New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed two conservation and wildlife-related bills into law recently, establishing the state’s first-ever recurring funding for conservation efforts.
Grisham signed Senate Bill 9 into law, creating the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund. It will consist of two $50 million funds, with one fund dedicated to existing state programs and the remaining $50 million going into a permanent trust fund managed by the State Investment Council.
“There are few states that value the land and water like we do here in New Mexico,” Grisham said in a release from her office. “After years of hard work by a broad coalition of legislators, state agencies, community organizations and non-governmental organizations, I’m proud that we are prioritizing funding for conservation efforts now more than ever before.”
The funding, according to the release, will go to programs that “prioritize land and water stewardship, forest and watershed health, outdoor recreation and infrastructure, agriculture and working lands, historic preservation and wildlife species protection.”
The Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund is sponsored by Majority Floor Leader Sen. Peter Wirth, Sen. Steven P. Neville and Rep. Nathan Small.
“The protection and promotion of our land, air and water through conservation, infrastructure support and preservation is an investment every New Mexican should be proud to support,” Wirth said in the release. “And with this sustained, predictable funding in place, we gain access to untapped federal dollars that will multiply these investments many times over.”
Neville said he's grateful Grisham and his colleagues “saw this bill to the finish line.”
“I’m proud that today, New Mexico’s enchantment was solidified for my grandkids and their grandkids,” he said.
The governor also signed Senate Bill 72, which creates a fund for the implementation of the Wildlife Corridors Action Plan and is accompanied by a $5 million appropriation in the budget.
The bill was sponsored by President Pro Tempore Sen. Mimi Stewart. It comes after a 2022 study by DOT and the Department of Game and which identified 11 high-priority safe passage projects around the state designed to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and restore habitat connectivity.
The study said roughly 1,200 wildlife vehicle crashes are reported every year, costing drivers and the state nearly $20 million in property damage, emergency response and healthcare costs.
“We all owe a tremendous thanks to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her vision and leadership on conservation funding, along with sponsors Chairman Small and Sens. Wirth and Neville, and those legislators who voted to support SB 9,” Demis Foster, executive director of Conservation Voters New Mexico, said in the release. “We ask a lot from our lands and waters, which support our farmers and ranchers, are critical habitats for wildlife and are the foundation for recreation, hunting and fishing, tourism, and traditional cultural practices. These two conservation funds are a good, bipartisan, beginning to ensure we can protect our lands, waters, wildlife and cultural heritage for future generations.”