New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session ended on February 19, 2026. In New Mexico, even years like this one are short 30-day sessions that focus primarily on the budget rather than on large policy issues. Despite the brevity, 2026 was very successful for securing crucial funding for water, and for advancing some of our longstanding priorities.
We are thrilled that the budget signed by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham on March 11 includes a $13 million dollar appropriation for the River Stewardship Program, and a $10 million dollar appropriation for the Strategic Water Reserve.
The River Stewardship Program is housed in the New Mexico Environment Department and awards grants for riparian restoration projects around the state. It consistently has far more interest than available funds. This program receives about $2 million dollars through the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, but has historically only received a few million dollars per year from the state legislature. An additional $10 million dollar appropriation for this year will be a significant investment towards restoring New Mexico’s riparian ecosystems.
The Strategic Water Reserve is managed by the Interstate Stream Commission and is authorized to purchase and lease water rights and release the water into rivers for a variety of purposes, including endangered species protection, recreational needs, and to achieve compliance with the Rio Grande Compact. Similar to the River Stewardship program, it has historically received much smaller amounts of money and this influx of funds will allow the state to strategically place water in rivers and streams that so desperately need it.
We have worked on bolstering both of these critical programs for many years. 80% of New Mexico’s at-risk bird species are completely riparian-dependent, so these programs are essential for ensuring those birds and the places they need are intact.
We were also able to secure $2 million dollars for the University of New Mexico to update and expand the Environmental Database Audubon Southwest helped create in 2021. This database houses most of New Mexico’s environmental and public health data in one spot, so that information can be examined and different state agencies can make more informed decisions. The goal for this funding is to turn the database into more of an analytical tool that can begin to predict and analyze impacts from projects. You can explore the database here.
Finally, we are so excited that Senate Bill 104 passed the legislature and has become law. This was the last piece of the puzzle to modernize New Mexico’s Game and Fish Department. You may remember Senate Bill 5, which was the Game and Fish modernization package which passed last year. That bill accomplished four main things: 1) it changed the name of the Department to the Department of Wildlife; 2) it updated the fee structure for hunting and fishing licenses; 3) it clarified the department’s authority to work on all species including pollinators; and 4) it de-politicized the Game Commission by specifying qualifications for some positions and creating a nominating committee to provide qualified candidates to the Governor.
Senate Bill 5 also had a process for removing Commissioners, which was vetoed out of the bill by the Governor last year. However, this year we were able to reach a compromise which will allows for a removal process. Removal of Commissioners will be initiated by the Governor and then go immediately to the state Supreme Court for a hearing to determine whether the Commissioner was removed for the causes specified in law. This is needed so that Commissioners may only be removed for specific reasons rather than at will, and to ensure a clear and relatively fast process for how that happens.
We appreciate our amazing members who contacted their legislators during the session. We look forward to more progress in the upcoming longer 2027 session!
