Taos County is poised to become "the first county in America" to build a truly sustainable model for climate resilience, according to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who spoke during a stop in Arroyo Seco on Wednesday (Sept. 7).
The governor cut a ribbon to celebrate the state's initial, $5 million investment in the planned $155 million Clean Energy Transportation and Recreation Corridor. Later on Wednesday, she announced a $2.5 million Economic Development Act grant for Taos Pueblo to be used for an economic development center.
She predicted that communities across the West will someday look to north-central New Mexico for examples of collaborative green initiatives ranging from forest and watershed restoration, to electrification, clean energy jobs and education.
"The next 30 years are going to be remarkable in a state like New Mexico, in the West and in many other places across the globe," due to climate change, she said, adding that while "it's too late" to curb climate change outright, "it's not too late to do more than mitigation."
Although the $5 million general appropriation was approved by the state legislature in March, and the governor announced no new corridor funding on Wednesday, Lujan Grisham said more investment is coming to Taos County soon.
Looking to her infrastructure advisor, former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, whom she assigned to the position in November of last year after President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, she forecast "$30 million-to-$50 million of investments in short order."
Chavez told the Taos News that New Mexico will derive $3.8 billion in new infrastructure dollars from the federal law, 40 percent of which will likely be doled out in grants. Acknowledging that the legislature will play a large role in allocating the $3.8 billion and noting that "we don't yet know the numbers" for specific investments, he said broadband and water infrastructure are his top spending recommendations. He indicated that the collaboration between tribal entities, governments, coalitions, nonprofits and other groups is what makes Taos County special when it comes to taking advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime federal infrastructure spending.
"To me, what's unique about this is the real relationship that's developed with the Pueblo," Chavez said. "That's a relationship I hope will stay strong, and they have very definite needs in terms of water."
Taos Pueblo Gov. Clyde Romero said the tribe "has a shortage of water, but there's something we can do about that. It's very important that we work together as a community."
The clean energy corridor is a wide-ranging collection of collaborative transportation, watershed restoration, energy and outdoor recreation projects involving Taos County, Taos Pueblo, Taos Ski Valley, Inc., the Village of Taos Ski Valley, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, the Nature Conservancy, community organizations and the state department of transportation, among others.
"This funding is going to allow us to get some work done on the ground immediately," said J.R. Logan, Taos Valley Watershed Coalition coordinator and a columnist for the Taos News.
The funding will go toward several projects planned to continue important wildfire risk reduction and ecological restoration work in the Rio Hondo watershed, including:
• $1.5 million to Taos County for erosion control along Route 150 near Valdez,
• $1 million to Taos County for wildfire risk reduction work,
• $750,000 to the Village of Taos Ski Valley to repair water infrastructure,
• $500,000 to Taos Pueblo for watershed restoration work on the Rio Lucero and wildfire risk reduction work,
• $500,000 to the Taos Soil and Water Conservation District for acequia water quality monitoring,
• $500,000 to Taos County for the establishment of electric vehicle charging stations,
• $250,000 to Taos County for Rio Grande cutthroat trout protection work.
"While I'm very excited about this $5 million, I'm very excited about any number of other investments," to address looming resource crises, Lujan Grisham said. "And when people reflect back about the communities that did everything they could, I have no doubt that they will reflect about this community and Taos County as leading the way for everyone else."
(1) comment
WOW!!! Let's ask the Pueblo to lead the way on the water and forest and fire and sustainability! I hope this will get everyone on the same page to work together~ we HAVE TO for survival and we can live good lives helping one another out in our community. Why not lead the way???
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