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

SPONSOR Rodella

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/21/08

HB 72

SHORT TITLE NMSU Vegetation Monitoring Studies

SB

ANALYST Haug

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

New Mexico State University (NMSU)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 72 appropriates $250.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New Mexico

State University to assist the livestock industry with vegetation monitoring studies by the

College of Agriculture and Home Economics.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the

general fund.

HED states that this request was submitted to the New Mexico Higher Education Department

(NMHED) by NMSU, but was not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for

FY09.

The HED’s evaluation table of FY09 Research and Public Service Projects provided to the LFC

classifies this project as a “does not fit within HED priorities for Higher Education" project.

Reasons for this classification decision are not provided. (LFC Report 07-20, Higher Education

House Bill 72 – Page

2

Department Review of Selected Research and Public Service Projects, January 12, 2008, Table

4, p75.)

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

House Bill 72 expands the Range Improvement Task Force (RITF) funding by $250.0 on a

recurring basis. NMSU states that two monitoring specialists, one housed at Highlands

University in northern New Mexico, and one at the NMSU main campus are envisioned. For

NMSU to continue providing leadership, new strengths must be included in our natural resource

Extension and research programs. To ensure uniform and planned implementation of

management policies, these scientists, along with the existing RITF team, must provide input and

assessment on policies affecting both public and private land users in the West. Educational

programs will be conducted to allow permittees to be certified in rangeland monitoring. This

expanded RITF focus will assist in good stewardship and the long-term health of the West's

natural resources, while recognizing the multi-cultural heritage of the region and the importance

of management for long-term sustainability

According to NMSU, the Range Improvement Task Force (RITF) was formed and first funded in

1978 through HB 323 in the 33

rd

Legislature (2

nd

Session). With the exception of one additional

position (Riparian Ecologist) which was added to the RITF in 1996, the RITF has conducted it

activities without further expansion through the state legislature. The RITF has successfully

leveraged funds provided by the state legislature to match federal and private dollars and thereby

increase its contribution to natural resource management and agricultural production in New

Mexico. The current request is expected to generate additional leveraging opportunities as the

importance of resource monitoring is becoming nationally recognized.

The RITF routinely works in all parts of New Mexico. However, several counties, based on

numbers of requests for assistance, require particular attention including: Rio Arriba, Otero,

Catron, Lincoln, and Taos. Collaborators on this program include many state, federal, private,

professional, and non-governmental agencies and organizations including, but not limited to,

Northern NM Stockmans’ Association, NM State Land Office, United States Forest Service, NM

State Forestry, NM Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute, New Mexico Cattlegrowers’,

Bureau of Land Management, and NM County Officials.

Sound science and site-specific monitoring and assessment data are critical for management

decisions, which need to be dynamic and flexible in order to respond to rapidly changing

resource conditions. Long-term range condition and trend data are fundamentally necessary for

grazing operations and for agency personnel to make comprehensive assessments of resource

conditions, livestock management strategies and wildlife numbers. Federal agency objectives,

rancher livestock management objectives, and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish

responsibilities may all be simultaneously addressed with solid monitoring data. Without these

types of site-specific data, officials and ranchers cannot make informed decisions and carry out

their responsibilities.

GH/bb