(After several recent trail projects, I have decided to start documenting them on my hiking blog, to help my poor brain remember what I worked on.)
The New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors (NMVFO), joined by the Mule Deer Foundation, assisted staff from the vast 230,000 acre Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge to build a wildlife drinker on May 7, 2016 near the Pino Mountains along the western boundary of the wilderness.
About 18 volunteers mixed concrete in wheelbarrows and spread 3 inches thick on a plastic pond barrier, then inset flat natural rocks in the concrete, and finished the rim by stacking more loose flat rocks around the edge.
The drinker is designed to be wide enough to allow bats to skim along the surface and drink while in flight. One imagines that bears will enjoy a good soak during summer months.
If you ever have a chance to schedule a tour during the annual fall open house of the Refuge, do not miss the opportunity. I have gone the past couple of years, and the guided tours are excellent.