HOUSE MEMORIAL 12

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

INTRODUCED BY

Cathrynn N. Brown and Gail Armstrong

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO ISSUE A PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING 2021 AS THE "INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CAVES AND KARST".

     WHEREAS, caves and related landforms like sinkholes, springs and sinking streams, collectively known as karst, present some of the world's most dramatic landscapes; and

     WHEREAS, caves and karst have diverse economic, ecologic, scientific and cultural impacts around New Mexico, the United States and the world; and

     WHEREAS, Carlsbad Caverns national park alone has an economic benefit of about thirty-four million dollars ($34,000,000) each year for New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, other New Mexico cave tourist destinations include Bottomless Lakes state park, Santa Rosa blue hole, the ice cave and Bandera volcano and El Malpais national monument; and

     WHEREAS, the country's first underground wilderness was established in New Mexico to protect the spectacular Lechuguilla cave; and

     WHEREAS, the country's first underground national conservation area was established in New Mexico to protect the equally amazing Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave national conservation area; and

     WHEREAS, the primary water supplies for roughly fifteen percent of New Mexico are karst aquifers, especially supporting the communities in the southeast quadrant of the state; and

     WHEREAS, recognizing New Mexico's significance and interest in the area, the United States congress established the national cave and karst research institute, located in New Mexico in partnership with the state and under the administration of the New Mexico institute of mining and technology; and

     WHEREAS, insect-eating bats from New Mexico's caves and around the country save American agriculture twenty-three billion dollars ($23,000,000,000) each year in pesticides; and

     WHEREAS, globally, bats help produce more than four hundred fifty foods, medicines and industrial products, in addition to other benefits; and

     WHEREAS, caves in New Mexico and worldwide are the main repositories of thousands of years of rich cultural history found nowhere else; and

     WHEREAS, karst and related pseudokarst areas are landscapes that make up twenty-five percent of the United States and about twenty percent of the planet's land surface; and

     WHEREAS, while cave and karst areas have multiple benefits, they also pose many challenges, as their aquifers are easily contaminated and drained, and sinkholes alone cause over three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) in road damage in the United States each year; and

     WHEREAS, through the national cave and karst research institute, the New Mexico institute of mining and technology and their partners, New Mexico is taking the lead in sustainably maximizing the benefits of caves and karst, while reducing adverse impacts, through research and education programs; and

     WHEREAS, in recognition of the many benefits and challenges provided by caves and karst in the areas where they occur, the international union of speleology is spearheading the celebration of 2021 as the international year of caves and karst;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to acknowledge the importance of caves and karst in New Mexico by issuing a proclamation recognizing 2021 as the "International Year of Caves and Karst"; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor and the executive director of the national cave and karst research institute.

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