New Mexico Legislative Session Ends with Significant Investments in Rivers and Habitat

New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session ended on February 19, 2026. In New Mexico, even years like this one are quick 30-day periods that focus totally on the price range relatively than on giant coverage points. Regardless of the brevity, 2026 was very profitable for securing essential funding for water, and for advancing a few of our longstanding priorities. 

We’re thrilled that the price range signed by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham on March 11 features a $13 million greenback appropriation for the River Stewardship Program, and a $10 million greenback appropriation for the Strategic Water Reserve.  

The River Stewardship Program is housed within the New Mexico Surroundings Division and awards grants for riparian restoration initiatives across the state. It persistently has way more curiosity than out there funds. This program receives about $2 million {dollars} by the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, however has traditionally solely acquired just a few million {dollars} per yr from the state legislature. An further $10 million greenback appropriation for this yr will probably be a big funding in the direction of restoring New Mexico’s riparian ecosystems. 

The Strategic Water Reserve is managed by the Interstate Stream Fee and is permitted to buy and lease water rights and launch the water into rivers for a wide range of functions, together with endangered species safety, leisure wants, and to attain compliance with the Rio Grande Compact. Just like the River Stewardship program, it has traditionally acquired a lot smaller quantities of cash and this inflow of funds will enable the state to strategically place water in rivers and streams that so desperately want it. 

We’ve got labored on bolstering each of those crucial applications for a few years. 80% of New Mexico’s at-risk chicken species are utterly riparian-dependent, so these applications are important for guaranteeing these birds and the locations they want are intact.  

We had been additionally in a position to safe $2 million {dollars} for the College of New Mexico to replace and increase the Environmental Database Audubon Southwest  helped create in 2021. This database homes most of New Mexico’s environmental and public well being information in a single spot, in order that data might be examined and completely different state businesses could make extra knowledgeable choices. The aim for this funding is to show the database into extra of an analytical instrument that may start to foretell and analyze impacts from initiatives. You can explore the database here.  

Lastly, we’re so excited that Senate Invoice 104 handed the legislature and has change into legislation. This was the final piece of the puzzle to modernize New Mexico’s Sport and Fish Division. You could bear in mind Senate Invoice 5, which was the Sport and Fish modernization package deal which handed final yr. That invoice completed 4 major issues: 1) it modified the identify of the Division to the Division of Wildlife; 2) it up to date the charge construction for searching and fishing licenses; 3) it clarified the division’s authority to work on all species together with pollinators; and 4)  it de-politicized the Sport Fee by specifying {qualifications} for some positions and making a nominating committee to supply certified candidates to the Governor.  

Senate Invoice 5 additionally had a course of for eradicating Commissioners, which was vetoed out of the invoice by the Governor final yr. Nevertheless, this yr we had been in a position to attain a compromise which can permits for a removing course of. Removing of Commissioners will probably be initiated by the Governor after which go instantly to the state Supreme Court docket for a listening to to decide whether or not the Commissioner was eliminated for the causes laid out in legislation. That is wanted in order that Commissioners might solely be eliminated for particular causes relatively than at will, and to make sure a transparent and comparatively quick course of for the way that occurs.  

We admire our superb members who contacted their legislators through the session. We look ahead to extra progress within the upcoming longer 2027 session!