Restoring Mimm's Creek: Volunteers, Native Plants, and a Desert Arroyo Coming Back to Life

A strip of bare ground behind one of Marfa's most recognized landmarks didn't look like much in 2025. No grass, no shrubs, nothing. A year later, buffalo grass, desert willow, coneflower, and Indian blanket now grow above Mimm's Creek, the result of a community-supported riparian restoration project that has quietly changed a small corner of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Bare ground above Mimm's Creek before restoration began in 2025, showing exposed soil with no vegetation — Planting native plants above Mimm's Creek, Marfa, Texas, 2025. Nothing was growing in this area when restoration began.

Mimm's Creek runs alongside La Mansana de Chinati, better known as The Block, in Marfa, Texas. Marfa sits in far southwest Texas and receives an average of 12 inches of rain per year. This is an environment where soil exposed by erosion doesn't recover on its own. The arroyo restoration project, led jointly by the Judd Foundation and Agave Festival Marfa, aims to improve water retention, reduce erosion, and rebuild wildlife habitat in and around Mimm's Creek.

Rainer Judd, President of Judd Foundation, oversees land stewardship projects for the Foundation, including the grassland restoration work at Ayala de Chinati, Donald Judd's ranch in the Chinati Mountains. The 33,000 acres of land comprising Ayala de Chinati are protected through a conservation easement established by Judd Foundation in 2000. According to Rainer, "It is our responsibility to restore every square inch of land possible."

Since 2025, the Judd Foundation has been running Arroyo Sessions during Agave Festival Marfa, volunteer workdays focused on hands-on riparian restoration. During the 2025 sessions, volunteers planted native grasses, wildflowers, and trees along the creek corridor.

Native species planted

Buffalo grass Coneflower Indian blanket Plains coreopsis Black-eyed susan Lemon mint Mexican hat Desert willow

The same stretch of land above Mimm's Creek one year after restoration, now covered with buffalo grass, desert willow, and native wildflowers — The same stretch of land above Mimm's Creek, one year after restoration began. Buffalo grass, desert willow, and native wildflowers now cover ground that was bare in 2025.

The 2026 Arroyo Session turned to a different kind of work: removing invasive species. Pulled plants were stacked directly in the creek bed, where they break down and help improve water retention over time.

"This arroyo is a stunning example of what can be done in a very small space." — Rainer Judd

Volunteers removing invasive plants during the 2026 Arroyo Session at Mimm's Creek, Marfa, Texas — Volunteers removing invasive plants during the 2026 Arroyo Session. Arroyo Sessions 2026, Judd Foundation, Marfa, Texas. Photo Sarah Vasquez. Courtesy Judd Foundation.

Invasive plants stacked in the Mimm's Creek bed following removal, slowing water flow and adding organic matter as they decompose — Invasive plants stacked in the creek bed following removal. The material slows water flow and adds organic matter to the soil as it decomposes.

The labor is provided entirely by volunteers. The plants and seeds were acquired using funds provided by Borderlands Research Institute, whose mission is to conserve the natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands through research, education, and outreach, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.

The restoration is ongoing. The site is being developed as a public seed bank and will serve as an outdoor classroom for the next ten years, giving the Marfa community a living example of what a recovering Chihuahuan Desert arroyo looks like.