SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 25

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Richard C. Martinez and Carlos R. Cisneros

 

 

 

 

 

A JOINT MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF ACEQUIAS AND COMMUNITY DITCHES TO NEW MEXICO'S ECONOMY.

 

     WHEREAS, for centuries, acequias have been the lifeblood of communities throughout New Mexico, creating a common cultural and historical heritage and providing water for food production; and

     WHEREAS, agriculture contributes two billion six hundred thousand dollars ($2,000,600,000) to the economy of New Mexico annually, based on the United States department of agriculture's 2012 census of agriculture; and

     WHEREAS, agriculture from counties with significant numbers of acequias comprises an estimated two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) of agriculture's market value based on county level data for which the annual county market value is between six million dollars ($6,000,000) and seventy million dollars ($70,000,000), depending on the county; and

     WHEREAS, in counties with acequias, agriculture is a significant sector of the economy that supports the livelihood of farmers and ranchers; and

     WHEREAS, the tourism economy contributes to tens of thousands of jobs in New Mexico, including in rural areas where the image of the acequia is imprinted on a cultural landscape that draws visitors; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, water is scarce and fully allocated, and rural and agricultural water rights are under threat of being transferred to urban and industrial uses; and

     WHEREAS, acequia farmland and water rights are the foundation of a rural economy that can support economic growth by building local food systems that provide fresh, locally grown food and by supporting rural livelihoods and jobs; and

     WHEREAS, a state-based strategy to build upon acequia agriculture should include policy protections for farmland and water rights, investing in farmer training as a type of workforce development and inclusion of acequias in local economic development initiatives;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it recognize the importance of acequias to rural economic development because of their contributions to farm and ranch economies and the cultural landscapes that support tourism; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico department of agriculture and the economic development department be requested to assist the New Mexico acequia association in developing programs and policy recommendations intended to recognize the economic value of acequias in policy decisions by various state agencies and to strengthen the role of acequias in rural economic development initiatives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture, the college of agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences of New Mexico state university, the secretary of economic development, the acequia commission and the New Mexico acequia association.

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