James Duran

Agenda topics include Welcome and Local Updates; Regenerative Agriculture Practices, Soil Health and the Agricultural Water Resilience Program; Circular Economy Plan and Composting and Recycling Initiatives; Strategic Water Reserve Updates; River Stewardship Program Updates and River Protection, Health and Economic Impacts; Nature-Based Solutions; Wildfire Mitigation, Forest and Watershed Restoration and the Rio Grande Water Fund; Land Grant-Merced Forest Co-Management and Opportunities for Value-Added Economic Development; Wildfire Mitigation Plans and Utility Liability; Noxious Weeds Program and Funding Updates; Uranium Mining Proposals and Permitting Process; Free-Roaming Horse Herd Management and Funding for Equine Shelters; Renewable Energy Siting for Wildlife and Ecosystems; Black Bears: Managing Human-Wildlife Conflicts; and Elk Private Land Use System. The agenda also includes a tour of Red River Restoration Site and Red River Hatchery for committee members and committee staff. Presenters include the mayor of Taos; representatives of Working Lands Conservation, Rancho Armendariz, the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Water Resilience Program, NMED, the New Mexico Recycling Coalition, the Interstate Stream Commission, Western Resource Advocates, Amigos Bravos, Los Rios River Runners, New Mexico Wild, Spatial Informatics Group-Natural Assets Laboratory, EMNRD, The Nature Conservancy, the United States Forest Service, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Public Service Company of New Mexico, the Public Regulation Commission, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, the Taos Soil and Water Conservation District, the New Mexico Mining Act Reclamation Program, Pattern Energy, and wildlife and conservation organizations.