For 25 years RGALT has been working to protect farmland in the middle Rio Grande, the most populated area of NM, including Albuquerque, NM’s largest metropolitan area. The MRG landscape is being threatened due to increasing urbanization, loss of agricultural water rights to municipal and industrial uses and years of extreme drought. Predictions for climate change make efforts to preserve and restore the agricultural land for the local foodshed and the remaining natural habitat critical for sustaining people and wildlife. Private land protection and restoration is of utmost importance for critical habitat and linkages between the five wildlife refuges scattered through the MRG corridor, for a resilient local foodshed, and for preserving the cultural heritage of the communities throughout the MRG.
The American Farmland Trust’s multi-year initiative “Farms Under Threat” documents that between 2001-2016 NM lost 53,300 acres of agricultural land to urban and highly developed (UHD) land use, and 59,700 acres of agricultural land to low-density residential (LDR) land use.
The USDA agricultural census showed the following declines in agricultural acres between 2012-2017.
Bernalillo County – 36% decline – 221,495 acres, down from 350,638 in 2012;
Socorro County – 28% decline – 912,476 acres, down from 1,271,368 in 2012;
Valencia County – 23% decline – 517,702 acres, down from 669,727 in 2012;
Sandoval County – 18% decline – 783,724 acres; down from 950,133 in 2012.
With the recent boom in the real estate market we expect the decline between 2017-2022 to show similar trends. Yet, compared to other states, New Mexico scored among the lowest states for policies and programs that protect agricultural land from development, promote farm viability, and facilitate the transfer of agricultural land. RGALT and our conservation partners need to ensure the state and the nation’s commitment to the 30×30 Initiative results in funding for private land protection in NM. Currently, there is NO state conservation programs funded nor has there been any funding since former Governor Richardson’s administration. And our federal partner, NM NRCS brings in only $250,000-$750,000 for the NRCS ALE program in NM, meanwhile in neighboring state’s NRCS offices fund the program at $14M- $19M.
RGALT will continue efforts to ensure the middle Rio Grande is a landscape rich with vegetation and wildlife, water in the river and ditches, and thriving farms long into the future.
It will take all of us to protect land and water for people and wildlife.
Your voice is needed to speak out to policy makers and agencies about the need for conservation funding to protect our land and water.
Click on the following documents for links to local farm loss statistics.
