VCNP Facebook Post
It's time for a National Volunteer Appreciation Month spotlight!
Over the past 3 years, New Mexico Trout has become an indispensable partner to Valles Caldera National Preserve through their shared values of recreation, education, and stewardship. In 2025, 45 New Mexico Trout volunteers spent 334 hours supporting 12 fisheries surveys on Valles Caldera's waterways. This project is crucial to our Resource Stewardship & Science program's monitoring of fish species, aquatic ecosystem health, and long-term population trends, all of which can affect downstream communities because the Valles Caldera is at the headwaters of the Jemez River.
Additionally, in 2025, 23 New Mexico Trout volunteers spent 412 hours supporting Valles Caldera's family flyfishing clinics, reaching 199 participants of all ages and experience levels. During these programs, New Mexico Trout volunteer instructors and NPS staff taught the fundamentals of fly fishing and provided individualized mentorship experiences to participants. Thanks to NM Trout, dozens of New Mexicans will forever remember Valles Caldera National Preserve as the place where they caught their very first trout. Thank you, New Mexico Trout volunteers! We are grateful for your continued partnership.
Photo descriptions: Various NM Trout volunteers instructing and mentoring flyfishing clinic participants. (NPS/Irene Owsley)
