44th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2000

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND THE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS STATEWIDE TO IMPLEMENT A NOXIOUS WEED CONTROL PROGRAM TO PROTECT THE STATE'S ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY FROM NOXIOUS AND EXOTIC WEED INFESTATIONS.

WHEREAS, noxious and exotic weeds have invaded other states and are impinging on New Mexico's natural environment and agriculturally productive and valuable lands and will have significant and potentially disastrous consequences if not controlled early; and

WHEREAS, noxious and exotic weeds cause damage to wildlife habitat, poison grazing animals and browsers, displace native grasses, destroy native ecosystems, reduce biological diversity, increase soil erosion, alter hydrologic function and water production and cause extensive damage to agricultural economies; and

WHEREAS, more than thirty species of noxious and exotic weeds have invaded New Mexico, including leafy spurge, starthistle, camelthorn, saltcedar and Russian knapweed; and

WHEREAS, leafy spurge has caused one hundred twenty-nine million dollars ($129,000,000) in damage in four northern great plains states and is invading four counties in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, starthistle has infested twenty million acres in California and about one thousand acres so far in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, camelthorn has appeared in several areas of New Mexico and is spreading into the middle Rio Grande area; and

WHEREAS, Russian knapweed releases a natural herbicide that kills native plants growing near infested areas, kills horses and other domestic animals and is now found in nineteen New Mexico counties; and

WHEREAS, the New Mexico department of agriculture and soil and water conservation districts are developing voluntary weed control programs to avoid an exponential expansion in infested acreage in the next ten years;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico department of agriculture and the soil and water conservation districts statewide be requested to implement a noxious weed control program to protect the state's environment and economy from noxious and exotic weed infestations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture and the soil and water conservation districts statewide.