June Membership Drive

People have been living along the Rio Grande for centuries and have been dependent on the river for survival. The Rio Grande is not only critical for people, but the natural habitat and the farmland also provide essential habitat for wildlife species.

By becoming a sustaining member of RGALT you can invest in the community and help ensure we maintain our local foodshed, natural habitat, and open space for all of us.

RGALT is a grassroots organization that was formed in 1997 by a group of Socorro farmers sitting at the kitchen table discussing ways to protect their land and water from the threat of development and loss of water rights. We researched ways to protect our farms while still keeping it a voluntary option for each landowner.  That’s when we learned about land trusts and conservation easements (CEs) legally binding, real estate transactions that limit the development of private lands and protect conservation values of the land forever. We reached out to dairy farmer, Ellen Straus, one of the founders of Marin Agricultural Land Trust, MALT.  Ellen Straus gave us guidance on how to start a 501c3 non-profit land trust.

RGALT has been a frugal operation serving the largest, most threatened landscape in NM. This landscape includes 60,000 acres of irrigated farmland stewarded by private landowners. RGALT’s focus area includes four counties in the middle Rio Grande (Sandoval, Bernalillo, Valencia, Socorro) in NM’s most populated area and includes the state’s largest metropolitan area, Albuquerque. This area of NM is the most threatened by development and loss of agricultural water rights. The challenge in RGALT’s work is not unlike that of farming; it has proven to be a labor of passion and tenacity. We have been protecting these lands on a shoe-string budget that afforded only one staff person to serve the entire middle Rio Grande. Last year we hired our first part-time staff person. Protecting these highly threatened lands and serving the needs of the communities in the middle Rio Grande means we need to increase our staff.

We need your support to increase staff and protect these lands important to the community.

For over two decades RGALT has been protecting land for people and wildlife in the middle Rio Grande. We have accomplished our work by bringing diverse groups together to protect the fragile and highly threatened middle Rio Grande in New Mexico.  RGALT has invested decades in building relationships and trust in the community and with landowners. RGALT has a record of success in building bridges between agricultural landowners and conservation organizations that have resulted in land preservation that benefits both people and wildlife. This makes RGALT an essential partner in the middle Rio Grande landscape conservation effort.

RGALT has been able to access funding for CEs through diverse public and private conservation collaborations.  In the last 6 years alone, these partnerships have resulted in $10.5 Million in conservation funding for CEs on privately owned farmland and riparian wetlands and projects that protect and restore natural habitat on both public and private lands. RGALT has accomplished 28 CEs with six more in process right now. These CEs will protect over 7000 acres of high-value land threatened by development or transfer of water rights.

Together we can protect the Rio Grande, our land and water that has sustained us for centuries. With increased funding, we can increase our staff capacity to better serve the middle Rio Grande communities and protect the lands we cherish, our way of life, our cultural traditions, our legacy.

YOU can make a difference today! Invest in your community, your legacy, and in the future. 
You can make a one-time gift by mail, online, or in person, donate assets like stock or property, or become a sustaining member with a recurring monthly gift of an amount that feels right for you. If you would like to leave a legacy that represents your lifelong values, RGALT presents a variety of planning and giving options including bequests and beneficiary designations.

Become an RGALT Sustaining Member here!

Make a One-Time Donation Today here!

 

Tanya Trujillo Joins RGALT Board

Tanya Trujillo lives in Santa Fe and works with a coalition of foundations to support NGO projects in the Colorado River Basin. She previously worked as the Executive Director for the Colorado River Board of California and prior to moving to California, she worked in Washington, D.C. for the Department of the Interior and for Senator Jeff Bingaman as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. In 2019, Tanya was appointed by Governor Lujan Grisham as a member of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, and she previously served as General Counsel for the Commission and started her legal career in private practice in Santa Fe. She enjoys running, biking, and hiking and thinks red chile should be part of every meal.

 

Estate Planning

As you contemplate your legacy through estate planning, did you know you can simultaneously support the protection of land and water for people and wildlife in the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico, forever?  There is no better way than planned giving to continue to make a difference for land conservation many years from now., and many planned giving options may also provide you with considerable tax savings. Please consider helping the important work of RGALT by including a planned gift in your will.