Environment

Result: All communities have equitable access to our earth’s critical resources: land, water, air, and food for a sustainable and healthy ecosystem.

We invited requests from organizations serving Santa Fe, Mora, Rio Arriba, and/or San Miguel counties that work to improve:

• Local food self-sufficiency • Land, air, and water health • Energy from renewable sources

Through direct services, policy advocacy, and/or collaborative efforts, priority strategies will address:

• Training and development of diverse food and farming enterprises and distribution infrastructure for a sustainable food economy that represents a rich and diverse farming tradition • Fostering connection and collaboration among multisector stakeholders for environmental advocacy and community development that supports equitable access and stewardship of land, air, water, and ecosystems for future generations • Promotion of renewable energy sources through coordinated efforts to increase consumption, production, workforce training, enterprise development and investment

Audubon New Mexico & The Randall Davey Center

randalldavey.audubon.org

Mission | The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-theground conservation. For over a century, Audubon has built a legacy of success by mobilizing its network of members, nature centers, and dedicated professional staff to connect people with nature and the power to protect it. Audubon Southwest is a regional field office, serving Santa Fe and other communities across New Mexico & Arizona. Proposal | Treehouses, fort building, water and sand play, and outdoor exploration are the focus of the brand new Nature Discovery Area at the Randall Davey Audubon Center. Audubon seeks funding to provide free early childhood programs promoting access to nature, families connecting in the outdoors, and learning to conserve our local resources. These hands-on programs prioritize exploration, connecting with nature, and equitable access for the community through partnerships and outreach. Noteworthy | On average, today’s kids spend up to 44 hours per week in front of a screen, and less than 10 minutes a day playing outside. We hear from families every day: now more than ever, Santa Feans need opportunities to get out into nature. Audubon's new Nature Discovery Area gives families a fun outdoor space for play and learning, while developing connections to the land and wildlife. We hope these experiences grow into lifelong relationships with nature and the next generation of conservation leaders.

Center for Emergent Diplomacy

emergentdiplomacy.org

Mission | To apply the science of complexity to the art of diplomacy and generative dialogue: meeting the challenges of the climate catastrophe that is now upon us. Proposal | The Center for Emergent Diplomacy is currently developing an innovative program in response to the emerging challenges and unpredictable scenarios of our current climate emergency. In collaboration with international partners, we will train facilitators around the globe in new methods to guide generative dialogue processes. This unique approach, in a time of increasing civil unrest and social chaos, will help communities and global leaders find new ideas to adapt and survive on an altered planet. Noteworthy | The Center has extensive experience mediating and facilitating complex multi-party disputes, as well as training others to take over the tasks of conflict transformation and peaceful coexistence, eliminating the underlying causes of injustice and ecosystem collapse.

Coalition of Sustainable Communities New Mexico

coalitionscnm.org

Mission | We envision New Mexico as a leader in climate action and sustainability. Our members are local governments committed to creating resilient, equitable, and sustainable communities now and for the future. In the spirit of the Paris Agreement, we advocate for climate action legislation, regulations, and administrative actions; promote local and state renewable energy and water conservation policies; and advance energy efficiency and electrification projects, especially for low income citizens. Proposal | We seek funding to 1) expand community solar opportunities to municipalities, pueblos, tribes, and low income communities; 2) strengthen our emphasis on energy efficiency and electrification programs and projects; and, 3) enhance and share the water conservation best practices across the state. We also seek staff expansion as we develop the framework for a Clean Energy Fund to help low-andmoderate income households achieve reduction in their energy burdens and carbon footprints. Noteworthy | The Coalition played a key leadership role in the development and passage of the Community Solar Act by the 2021 New Mexico legislature and in subsequent rulemaking by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. The act expands access to solar-generated electricity to residential consumers, small businesses, and some public institutions. We must now ensure that local governments, developers, NGOs, and citizens have a clear path for solar development opportunities, especially serving low income communities.

Conservation Voters New Mexico Education Fund

cvnmef.org

Mission | To engage the people of New Mexico in our long-standing shared values of protecting our air, land, water and the health of our communities. We do this by mobilizing people to advocate on policy, enhancing the voting process, encouraging people to vote, cultivating conservation leaders and amplifying the voices of those most affected. Proposal | CVNM Education Fund seeks support to continue our coalition work with diverse communities to protect New Mexico’s public lands and waterways and build support and engagement for state funding for conservation and community resilience. Through convening coalitions, connecting affected communities with decision-makers, and amplifying voices from frontline communities, we aim to address the root causes of the climate crisis that is threatening communities with extreme weather events. Noteworthy | At the beginning of 2022, only 6% of New Mexico's lands were protected. With the climate crisis threatening communities across the state, there is an urgent need to conserve and protect more land and waterways. We are working to meet the Governor's climate Executive Order to protect 30% of public lands and waters by 2030 to mitigate the threat and make landscapes and communities more resilient. We must center frontline communities in decisions so their concerns and traditions inform solutions.

Continental Divide Trail Coalition

continentaldividetrail.org

Mission | To complete, promote, and protect the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) by building a diverse trail community, providing up-to-date information to the public, and encouraging the stewardship of the trail, its corridor, and surrounding landscapes. Proposal | Funding will support the creation of a unique three panel kiosk at the day use area at Hopewell Lake in New Mexico, a high use section of the CDT featuring a picnic shelter. The kiosk will have trail mapping information and will be the first of its kind along the CDT to be designed in consultation with Native communities to incorporate Native cultural and historical significance of the area as well as local flora/fauna with Native name recognition (if appropriate). Noteworthy | At present, none of the trail kiosks along the 3,100 miles of the CDT incorporate cultural Native history and perspective, despite the fact that the CDT and all of our National Trails traverse stolen lands with deep significance to Indigenous people. The proposed project will increase Native engagement in the management of the CDT, share the dynamic history, culture, and significance of the landscape with CDT users, and honor and acknowledge the original stewards of the land.

Fly Fish NM

FlyFishNM.org

Mission | To provide all youth the opportunity to learn the sport of fly-fishing. New Mexico has many youth with limited access to the outdoors, and who are unable to experience outdoor activities. Participants are educated about ecological impacts we have on our natural environment. Clean water is vital to our sport as is the preservation of fragile fishing ecosystems and habitats. We encourage good stewardship of the outdoors and preservation of fish species. We invite all youth to participate. Proposal | Education and protection of fragile ecosystems are important and are part of our educational criteria. We get youth outdoors. Funds are requested in order to purchase fly-rod kits for youth fishing camps. The youth get to keep this equipment for years of fly-fishing fun. Visit our website to see many smiling faces. Noteworthy | Many youth are unable to take a trip to the mountains and experience the pristine beauty of northern New Mexico's forests and rivers. We provide each youth an opportunity and experience that will last a lifetime. We educate them on the importance of preserving this fragile habitat by picking up trash in the area, and that the need for clean water is vital to our sport. Becoming good stewards of the ecosystem and learning how to fly-fish make for a good combination.

Food is Free Albuquerque Chapter

fifabq.org

Mission | To encourage social empowerment through the growing and sharing of fresh food. Proposal | Funding Food is Free Albuquerque Chapter supports the mindful redistribution of gleaned local produce from backyards, orchards, and farms that would otherwise go to waste. Based in Albuquerque, FIFABQ is working on expanding statewide. Noteworthy | We estimate approximately a half million pounds of fresh produce grows in Santa Fe's backyards annually, most of which goes to waste.

Forest Stewards Guild

foreststewardsguild.org

Mission | The Forest Stewards Guild envisions ecologically, economically, and socially responsible forestry as the standard for professional forest management in the United States. We practice and promote sound forestry practices as a means of sustaining the integrity of forest ecosystems and the human communities dependent upon them. The Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico Learning Network connects people with the resources they need to prepare for, respond to, and recover from increasing wildfire. Proposal | With higher incidence of poverty as well as lower incomes for those above the poverty line, many rural, pueblo communities are economically vulnerable to wildfire and its associated effects. As their exposure to wildfire continues to increase with climate change, these communities need support. Working through existing partnerships, the Guild will address these challenges by developing a smoke exposure mitigation program in partnership with Pueblo of Tesuque health and environment departments. Noteworthy | In a 2022 survey, 80% of Pueblo of Tesuque respondents listed the cost of air filtration devices as a limiting factor to improving indoor air quality. Santa Fe County, where Pueblo of Tesuque is located, ranks within the CDC’s highest category of vulnerability of air quality to predicted wildfire smoke. The CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network places Santa Fe county among the highest in the state in terms of number of people in poverty and without health insurance.

Four Bridges Traveling Permaculture Institute

4bridges.org

Mission | To preserve and share our cultures and restore a healthy way of life through a collective effort of farmers, educators, healers, youth, elders, and spiritual leaders. Proposal | We are a diverse group of people dedicated to teaching traditional agriculture and sustainable living practices through hands-on applications, arming individuals, families, and communities with the knowledge to grow and sustain the work, long after we have moved on to the next project. Through funding from appropriate foundations, Four Bridges purchases the required materials, plants, or livestock and equipment, provides training materials, and professional training to those in need. Noteworthy | New Mexico ranks eighth in the U.S. in overall food insecurity and third in child food insecurity. Of the more than 70,000 hungry New Mexicans who seek food assistance every week, between 30% and 40% are children and 21% are seniors over the age of 60.

Friends of the Santa Fe National Forest

friendsofsfnf.wixsite.com/home

Mission | To maintain, conserve, and enhance recreational opportunities and the natural resources of the forest. The Friends of the Santa Fe National Forest is a volunteer, nonpolitical group working with the forest. Proposal | We seek funds to support the Forest Service in sustaining the health, diversity, productivity, and recreational opportunities of the Santa Fe National Forest. The Friends of the Santa Fe National Forest need to revitalize themselves to step up to the task of supporting the Forest in education, volunteerism, and conservation. Noteworthy | The Santa Fe National Forest has just completed containing the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire of approx. 341,735 acres, the largest fire in New Mexico's history. Their resources have been tapped out for other programs throughout the Forest such as education, volunteerism, and conservation. We need to fill that gap.

New Mexico Environmental Law Center

nmelc.org

Mission | To protect New Mexico’s air, land and water in the fight for environmental justice and human rights. Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities live with disproportionate impacts of environmental degradation caused by extractive/polluting industries. We represent and collaborate with frontline communities that experience the “first and worst” impacts of pollution and climate change, in holding industries and governmental agencies accountable. Proposal | We request funding to support environmental justice casework including: 1) working in partnership with clients in protesting industrial development in both Southside Santa Fe and Mountain View community in Albuquerque; 2) supporting our client Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining in a precedent-setting human rights violation case; and 3) continuing the legal battle against Santolina, the mega-sprawl housing development proposed for the westside of Albuquerque that would impact limited water resources and other EJ issues. Noteworthy | Low-income and BIPOC communities across New Mexico live with disproportionate impacts of pollution and environmental degradation caused by extractive and polluting industries. More than half of the people who live within 1.86 miles of toxic waste facilities in the U.S. are people of color. Uranium mining continues to adversely impact New Mexico communities. A legacy of uranium contamination remains from more than 500 abandoned uranium mines and contaminated water wells.

New Mexico Voices for Children

nmvoices.org

Mission | To improve the status, wellbeing, and racial and ethnic equity of New Mexico’s children, families, and communities in the areas of health, education, and economic security by promoting public policies through credible research and effective advocacy. Proposal | New Mexico Voices for Children (NM Voices) seeks to advance an innovative approach to public health by ensuring environmental policy is informed by those most impacted by environmental issues. Support will help expand the New Mexico Environmental Public Health Network (NMEPHN), a project of NM Voices focused on clean air, clean water, and healthy land. NMEPHN aims to protect public health through education and advocacy for environmental policies that affect communities. Noteworthy | Children, people of color, and elderly residents disproportionately face environmental health risks. In oil and gas counties in New Mexico, 67% of people of color, 52% of Native Americans, 74% of young children, and 77% of elderly residents live within one mile of a well. These issues are exacerbated for communities of color who have long-faced systemic health disparities and environmental injustices.

New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors

nmvfo.org

Mission | To promote involvement and education of the public in the maintenance, improvement, and stewardship of New Mexico's public lands. New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors (NMVFO) is an inclusive all-volunteer, actionoriented, nonpolitical nonprofit organization that specializes in constructing and improving trails and other outdoor facilities to increase outdoor recreation opportunities in New Mexico for all, as well as enhancing wildlife habitat and protecting the environment. Proposal | NMVFO promotes public lands stewardship by direct action. Our volunteers improve access to and enjoyment of public lands in northern New Mexico and across the state. This improved access promotes rural community economic development by increasing recreational activities. To sustain our all-volunteer organization we request operating and capacity building funding for tool and equipment purchases and maintenance, cooking supplies, insurance, volunteer appreciation, and direct project expenses. Noteworthy | Public land agency budgets are limited. NMVFO augments agency efforts to build and maintain trails and recreational facilities and enhance wildlife habitat. Since our founding in 1982, we have completed over 800 projects to improve New Mexico public lands. In 2021, despite the pandemic, we completed 32 stewardship projects and volunteered over 4,600 hours (equivalent to $125K savings to land agency budgets). In addition, our staff volunteered 1,400 hours ($38K) to sustain the organization.

New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

nmwild.org

Mission | Dedicated to the protection, restoration, and continued enjoyment of New Mexico's wildlands and Wilderness areas. Proposal | New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (New Mexico Wild) requests funding that will support our exciting new Wilderness Defenders program, which will enlist volunteers to provide current information about the health of public lands to help us advocate for greater levels of protection. These volunteers will provide critical information for land managers, to address threats from overgrazing, fire, vandalism, and other degradation to public lands across the state. Noteworthy | With more than 26 million acres of public land in the state, we can use all the boots on the ground that are available. Over time, we hope to build the Wilderness Defender Program to over 100 volunteers. New Mexico Wild's work benefits any citizen who recreates on public lands or enjoys New Mexico's outdoor economy—potentially tens of thousands of people.

Nuclear Watch New Mexico

nukewatch.org

Mission | Through comprehensive research, public education, and effective citizen action, Nuclear Watch New Mexico seeks to promote safety and environmental protection at regional nuclear facilities; mission diversification away from nuclear weapons programs; greater accountability and cleanup in the nation-wide nuclear weapons complex; and consistent U.S. leadership toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Proposal | We aim to educate the public, media, civic leaders, and lawmakers about the true impacts to the environment from Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear weapons operations and help to ensure genuine cleanup. Work to speed up cleanup at the Lab, including the remediation of a large chromium plume that threatens the regional aquifer. Force a reexamination of decisions to leave radioactive and toxic waste in place in unlined pits. Noteworthy | The current budget request for cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory is only 8% ($192 million) of the total budget request. At this rate, it will take many decades more to cleanup the wastes that have buried for decades above our groundwater aquifer that supplies 270,000 people, three miles uphill from the Rio Grande.

Quivira Coalition, Inc.

quiviracoalition.org

Mission | Through education, innovation, and collaboration, Quivira works in coalition with ranchers, farmers, government agencies, Tribal entities, and land stewards to foster resilience on dry working lands. Proposal | The Quivira Coalition requests general operating support to foster resilience on working lands. We pursue this mission through three key program areas: The New Agrarian Program, which grows the next generation of regenerative producers; the Carbon Ranch Initiative, which facilitates the adoption of healthy soil practices in dry rangelands; and the Education and Outreach Program, which shares ideas and resources through our community of practice, such as our podcast and Regenerate Conference. Noteworthy | Ranchers grazing livestock on rangeland and pastures manage 790 million acres of working lands in the U.S., 41% of all U.S.'s lands, excluding Alaska. The ranchers and farmers who tend working lands in the future will have an enormous impact on the resilience of our environment, economies, and climate. Quivira aims to support land stewards and leverage working lands across the West to achieve that resilience.

Rio Puerco Alliance

rpalliance.org

Mission | To restore the land, river, and communities in northwestern and central New Mexico for present and future generations through outreach, education, and collaborative action. Proposal | The Rio Puerco Alliance (RPC) focuses on developing ecological as well as community resilience within the region as a means of sustainably addressing ever-changing environmental, climatic, and economic conditions. We work closely with local landowners and youth to improve ecological conditions by reducing erosion and enhancing carbon storage through riparian restoration. Additionally, we work with rural and traditional communities on enhancing their access to fresh, locally-grown and raised foods. Noteworthy | The techniques for erosion control we use have been proven to reduce erosion in the Rio Puerco Watershed by 66% (www.rpalliance.org/methods). Through the Rio Puerco Alliance's Summer Youth Program, which we have run throughout the life of our organization, we have employed almost 200 youth in paid erosion control, riparian planting, and water retention work, many of whom have gone on to college, drawing on their experience from the Summer Youth Workshops.

Sangre de Cristo Mountain Initiative

Mission | To empower local people and restore and sustain landscapes through a regenerative approach to collaborative conservation and rural development. This includes developing income streams to promote fire mitigation and sustainable forestry practices that are carbon-negative and provide sustainable, well-paying local jobs. Since the wildfires, we have been convening listening sessions, developing watershed recovery workshops, and other activities that give local people a voice in the recovery efforts. Proposal | We will continue working with local landowners, loggers, mill owners, and other impacted parties to find workable solutions that empower and support local people. These efforts include long-term strategic planning with local partners to restore and sustain our landscapes and communities through progressive, carbon-negative forestry practices. We are advocating realistic long-term solutions— not band aid efforts that look good but do little to improve the community's long-term prospects. Noteworthy | Local people have felt deeply disenfranchised by a fire recovery process that seems to largely ignore local insights and enrich non-locals. Every logger, landowner, and mill owner we have spoken to (and there are many) has said that none of their local, regional, or national political leaders have asked the people who have spent their lives in these mountains and earn their livelihoods off the land what they need or what they think is needed to recover the land and improve their lives.

Santa Fe Watershed Association

santafewatershed.org

Mission | To protect and restore the health and vibrancy of the Santa Fe River and its watershed for the benefit of people and the environment. We achieve this through education, restoration, stewardship, and advocacy. From the River's headwaters to the Rio Grande, we honor the connection between people and the watershed. Proposal | As we celebrate our 25th year of operation we look back with gratitude on all of our accomplishments and look toward the future with inspiration and determination. We are hoping to raise $15,000 to help with internal updating, strategic planning, and deepening our community relationships and support networks in order to continue to play an effective role in local restoration and stewardship projects into the future. Noteworthy | 36 Reaches of River and arroyos adopted by steward teams; four tons of garbage collected out of our waterways annually; over 700 fifth graders reached per year in My Water, My Watershed program (9,000+ total, 47,000 contact hours); over 30 rain gardens installed (600,000+ gallons of stormwater diverted annually); and much more!

Southwest Learning Centers, Inc. dba Green Fire Times

swlearningcenters.org

Mission | Southwest Learning Centers (SWLC) provides resources for underserved communities. Our primary areas of focus include multicultural education, community development, and preservation of Native arts and cultures. SWLC owns Green Fire Times (GFT), an inspiring, free, print/online publication that documents sustainable enterprises that reflect the interrelationship of community, culture, environment, and regional economy. GFT is a platform for writers and photographers, including young people, as part of a mentorship program. Proposal | Production costs for independent publications are soaring; funding is needed to upgrade Green Fire Times’ infrastructure, management, and outreach, and to help cover production costs. Funding is needed to support our training/ mentorship program, GFT’s website needs upgrading to reach new readers and potential advertisers and we would like to expand print distribution, which has a loyal readership, and make GFT’s extensive archive more accessible to students, community members, and researchers. Noteworthy | Culturally based economic development is essential to New Mexico’s sustainability. Land-based cultures are important assets worth preserving. New Mexico lost 5.1 million agricultural acres from 1997 to 2017. Rural residents grow enough food to nourish themselves and the state’s other people. However, 97% of New Mexico’s agricultural products leave the state while 13 rural counties have limited food access. New Mexico is developing regional food systems that have the potential to become a much larger, job-creating industry.

Western Environmental Law Center

westernlaw.org

Mission | To use the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the western U.S. in the face of a changing climate. Proposal | The Western Environmental Law Center seeks funding to support our efforts to protect the Santa Fe region and New Mexico from reckless fossil fuel development and to help guide a just, equitable transition to a clean energy future. Noteworthy | On behalf of Diné and community partners, we challenged oil and gas drilling leases on 45,000 acres in the Greater Chaco region, including the sacred Sisnaateel Mesa Complex. The complex is central to Diné cosmology. Thanks to our case, the Bureau of Land Management stopped all drilling and will reconsider the leases. The agency will now enhance tribal consultation and public engagement, including with local leaders and Navajo Chapter Houses, and will perform cultural analysis of these lands.

Western Resource Advocates

westernresourceadvocates.org

Mission | To fight climate change and its impacts to sustain the environment, economy, and people of the West. Our team has a 33-year history of working where decisions are made, sweating the details, creating evidence-based solutions, and holding decision makers accountable. This on the ground work with policymakers and other advocates advances clean energy, protects air, land, water, and wildlife —and sustains the lives and livelihoods of the West. Proposal | Western Resource Advocates works with local communities and policymakers to advance land conservation, river health, and clean energy that ensure communities and natural habitats thrive in the face of climate change. Noteworthy | New Mexico is the only western state without a dedicated source of conservation funding, and sometimes goes years without providing conservation programs any resources.