Western Resource Advocates
Western Resource Advocates
Western Resource Advocates (WRA) fights climate change to sustain the environment, economy, and people of the West. Our team of policy experts in New Mexico works with local communities and decision-makers to preserve the state’s precious land and water resources.
Last month, WRA and its partners celebrated Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s signing of Senate Bill 9, establishing the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund – the single largest land and water conservation investment in New Mexico history. The approved state budget included a $100 million appropriation for the fund, which will invest in existing state programs and unlock access to significant available matching federal funds that have been historically left on the table.
“Recent catastrophic and devastating wildfires have shined a bright light on our state’s need to invest in landscape and community resilience,” said Jonathan Hayden, western lands senior policy analyst with WRA.
“The Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund is the kind of investment New Mexico needs to ensure the health of our forests, watersheds, and the communities that rely on them. By making this investment, our elected leaders have cemented their commitment to land and water stewardship and have allowed us – for the first time – to access millions of federal dollars available to protect our lands, waters, wildlife, and cultural heritage. Now we can begin the hard work needed to ensure a healthy environment for future generations.”
Over the past five years, WRA has worked to secure conservation funding by driving a unified plan of action with our coalition partners, crafting bill language, and finding consensus between diverse stakeholders. Going forward, WRA will advocate for the full funding necessary to ensure the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund’s long-lasting impact and preserve New Mexico’s ecological, cultural, and economic future.
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The Santa Fe Community Foundation invited nonprofit partners to submit stories related to its April topic of Environment.
New Mexico Environmental Law Center
As the only public interest nonprofit law center in the state focused on environmental justice, New Mexico Environmental Law Center's client-directed work prioritizes environmental issues that disproportionately impact Indigenous, Black, Latinx, rural and low-income communities. We advocate for equitable and just environmental laws and policies that protect the health and wellbeing of all New Mexicans.
Randall Davey Audubon Center
The Randall Davey Audubon Center is Santa Fe’s nature center, with over 185 acres of habitat, trails, wildlife gardens, a historic estate, outdoor classrooms, and a new Nature Discovery Area. Their mission is to conserve birds and the places they need for the benefit of wildlife, nature, and people. We do this work through partnerships and on-the ground efforts in conservation, science, policy, and education.
Quivira Coalition
For over 25 years, Quivira Coalition has helped foster resiliency not only in New Mexico's working lands, but also in the people who steward the land and the communities which rely on their vitality. Like almost everything in agriculture and social movements, change has to start at the ground level, and for Quivira, that means prioritizing soil health to help combat the climate crisis.
