50 million boost for northern New Mexico watershed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: George Ducker
Communications Coordinator
george.ducker@emnrd.nm.gov
505-699-0601
December 30, 2024
$50 million boost for northern New Mexico watershed
Federal grant will protect 32,000 acres of culturally significant land
SANTA FE – The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Forestry Division recently received a $50 million U.S. Forest Service grant to purchase and conserve 32,580 acres in the Vermejo watershed in northern New Mexico’s Colfax County.
The award from the federal Forest Legacy Grant Program will fund efforts to conserve this culturally sensitive landscape through an innovative co-management partnership between a coalition of Tribal Nations and Pueblos with ancestral ties to this land, the Flower Hill Institute and The Nature Conservancy .
"Large-scale conservation, restoration and land stewardship opportunities like this are important for our state," said EMNRD Sec. Designate Melanie Kenderdine . “The purchase and protection of the Vermejo watershed helps preserve this beautiful landscape and support the people who depend on it.”
The Vermejo River Watershed Conservation Project area is part of the Dawson Elk Valley Ranch, a 50,039-acre property that includes 7.2 miles of the Vermejo River.
The partners’ land conservation and management plan will expand a mosaic of conserved lands extending from New Mexico through the Southern High Plains of Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
“Conservation efforts like this provide downstream benefits in multiple ways” said State Forester Laura McCarthy . “Land conservation is a huge piece of the puzzle in terms of stabilizing and preserving watershed areas, but these areas also become a part of efforts to reduce catastrophic wildfire through collaborative means.”
The Vermejo River provides clean drinking water for over 750,000 people
across 4 states. (Photo by Mirr Ranch Group)
Beyond scenic beauty and Tribal heritage, the diversity of wildlife on the Vermejo watershed is exceptional. It houses eight endangered species, 24 threatened species, and a large herd of elk. The property also includes a portion of the Vermejo River, a tributary to the Canadian River, which provides a clean water supply for hundreds of thousands of people.
“This is a truly historic moment,” said Roger Fragua (Jemez Pueblo), Co-founder & Executive Director, Flower Hill Institute . “This project will create opportunities for participating Tribes to reconnect with each other, reconnect with ancestral land, and perhaps most importantly, strengthen the connections between themselves and microbes, pollinators, finned, winged and four legged beings. This is a progressive new model that can serve as a blueprint for future projects.”
For more information about the Forestry Division’s involvement in the Forest Legacy Program, click here .
Link to this press release available here .
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The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department provides resource protection and renewable energy resource development services to the public and other state agencies.
https://www.emnrd.nm.gov