Director’s Message

Winter 2015

Here we are — on the other side of one of the toughest elections in our organization’s history. Though we are disappointed with the low voter turnout and overall outcome of the election, we did have some successes. Six of our endorsed incumbents in the House won and three new pro-conservation candidates are headed to the legislature. We thank them for their commitment to protecting New Mexico!
With the re-election of anti-conservation Governor Martinez and the impending loss of conservation leadership in key committees in the House, we know that the upcoming legislative session will perhaps be the toughest we have ever faced. But we still have our pro-conservation leaders in the Senate and CVNM is already crafting our legislative strategy. We will face this new political landscape with a bold and unwavering commitment to protect our communities’ land, air and water.
Meanwhile, through CVNM Education Fund, we are deepening our relationships, organizing town halls, and hosting skills and leadership training in McKinley and Cibola counties. We look forward to expanding our rural organizing work into Rio Arriba County and launching our new partnership with Acoma Pueblo. Our Latino organizing team, Juntos, continues their work connecting with thousands of people across Albuquerque about including clean energy in PNM’s replacement power plan and encouraging families to get involved. We are also ramping up our facilitation of the Environmental Alliance of New Mexico (EANM), in which we collaborate with dozens of our conservation allies on a unified strategy for the upcoming legislative session.
Together, we are strong. I want you to know how important you are to CVNM and our conservation community. With your support, we stand steadfast to protect our beautiful Land of Enchantment. We aren’t going anywhere — because New Mexico is worth fighting for.
With Gratitude –

Demis Foster, CVNM Executive Director