In 2008, our project began reforesting the watersheds of Lake Pátzcuaro and Lake Zirahuen.

Lake Pátzcuaro is highly important to the daily lives of the indigenous P’urhépecha who inhabit its shores and its islands. The lakeside communities depend on its fish and reeds for much of their livelihood. Tourism, centered on the lake and the local indigenous culture, drives the economy for all the region’s inhabitants. The tourism industry is especially important to the city of Pátzcuaro, as well as the state capital of Morelia which lies 50 kilometers away.

Once believed to be the gateway to heaven by pre-Hispanic P’urhépecha, the lake has been poisoned by pollution and is shrinking from siltation by topsoil that washes down from small family agricultural plots, and recently large avocado plantations on the surrounding mountainsides. Large scale erosion from the fields on its watershed has filled the western side of this shallow lake. Although fishing and fisheries are important to local communities, the fish in the lake are not safe to eat due to pollution by raw sewage and agricultural runoff.

Former lakeside communities, such as Erongaricuaro, are now connected to the lake by long canals. The historic island of Jarácuaro has become part of the mainland, as the shore marches steadily toward the island of Janitizio, a famous icon in the center of the lake and major tourist destination.

Farmers continue to break the ground of their milpas (small farm plots) just prior to summer rains, a few still using animal drawn plows, where they plant corn or oats for domestic use. Heavy summer rains provide moisture to the crops and carry topsoil into the lake in an endless cycle. Avocado orchards are now replacing native forests on the slopes above the lake, and like corn fields, the open soil erodes, carrying nitrates and pesticides into the water.

The lake is also home to a rich variety of wildlife such as resident and migrating birds and aquatic animals, including a critically endangered species, the Lake Patzcuaro salamander. Efforts to restore the lake can never be successful until the mountainsides are returned to forest.

Lake Zirahuen is smaller, but deeper than Lake Pátzcuaro, and lies on an adjacent watershed. This lake is also being negatively impacted by pollutants and siltation. Rapid development of its watershed demands attention to reforestation of eroded mountainsides. Numerous large avocado plantations on adjacent slopes create a special challenge.