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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Tripp

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/25/2007

2/13/2007 HB 344/aHTRC

SHORT TITLE Rio Grande Habitat Restoration

SB

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$266.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Senate Bill 115

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA)

New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HTRC Amendment

The House Taxation and Revenue Committee amendment to HB 344 strikes the words “plan,

design, implement and construct" from the purpose and inserts the word “implement" instead.

The appropriation for expenditure in FY 2008 for the Soil and Water Conservation District is to

implement habitat restoration on the Rio Grande in Socorro County. The planning and designing

has already occurred.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 344 appropriates $260,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of New

Mexico State University for expenditure in FY08 for the Socorro Soil and Water Conservation

District (Socorro – SWCD) to plan, design, implement, and construct habitat restoration on the

Rio Grande in Socorro County.

House Bill 344/aHTRC - Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $266,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the General

Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to

the General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Socorro SWCD is an independent subdivision of state government, led by a board of

supervisors, the majority of whom are locally elected. Local conservation districts are tasked

with implementing programs to address local conservation needs. The Socorro SWCD has been

active in riparian restoration projects for several years, and has served as fiscal agent for the

lower Rio Grande Salt Cedar Control Project since its inception in 2002.

As reported by NMHED, the appropriation will be used to treat and remove salt cedars; re-

establish native plant species; fence the 28 miles perimeter of private properties to keep cows

from grazing on new plants; control obnoxious non-native weeds, such as the Russian

Knapweed; and follow-up of salt cedar control on 347 acres burned in 2005. This project is a

combination of continued treatment and restoration and new removal and restoration projects.

Four tracts in this area have previously received funding for treatment from state funds and

through Fish & Wildlife Service grants. This project is in partnership with the Save Our Bosque

Task Force, a nonprofit organization in Socorro County

This request was not submitted by NMSU to NMHED for review and was not included in the

Department’s funding recommendation for FY08.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 344 is a companion to Senate Bill 115, which appropriates $10,000,000 to NMSU for

the Soil and Water Conservation Commission to manage and administer salt cedar removal and

riparian restoration in accordance with the non-native phreatophyte/watershed management plan.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Office of the State Engineer/Interstate Stream Commission Analysis of Senate Bill 115

The latest analyses by the United States Academy of Sciences and the

American Council of Civil Engineers indicate that the amounts of water

salvaged by phreatophyte removal programs are much less than predicted and

may even be non-existent unless accompanied by a careful planned program of

reintroduction of low water use native plants. Studies show that in most

instances, great care must be taken or net water consumption can actually

increase, not decrease. Similar assessments are given by scientists from

national laboratories and academia.

House Bill 344/aHTRC - Page

3

Any funding for this type of work should be expended pursuant to the

FOREST AND WATERSHED HEALTH PLAN and the NEW MEXICO

STATEWIDE POLICY AND STRATEGIC PLAN FOR NON-NATIVE

PHREATOPHYTE/WATERSHED MANAGEMENT and must meet all the

requirements, guidelines, templates and protocols established by those plans.

BM/csd