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SENATE MEMORIAL 13

TH LEGISLATURE

- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -

FIRST SESSION

, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Mary Jane M. Garcia

A MEMORIAL

SUPPORTING ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OF THE RIO GRANDE IN SOUTHERN

NEW MEXICO BY ENCOURAGING STAKEHOLDERS TO WORK TOGETHER TO

SECURE WATER FOR RESTORATION.

WHEREAS, the governor has declared 2007 to be the "year of

water"; and

WHEREAS, the Rio Grande has been the lifeblood for human

cultures in New Mexico for thousands of years; and

WHEREAS, the Rio Grande provides important habitat for

hundreds of plant and animal species; and

WHEREAS, the lower Rio Grande ecosystem in southern New

Mexico has been compromised by the construction and operation

of two federal water projects since 1916; and

WHEREAS, approximately two-thirds of the native fish

species historically found in the Rio Grande below Caballo dam

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have disappeared, along with more than ninety-five percent of

the original wetlands and riparian bosque; and

WHEREAS, the water of the lower Rio Grande is fully

appropriated for agriculture; and

WHEREAS, there is growing interest in restoring the Rio

Grande to ecological health; and

WHEREAS, a healthy Rio Grande ecosystem benefits New

Mexicans by providing a renewable supply of clean water for

cities and farms, preserving the natural heritage, helping to

avoid additional listings of endangered species and

contributing to the quality of life in communities along the

river; and

WHEREAS, every kind of restoration project, from planting

trees, creating wetlands or opening former meanders, entails

the consumption of some amount of water and needs to be

supported by water rights; and

WHEREAS, the lower Rio Grande has no legal rights to its

own water; that is, no water is currently available for

restoration projects; and

WHEREAS, the statutorily defined purposes for which water

could be acquired as part of the New Mexico strategic river

reserve do not apply to the lower Rio Grande at this time due

to the lack of endangered species, compact delivery obligations

or court settlements requiring water; and

WHEREAS, mechanisms currently exist that could be used to

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achieve voluntary transfers of water to support restoration

efforts, including purchase, lease and donation of water and

water rights;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE

OF NEW MEXICO that it support ecological restoration of the

lower Rio Grande by urging all stakeholders to work together to

obtain through voluntary mechanisms the water needed to support

restoration efforts intended to benefit the Rio Grande

ecosystem in southern New Mexico; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT copies of this memorial be

transmitted to members of the lower Rio Grande water users

organization and the Paso del Norte watershed council.

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