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

SPONSOR Cisneros

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/21/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Study Taos’ Buffalo Pasture Water Resources

SB 1165

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$500.0 Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

Department of Game and Fish (DGF)

No Response Received From

Office of the State Engineer (OSE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 1165 appropriates $500 thousand from the general fund to the Indian Affairs

Department to study the ecology, water resources, geology and hydrology of Taos Pueblo's

buffalo pasture.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $500 thousand contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the

general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year

2008 shall revert to the general fund.

Presumably the study would only need to be done once making the appropriation non-recurring.

Senate Bill 1165 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Game and Fish provides the following background information.

Significant issues relate to studying the natural systems associated with the Buffalo Pasture on

Taos Pueblo property. According to New Mexico Office of the State Engineer documentation,

dated January 11, 2006, the Buffalo Pasture is a large wetland located in and around the lower

Rio Lucero, upstream from its confluence with the Rio Pueblo de Taos. The Buffalo Pasture is

fed by the discharge of groundwater at numerous springs. A number of springs discharge

groundwater in the upper Taos Valley within a few miles of the mountain front, where the water

table is relatively shallow. The most significant of these springs are associated with the Buffalo

Pasture on Taos Pueblo.

The Indian Affairs Department adds that the Taos Pueblo Buffalo Pasture is a sacred Pueblo

wetland that is a source of water for Taos Pueblo and surrounding areas.

1

“The Buffalo Pasture

is the natural wetland located to the north and west of the Pueblo’s traditional village area. This

wetland is a critical Pueblo cultural resource on which its members have relied since time

immemorial and which it continues to use for cultural and traditional purposes."

2

According to the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, Draft Settlement Agreement for the

Taos Pueblo Water Rights Settlement, the “[r]estoration, preservation, and protection of the

Buffalo Pasture have been central negotiation goals [of the Taos Water Rights Settlement]."

3

(Emphasis added).

The water table supporting the Taos Pueblo Buffalo Pasture has declined in recent years, a partial

result of drought and increased ground water pumping. “The surface area of the Buffalo Pasture

is said to have decreased, some springs have stopped flowing, and many shallow wells have

failed."

4

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The bill does not address the purpose of the report once produced.

MW/csd

1

Taos Pueblo Water Rights Settlement Benefits, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, Interstate Stream

Commission, <http://www.ose.state.nm.us/PDF/Settlemen ts/Taos/TaosBenefits-2006-04-11.pdf>

2

Proposed Draft Abeyta Settlement Agreement, P. 24,

<http://www.taospueblo.com/pdf/Abeyta_Settlement_Agreement__public_release-03_31_06_.pdf>

3

Taos Pueblo Water Rights Settlement, Summary of Settlement Provisions, New Mexico Office of the State

Engineer, Interstate Stream Commission, P. 10,

<http://www.ose.state.nm.us/PDF/Settlements/Taos/TaosSummaryOfSettlementProvisions-2006-04-11.pdf>

4

The Geology and Landscape of the Taos Region, Paul Bauer, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral

Resources, P. 14, < http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/decisionmakers/2005/DM_2005_Ch1.pdf>