San Juan Water Conservancy District has benefitted from the work of Monica Nigon, a graduate student at Western Colorado University and Americorps intern, since June, 2025. Water-saving Zeedyk structures are now in place in Turkey Springs on US Forest Service land thanks to Monica.
Monica helped SJWCD when they co-sponsored a viewing of the first episode of “Thinking Like Water” at the Liberty Theater. In early September, Chama Peak Land Alliance, Watershed Enhancement Partnership, SJWCD, and the Quivera Foundation brought the film and subsequent discussion to a full house of interested citizens.
Following the film screening of “Thinking Like Water,” a group of generous volunteers signed up for a day of building Zeedyk structures at Turkey Springs on Saturday, September 20. Zeedyk structures, named after the man who created them, Bill Zeedyk, are effective watershed and wet meadow restoration methods. Installing these structures involves low-tech process-based restoration practices, utilizing rocks and logs to slow down water in a drainage. This allows the water to be stored in the watershed while also preventing sediment runoff.
The volunteers worked incredibly hard until weather came in, building a Zuni Bowl and two One-Rock-Dams at a damaged watershed near Turkey Springs. This project was conducted as part of Monica Nigon’s Master of Environmental Management project.
We all learned a lot about watershed restoration processes. SJWCD intends that this be the first of many watershed restoration events to come. If you have further questions about Zeedyk structures or wet meadow restoration in the Upper San Juan River Basin, please contact Monica at mnigon.sjwcd@gmail.com. Monica now leads the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership.
