Collective Action
From the President’s Desk: Governor Lujan Grisham’s Bad Water Priorities for Next Fiscal Year
While many steps are being taken in the right direction, we are short on reliable facts, trusted data, and funding; and long on misinformation. The Governor’s water leadership focus is badwater treatment, justified by oil and gas industry disinformation. The opportunity costs of this focus are unacceptable. The State of New Mexico must instead focus on stewardship of the good water that we have.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: Water Resilience, Powerful Politicians, and 10-Year Outcomes
While many steps are being taken in the right direction, we are short on reliable facts, trusted data, and funding; and long on misinformation. The Governor’s water leadership focus is badwater treatment, justified by oil and gas industry disinformation. The opportunity costs of this focus are unacceptable. The State of New Mexico must instead focus on stewardship of the good water that we have.
Read MoreRainwater Catchment: a Path Back to Traditional Farming
The recently articulated vision of the Honoring Water Group, an informal citizen’s group meeting at Zuni, Vanderwagen and Gallup is: “Abundant water, respected and treated ethically. When water is honored as sacred, mutual flourishing is possible.” This citizen’s group, with much organizational support from James and Joyce Skeet of Vanderwagen, seeks to honor and protect water in…
Read MoreWe’re Still in a Heap of Trouble
The inconvenient truth is New Mexico’s economic well-being depends critically upon water. We are already in one of the driest periods in the last millennium and changing climate will make it worse.
Several statewide issues foretell slow train wrecks and do need attention. However, there is one water issue in the Middle Rio Grande that is urgent, potentially a fast train wreck. This article describes that urgent issue.
Read MoreStaring into New Mexico’s Water Supply Abyss
Water managers along the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) and across New Mexico increasingly feel as if they are staring into an abyss of water shortages for increasing numbers of users who depend on water supplies for drinking, for economic growth, and even for the survival of our present-day economy. The reliable supply of NM’s surface…
Read MoreNM Court Stops Augustin Plains Ranch Water Grab
At a momentous hearing on April 5, 2024, more than 100 community members from Catron County crowded the court room and hallways of the Seventh Judicial District court in Reserve to hear oral argument on the Augustin Plains Ranch LLC’s continuing and relentless requests to mine and hoard 54,000 acre-feet of water a year from…
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: State Government Neglect of Water Must Stop Now
To prevent population evaporation, it is vital that the state fund serious adaptation measures to cope with reduced water availability. This is not a temporary drought but a permanent increase in aridity. The State of New Mexico has the power and resources to initiate required strategic changes. We know the path forward. We urge you to communicate this to the Governor and the Legislature. Do what Water requires. Do it Now.
Read MoreCommentary: Surviving a drought
Drought – nature’s reminder that water does not grow on trees.
Drought is the time when some form of government advice or regulation prescribes that we collectively choose to reduce our uses of water, usually because of some form of government advice or regulation. It is the time when
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: “The Middle Rio Grande Water Governance Forecast is for Accelerating Progress in 2024!”
Part II – “Co-Creation of a Sustainable Water Future for the Middle Rio Grande.”
The past two years have set the stage for accelerated progress in managing New Mexico’s water resources for much greater resilience, as described in Part I, a 2023 summary report. Part II is about 2024.
Water Funding by the 2024 Legislature is Essential. Please tell your legislators.
Together, New Mexicans made significant strides in addressing the multifaceted challenges of water management and conservation in New Mexico in 2023.
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