It’s not a full-on “Basin Study” like the Colorado River got, but the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation today announced $84,000 for preliminary work to define the scope of a Middle Rio Grande (that’s lingo for the New Mexico big) basin study. There’s bigger bucks in the announcement for Salinas and Carmel River Basins in California and the Santa Cruz in Arizona.

These are important bits of institutional infrastructure, providing some dollars and technical muscle in a collaboration with basin stakeholders to improve shared understanding of resources.