Montezuma Hills 100-Year Site Restoration Master Plan

After decades of excessive underground water pumping and unregulated farm watering, the aquifer system in portions of California’s San Joaquin Valley has depleted to upwards of 28 feet in several locations, which have resulted in soil compaction and the degradation of ecosystem diversity. The Montezuma Site Restoration Team will develop a 100 year master plan to replenish 1,000-acre property located in the Sacramento Valley’s Montezuma Hills Site and prepare the property for a self-sustaining closed looped farming complex. Design considerations in the master plan will consist of utilizing different strategies to recharge the site conditions in Montezuma Hills, such as keyline farming, carbon farming, biochar infiltration, holistic management, and agroforestry.