Meet Anna Jaramillo-Scarborough, Watershed Restoration Program Manager

Written by Anna Jaramillo-Scarborough 

As the watershed restoration program manager, I collaborate with partners and draft restoration plans primarily on national forests in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. I was born and raised in northern New Mexico, nestled between the Jemez Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I spent much of my childhood exploring the bosque (riparian forests) of the Rio Chama and Rio Grande.

For generations, my family irrigated their garden, orchard, and fields via a centuries-old acequia. This taught me the immeasurable value of water in the Southwest, and just how uncertain water delivery can be. This experience had a profound influence on me and is one of the reasons I chose a career in natural resources.

I recently retired from the Forest Service after 25 years in watershed improvement and management, including over 10 years coordinating the post-fire stabilization program for the national forests in Arizona and New Mexico. Managing the post-fire stabilization program altered the lens through which I view watershed management and restoration in the Southwest. It was devastating to see these beloved mountain ranges experience catastrophic fires and the extreme flooding that followed in less than two decades.

I am thrilled to be working with the Guild as it has given me the opportunity to come back to work in the landscape that will always be home for me. I hope to use my skills to contribute to protection, conservation and restoration of waterways and habitats, so they may be resilient enough to withstand changes in the landscape in the future.