Children's Fishing Derby (Memo)

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Date: August 5, 2026
To: Governing Body, Public Works and Utilities Committee
From: Xavier Martinez, Constituent Services Manager
Via: Geralyn Cardenas, City Clerk
RE: Children’s Fishing Derby
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The proposed resolution would suspend the Annual Fishing Derby in Santa Fe River for the year of 2026, and it would
approve a Children’s Fishing Derby event on City Property at Nichols Reservoir (“the Reservoir”). Additionally, it directs
the City Manager to take the necessary steps to organize the event with the following specifications:
1. The event attendees will be limited to one hundred and fifty (150) children, each accompanied by an adult;
2. The participants in the event shall access the Reservoir by City bus only; and
3. The City is to take all necessary precautions to protect the Santa Fe Watershed and the City’s water supply in all
aspects of the event planning.
Lastly, the resolution directs the City Manager or designee to determine all other necessary details necessary to organize the
Children’s Fishing Derby event, including working with the New Mexico Game and Fish to stock the Reservoir with fish,
specifically, triploid trout, which are infertile and will not cross-breed with native trout. Wildlife managers use triploid trout
in lakes and reservoirs without risking over population or unwanted river migration.
BACKGROUND:
Resolution No. 2008-111 combined the annual River Festival and the Fishing Derby in order to promote greater awareness
of the river, to celebrate the Santa Fe River and its historic and present roles in the community, to promote the diversity of
cultures, to bring together different segments of the community, and to provide entertainment and fun for the whole family.
Resolution No. 2012-52 amended Resolution No. 2008-111 to allow the date of the annual River Festival and Fishing Derby
to be changed due to anticipated watershed yield or for other climatic or hydrologic reasons. Due to dry conditions this year,
the Santa Fe River will not meet the conditions under which the target flows will be met, and therefore the annual Fishing
Derby should be suspended. However, Ordinance No. 2026-17 specified that limited fishing events on City-owned property
in the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed may be approved by the Governing Body, and therefore Nichols Reservoir may serve
as a possible location for a fishing derby.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution
FIR