With the desert sky an unreliable source for moisture, New Mexicans have long depended on groundwater to quench their lands and livestock. However, as several stories in this issue demonstrate, these reserves are increasingly under threat from contamination and overuse. We look to the East Mountains, where a well-worn story of development pressure at odds with agriculture has taken a new form. In Carlsbad, we examine how a booming oil and gas industry has transformed a once sleepy ranching town into a hotbed for fracking and controversy. And we learn how efforts to conserve depleting aquifers in Union County are helping locals ensure that their multigenerational farms and ranches will be in operation for generations to come.
