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HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 5
57
TH LEGISLATURE
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
FIRST SESSION
, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Anita Gonzales and Elizabeth "Liz" Stefanics
A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO STATE LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT FEDERAL
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION AND PERMANENT PROTECTIONS FOR THE UPPER
PECOS WATERSHED TO SAFEGUARD CRITICAL WATER RESOURCES, THE
LOCAL ECONOMY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURAL HERITAGE.
WHEREAS, the Pecos river provides clean water, which is
critical to the health and well-being of local communities; and
WHEREAS, the Pecos river is one of New Mexico's most vital
waterways, sustaining acequias, traditional agriculture, land
grants-mercedes and local communities in the Pecos valley and
beyond; and
WHEREAS, the local economy is dependent on the Pecos river
to support farming, ranching and fisheries; and
WHEREAS, the upper Pecos watershed is renowned for its
outdoor recreational opportunities, including hiking, hunting,
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fishing and camping, and serves as the gateway to the Pecos
wilderness, New Mexico's most-visited wilderness area, drawing
visitors from across the state and country and contributing
significantly to the local economy; and
WHEREAS, the Pecos watershed has a long and significant
history as the ancestral home of Pecos Pueblo, whose
descendants at the Pueblo of Jemez maintain cultural and
spiritual ties to the area, along with the Pueblo of Tesuque,
which also holds sacred connections to the land; and
WHEREAS, the upper Pecos watershed provides fresh water
downstream for hundreds of miles, contributing to high-quality
aquatic habitat for native fish, including New Mexico's state
fish, the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and supports both a
cold-water fishery and the Lisboa Springs fish hatchery; and
WHEREAS, the upper Pecos watershed is an ecologically
sensitive area that provides critical habitat for wildlife and
supports biodiversity, making it essential to protect this land
from further mining activities that could cause irreversible
harm to its headwaters and ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, the Pecos river tributaries and nearby wetlands
have been recognized as crucial outstanding natural resource
waters by the state of New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, in March 1991, spring snowmelt carried
contaminants into the Pecos river, killing more than ninety
thousand fish, harming wildlife and contaminating community
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drinking water; and
WHEREAS, the rehabilitation of the watershed required
significant reclamation efforts by the state and others, and
the toxic metal cleanup cost New Mexico taxpayers twenty-eight
million dollars ($28,000,000); and
WHEREAS, on April 9, 2019, New World resources, limited,
through its Colorado subsidiary, New Mexico LLC, announced it
had acquired the Tererro copper-gold-zinc volcanogenic massive
sulfide project in New Mexico, raising concerns about the
potential for renewed mining activity in the sensitive upper
Pecos watershed; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, United States senators Martin Heinrich
and Ben Ray Luján and United States representatives Teresa
Leger Fernandez and Melanie Stansbury introduced the Pecos
Watershed Protection Act in congress, legislation to
permanently protect portions of the upper Pecos watershed in
northern New Mexico from mineral entry; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Pecos Watershed Protection Act
received national recognition and strong support, including the
endorsement of the congressional Hispanic caucus in October
2024, underscoring the cultural, spiritual and ecological
importance of this area; and
WHEREAS, the United States secretary of the interior, the
United States bureau of land management and the United States
forest service have proposed withdrawing one hundred sixty-
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three thousand four hundred eighty-three acres of national
forest system lands and one thousand three hundred twenty-seven
acres of bureau-of-land-management-managed lands in the upper
Pecos watershed from new mining claims and the issuance of new
federal mineral leases. If approved, an administrative
withdrawal would provide protection for up to twenty years; and
WHEREAS, this proposal has received overwhelming support
from acequia organizations, land grants-mercedes, local
governments, tribal leaders, conservation groups and
communities across New Mexico that are united in protecting the
watershed for future generations; and
WHEREAS, protecting the Pecos watershed is not an anti-
mining initiative, but rather a recognition of the unique
sensitivity of this region, which is still recovering from the
impacts of past mining activities and where further
disturbances could result in devastating and permanent
consequences on the headwaters of New Mexico's largest river
originating within the state;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislature express its strong
support for the proposed federal administrative action to
withdraw specified lands within the upper Pecos watershed from
federal mining and mineral leasing laws to protect this
sensitive area and its resources; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature call on
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congress to pass the Pecos Watershed Protection Act and
establish permanent protections for the upper Pecos watershed
to safeguard its ecological, cultural and economic value for
current and future generations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature recognize the
Pecos river's role in sustaining acequias, traditional
agriculture, land grants and local communities, as well as its
significance to outdoor recreation, biodiversity and cultural
heritage; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature acknowledge
and honor the historical and spiritual ties of the descendants
of Pecos Pueblo and the Pueblo of Tesuque to the Pecos region
and affirm the importance of protecting these sacred sites; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature urge all
relevant agencies, community leaders and stakeholders to work
collaboratively to ensure the long-term health and
sustainability of the upper Pecos watershed, balancing
conservation, cultural preservation and economic prosperity;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the United States secretary of the interior, the
United States bureau of land management, the United States
forest service, the New Mexico congressional delegation, the
congressional Hispanic caucus and the governor.
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