In 2009, GCEC spearheaded the establishment of an outdoor classroom along San Vicente Creek south of downtown Silver City. The project was supported by an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant designed to promote awareness of the Silver City watershed. Project partners included the Town of Silver City and numerous local businesses and organizations. The San Vicente Outdoor classroom provides students the opportunity to discover the role of San Vicente Creek in the town's history, and about long-term effects of human interactions with the natural landscape.

The headwaters of San Vicente Creek originate in the Silver City watershed at the confluence of Piños Altos Creek and Silva Creek in the Historic District of Silver City. San Vicente Creek eventually drains into the main stem of the Mimbres River which lies about 30 miles southeast of Silver City.

Historically, Silva Creek flowed year round, with steam side and hill slope vegetation helping to hold soils in place, regulate stream flow, reduce flooding, control erosion and replenish groundwater. These "ecosystem services" were, and are, necessary not only for healthy ecosystems, but also for human well being. Of course all life needs water, and by the late 1700s, humans began to permanently occupy the Silva Creek area near present day Silver City. The names they gave their early settlements emphasize the importance of perennial water sources. Silver City was first known as Santa Lucia Springs, and later, San Vicente de la Cienega (St. Vincent of the Marsh).

In 1878, an important silver strike was made just west of the settlement of San Vicente de la Cienega and the boom town of Silver City was born. The silver rush created a high demand for natural resources. A great deal of water was needed to maintain steam power for machinery and for smelting operations (e.g., Silver City Reduction Works); trees were harvested not only for smelting ore and creating steam power, but also for town expansion and the railroad, which arrived in Silver City in 1880 (French 1928). Concomitant with the railroad, increasing human populations stimulated a growing cattle industry which prompted extensive grazing by domestic livestock (mules, horses, sheep and cattle). Widespread loss of plant cover resulted (Alford 1982, Gordon 2002).

On July 21, 1895, summer monsoons dropped almost 10 inches (254 mm) of rain on the Silver City watershed, initiating a 12 foot high flood that funneled into Silver City's Main Street (Gordon, 1995). This flood carved a 35 foot deep gulch through the center of town, destroying homes and businesses. A second set of floods in 1902 deepened the gulch to 54-feet and today, San Vicente Creek flows through this arroyo, known locally as The Big Ditch. Arroyo cutting of this extent had not been documented in the preceding 2,300 years (Alford 1982), so what happened?

Historical data suggest that the loss of vegetation cover through timber harvest and other non-sustainable land use practices are the primary drivers of the Big Ditch formation (Alford, 1982). This loss in ecosystem services increased the impact of heavy rains on the soil surface and promoted excessive surface runoff. In the absence of vegetative cover, rain water could not percolate through the soil to recharge groundwater, but instead ran off in what is known as sheet flow. Because the Main Street of Silver City runs north to south, the ruts created by wagon wheel traffic captured and focused the surface runoff directly on to Main Street, much like a hose. The water hit Main Street with such force that the soil gave way to the impact, buildings collapsed into the wash and the Big Ditch was born.

After the Gila National Forest was established in 1908, restrictions were placed on timber harvest and grazing and the Silver City watershed began to heal. Between 1933 and 1936, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) facilitated watershed recovery by construction over 14,000 rock check dams and planting vegetation. Creeks began to flow, and Silver City's Waterworks well became a more productive, reliable source of water (Gordon 1995, 2002).

Restoration efforts have helped. Today, San Vicente Creek is the only watercourse in the Silver City watershed that supports a native fishery (NMED 2008), yet evidence of human occupation is surprisingly conspicuous. At the Outdoor Classroom, junk cars line part of San Vicente Creek, perhaps strategically placed by past residents to control erosion. Old wastewater pipes parallel portions of the Outdoor Classroom trail, the majority of the stream side (riparian) vegetation is non-native, and archaeological remains mark the location of houses associated with the historic Pope Mine. Furthermore, the remains of the Silver City Reduction Works (a.k.a. San Vicente Creek Mill) abut the south boundary of the Outdoor Classroom. Between the mid-1880s and the mid-1940s, the Reduction Works processed lead, silver and copper ores, using water from San Vicente Creek.

One of the less conspicuous consequences of these past human activities is contaminated surface water near the Reduction Works mill site: do not drink the creek water! A 1988 study documents surface runoff containing hazardous materials (i.e., lead, cadmium, zinc, and copper). Groundwater wells in the area do not appear to be contaminated with heavy metals (Karas, 1988), suggesting that some ecosystem services are still intact.

In order to restore ecosystem function to San Vicente Greek south of Silver City, GCEC is partnering with the New Mexico Environment Department Surface Water Quality Bureau (SWQB), The Aldo Leopold High School (ALHS) and the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) to restore the wetlands downstream of the Outdoor Classroom. By enhancing the return of native riparian and wetland habitat through restoration, our hope is to reduce surface water contaminants in San Vicente Creek. Still, slag and waste piles at the Reduction Works site will need to be cleaned up in order for us to realize this goal.