been dehydrated by development, overgrazing, mining, etc, we provide a clear pathway and model for restoring watersheds by replenishing groundwater throughout the watershed rather than focusing solely on the creeks and streams. Planting water shows us how water absorbs and where it absorbs as well as how to read different geological indicators that guide the movement of water.
We are working on the development of a Planting Water Alliance to spread this revitalized indigenous consciousness of how water moves farther and deeper, inviting a deeper pride in the lineage left in the contours of the land and a wider motion to protect and continue work that has already been done here. We are already seeing our rivers drier than usual in spring. This is the time to prepare the earth to receive the water because that water is more scarce and everyone will be affected. We hope our organizing and education work can support a more cohesive strategy for addressing water scarcity that starts at the top of the watershed.
Project updates
Team
Location
New Mexico, United States