New Mexico Wild

The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) grassroots organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and continued enjoyment of New Mexico’s wildlands and wilderness areas. Founded in 1997, we achieve our mission through administrative protection, federal wilderness designation, and ongoing stewardship. We have a membership of individuals from all corners of New Mexico and across the nation. Our organizing efforts span the state and involve many diverse groups, including ranchers, sportsmen, land grants, acequia communities, tribal and religious leaders, scientists, youth, and community leaders. We are the only statewide wilderness group in New Mexico with a proven track record of building diverse coalitions to protect our public lands.

Learn More at their Website

Related Climate Change Legislation/Initiatives

Topics:

Air Quality
Effective
Government
Energy &
Climate Change
Environmental
Justice
Land
Water
Wildlife & Habitat
Conservation

Bill #	Title	Sponsors	CVNM Position	Year
HB 9	Immigrant Safety Act more Summary: It is well documented that ICE is sweeping up people who “look like” criminal immigrants and warehousing them in facilities far from where most of them live. Aging infrastructure and lack of functioning climate control systems in these detention centers leave people in ICE custody vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including heat waves, cold snaps and dust storms. Additionally, detention centers and the private companies who run them have a long history of environmental abuse. Several have contaminated soils and groundwater with toxic chemicals, including asbestos, benzene, lead, and mercury that continue to contaminate watersheds and rivers. CVNM strongly supported this legislation because we know that global heating and climate change impacts everyone, and is a predominant contributing factor driving human migration. Equity and climate justice require that all climate migrants–whether U.S. residents moving internally or international climate migrants crossing the border into the U.S.–be treated with respect and dignity. Outcome: Passed the House Floor (40-29), and the Senate Floor (24-15), and was signed by the Governor on Feb. 5, 2026.	Eleanor Chávez	Support	2026
HB 207	Water Quality Commission Produced Water Rules more Summary: A waste product from the oil and gas industry, produced water contains hundreds of known and unknown chemicals. Many of these chemicals are toxic to human health and the environment, including carcinogens and radioactive pollutants. New Mexico does not currently have surface water quality standards for at least 180 potentially toxic chemicals found in oil and gas wastewater. Once these chemicals contaminate water, it is impossible to fully reclaim it based on currently available technologies. The use of produced water has already been heavily debated and analyzed by the Water Quality Control Commission, which promulgated a rule in May 2025 that prohibits the discharge of produced water into streams, rivers, and groundwater for five years. HB 207 would have circumvented the weeks of deliberation, thoughtful and deep public engagement, and expert analysis that went into the WQCC’s decision by mandating the state allow for the discharge of water anyway. Outcome: Tabled in the House Agriculture, Acequia, and Water Resources Committee.	Cathrynn N. Brown	Oppose	2026
HJR 5	Legislative Compensation, CA more Summary: This resolution would amend the New Mexico constitution to allow for compensation for legislators. The salary would be set at the annual median household income of New Mexico. The salary cannot be raised unless the annual median income goes up, and the salary will go down if the annual median income goes down. The implementation of the salaries would not kick in until 2029. New Mexico is the last state in the Union to have an unpaid, volunteer citizen legislature. By paying legislators New Mexico will benefit from more ordinary, working New Mexicans having the ability to step up and represent their communities in the Roundhouse, which strengthens our democracy and greatly benefits civil society. Outcome: Passed in the House (41-26) and in the Senate (23-19), and now goes to the people for ratification in the November 2026 election.	Cristina Parajón	Support	2026
SB 18	Clear Horizons & Emissions Codification more Summary: The Clear Horizons Act (CHA) is a long-term planning law that would have put New Mexico’s climate pollution reduction goals into statute and given state environmental agencies clear authority to measure, track, and guide progress over time. CHA would have set in law limits on how much greenhouse gases New Mexico can emit, aiming to greatly reduce pollution by 2030, even more by 2040 and to stop it completely by 2050. Rules adopted under CHA would have applied only to large industrial sources that leak 10,000+ metric tons of pollution per year or groups of sources under common ownership emitting 25,000+ metric tons of pollution per year combined. The Clear Horizons Act responded to the real and growing costs New Mexicans are already paying as extreme weather becomes more frequent and severe. New data presented to legislators during the interim shows that climate-driven disasters are placing increasing strain on both household budgets and state finances. Outcome: Passed through Senate Conservation Committee and Senate Tax, Business, and Transportation Committee, but failed to pass on the Senate floor (19-23).	Mimi Stewart	Support	2026
SB 235	Microgrid Oversight Act more Summary: Microgrids, also referred to as “self-source generation resources,” are multiplying rapidly in New Mexico alongside the rapid expansion of larger data centers. Investors in these data centers are pushing for methane gas-fired electricity as the primary power source. Current policy excludes microgrids from adhering to the same greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that public electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives must attain to reach 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045 and 2050, respectively. SB 235 would have addressed this issue by requiring microgrids to attain 100% zero-carbon electricity generation by 2045 through steady investment in renewable and zero-carbon resources, or to cease operation. The bill would have also prohibited the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) from approving a public electric utility's purchase of a microgrid if the costs of microgrid development would have increased customer bills. Outcome: Passed in the Senate (22-20), then died waiting to be scheduled in the House Judiciary Committee.	Jeff Steinborn	Support	2026
SB 264	Election Rights & Troops at Elections more Summary: SB 264 adds several new sections to the Election Code which gives New Mexico the legal tools to prevent and remedy interference with elections, sets forth procedures for holding elections during an emergency, and clearly defines and sets penalties for election intimidation. These common-sense reforms to our Election Code help strengthen New Mexico’s nation leading voter protections even further. Election integrity is the foundation of democracy, and maintaining a healthy democracy is core to Conservation Voters New Mexico’s mission. Outcome: Passed in the Senate (26-16) and in the House (41-26), and was signed by the Governor on Mar. 9, 2026.	Katy M. Duhigg	Support	2026

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