Our mission is based upon the recognition that our rivers and springs are not only necessary, but that they are sacred - the life-source upon which all human and biotic communities depend. This sensibility is recognized by the Puebloan people whose stewardship of these waters, in all their various cycles and meandering forms, is cultivated as a relationship with Avanyu, the Puebloan life-giving spirit of water. Rio Grande Return joins in this spirit of stewardship. We are committed to better understanding, and to actively working to protect and restore, our watersheds, waters, and the native plants and wildlife that have evolved over millions of years in relationship to the sacred waters of the arid Southwest.