Public Lands, Water & Wildlife:
Building Resilient Landscapes and Communities
New Mexico is home to nearly 35 million acres of public lands. They support wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and traditional cultural practices that are essential for our state’s diverse communities.
However, our wildlife, waters and ecosystems are at grave risk from decades of mining and oil and gas activity, climate change impacts, and limited agency capacity to enforce rules.
In addition, complex water rights and decreasing water supplies have fueled disputes on the best ways to manage New Mexico’s waterways and rivers.
Our Vision
Governor Lujan Grisham’s executive order on 30×30 committed to protect 30% of state lands and waters by 2030. By creating a uniquely New Mexican approach, we can safeguard the natural resources we rely on for food, jobs, and recreation and protect our communities.
- Address loopholes in existing law that allow mining and other extractive industries to pollute our water and land
- Modernize our state’s water infrastructure and management to address the challenge of climate change
- Spark local, regional and federal policy discussions that will protect 30% of our watersheds by 2030
- Protect watersheds from development, pollution and diversion
Embudo Box Trail
Hike through the canyon carved by Embudo Creek in Dixon, New Mexico.
Photo: Sherman Hogue
Related Work
Learn more about conservation efforts.
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The Biden-Harris Administration has made clear that conserving land, water and wildlife for future generations is an absolute priority. The nature crisis and the climate crisis are inextricably linked. Conserving our land and water, and at the same time supporting communities in the necessary and inevitable transition away from dependence…
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Transformative legislation like Senate Bill 9, which created the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, doesn't take shape overnight. A surplus in the budget and bipartisan support in 2022/2023 primed the bill's passage. Still, the foundations for this legislation were years in the making. Tribal governments, ranchers, farmers, hikers, hunters, anglers,…
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On May 25th, 2023, the US Supreme Court released a devastating ruling that gutted the Clean Water Act and eliminated federal safeguards for our waterways. In the decision, the Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot enforce protections for our nation's wetlands. The new danger is that this language…
Broad-Based Support
CVNM partners with and supports these organizations in order to move the needle on conserving Public Lands, Water and Wildlife.
Special thanks to…