New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HJM5 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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28	28	HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 5
29	29	57
30	30	TH LEGISLATURE
31	31	- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
32	32	FIRST SESSION
33	33	, 2025
34	34	INTRODUCED BY
35	35	Anita Gonzales and Elizabeth "Liz" Stefanics
36	36	A JOINT MEMORIAL
37	37	REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO STATE LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT FEDERAL
38	38	ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION AND PERMANENT PROTECTIONS FOR THE UPPER
39	39	PECOS WATERSHED TO SAFEGUARD CRITICAL WATER RESOURCES, THE
40	40	LOCAL ECONOMY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURAL HERITAGE.
41	41	WHEREAS, the Pecos river provides clean water, which is
42	42	critical to the health and well-being of local communities; and
43	43	WHEREAS, the Pecos river is one of New Mexico's most vital
44	44	waterways, sustaining acequias, traditional agriculture, land
45	45	grants-mercedes and local communities in the Pecos valley and
46	46	beyond; and
47	47	WHEREAS, the local economy is dependent on the Pecos river
48	48	to support farming, ranching and fisheries; and
49	49	WHEREAS, the upper Pecos watershed is renowned for its
50	50	outdoor recreational opportunities, including hiking, hunting,
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78	78	fishing and camping, and serves as the gateway to the Pecos
79	79	wilderness, New Mexico's most-visited wilderness area, drawing
80	80	visitors from across the state and country and contributing
81	81	significantly to the local economy; and
82	82	WHEREAS, the Pecos watershed has a long and significant
83	83	history as the ancestral home of Pecos Pueblo, whose
84	84	descendants at the Pueblo of Jemez maintain cultural and
85	85	spiritual ties to the area, along with the Pueblo of Tesuque,
86	86	which also holds sacred connections to the land; and
87	87	WHEREAS, the upper Pecos watershed provides fresh water
88	88	downstream for hundreds of miles, contributing to high-quality
89	89	aquatic habitat for native fish, including New Mexico's state
90	90	fish, the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and supports both a
91	91	cold-water fishery and the Lisboa Springs fish hatchery; and
92	92	WHEREAS, the upper Pecos watershed is an ecologically
93	93	sensitive area that provides critical habitat for wildlife and
94	94	supports biodiversity, making it essential to protect this land
95	95	from further mining activities that could cause irreversible
96	96	harm to its headwaters and ecosystems; and
97	97	WHEREAS, the Pecos river tributaries and nearby wetlands
98	98	have been recognized as crucial outstanding natural resource
99	99	waters by the state of New Mexico; and
100	100	WHEREAS, in March 1991, spring snowmelt carried
101	101	contaminants into the Pecos river, killing more than ninety
102	102	thousand fish, harming wildlife and contaminating community
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131	131	drinking water; and
132	132	WHEREAS, the rehabilitation of the watershed required
133	133	significant reclamation efforts by the state and others, and
134	134	the toxic metal cleanup cost New Mexico taxpayers twenty-eight
135	135	million dollars ($28,000,000); and
136	136	WHEREAS, on April 9, 2019, New World resources, limited,
137	137	through its Colorado subsidiary, New Mexico LLC, announced it
138	138	had acquired the Tererro copper-gold-zinc volcanogenic massive
139	139	sulfide project in New Mexico, raising concerns about the
140	140	potential for renewed mining activity in the sensitive upper
141	141	Pecos watershed; and
142	142	WHEREAS, in 2023, United States senators Martin Heinrich
143	143	and Ben Ray Luján and United States representatives Teresa
144	144	Leger Fernandez and Melanie Stansbury introduced the Pecos
145	145	Watershed Protection Act in congress, legislation to
146	146	permanently protect portions of the upper Pecos watershed in
147	147	northern New Mexico from mineral entry; and
148	148	WHEREAS, the proposed Pecos Watershed Protection Act
149	149	received national recognition and strong support, including the
150	150	endorsement of the congressional Hispanic caucus in October
151	151	2024, underscoring the cultural, spiritual and ecological
152	152	importance of this area; and
153	153	WHEREAS, the United States secretary of the interior, the
154	154	United States bureau of land management and the United States
155	155	forest service have proposed withdrawing one hundred sixty-
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184	184	three thousand four hundred eighty-three acres of national
185	185	forest system lands and one thousand three hundred twenty-seven
186	186	acres of bureau-of-land-management-managed lands in the upper
187	187	Pecos watershed from new mining claims and the issuance of new
188	188	federal mineral leases. If approved, an administrative
189	189	withdrawal would provide protection for up to twenty years; and
190	190	WHEREAS, this proposal has received overwhelming support
191	191	from acequia organizations, land grants-mercedes, local
192	192	governments, tribal leaders, conservation groups and
193	193	communities across New Mexico that are united in protecting the
194	194	watershed for future generations; and
195	195	WHEREAS, protecting the Pecos watershed is not an anti-
196	196	mining initiative, but rather a recognition of the unique
197	197	sensitivity of this region, which is still recovering from the
198	198	impacts of past mining activities and where further
199	199	disturbances could result in devastating and permanent
200	200	consequences on the headwaters of New Mexico's largest river
201	201	originating within the state;
202	202	NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
203	203	STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislature express its strong
204	204	support for the proposed federal administrative action to
205	205	withdraw specified lands within the upper Pecos watershed from
206	206	federal mining and mineral leasing laws to protect this
207	207	sensitive area and its resources; and
208	208	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature call on
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237	237	congress to pass the Pecos Watershed Protection Act and
238	238	establish permanent protections for the upper Pecos watershed
239	239	to safeguard its ecological, cultural and economic value for
240	240	current and future generations; and
241	241	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature recognize the
242	242	Pecos river's role in sustaining acequias, traditional
243	243	agriculture, land grants and local communities, as well as its
244	244	significance to outdoor recreation, biodiversity and cultural
245	245	heritage; and
246	246	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature acknowledge
247	247	and honor the historical and spiritual ties of the descendants
248	248	of Pecos Pueblo and the Pueblo of Tesuque to the Pecos region
249	249	and affirm the importance of protecting these sacred sites; and
250	250	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature urge all
251	251	relevant agencies, community leaders and stakeholders to work
252	252	collaboratively to ensure the long-term health and
253	253	sustainability of the upper Pecos watershed, balancing
254	254	conservation, cultural preservation and economic prosperity;
255	255	and
256	256	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
257	257	transmitted to the United States secretary of the interior, the
258	258	United States bureau of land management, the United States
259	259	forest service, the New Mexico congressional delegation, the
260	260	congressional Hispanic caucus and the governor.
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