A nonprofit group, New Mexico Wild, organized an event in the dry Rio Grande in Albuquerque over the weekend to highlight the urgent state of New Mexico's rivers. Tricia Snyder, New Mexico Wild river and waters program director, talked to KRWG's Susan Morée about the event and why it's possible to still hope.
Susan Morée:
Can you talk about what the event was and why you guys held it?
Tricia Snyder:
Yeah, we had a community event, community gathering in Albuquerque by the National Hispanic Cultural Center, just to highlight the state of crisis that our rivers are in statewide. But particularly, you know, I think it's jarring for folks to see the Rio Grande dry in Albuquerque. This is the earliest recorded date the river has dried through the city in history. And of course, you know, we saw the first drying through Albuquerque of the Rio Grande in 2022. We hadn't seen that for decades, I think nearly 40 years. So it was really to highlight, you know, that specific moment. But also a recognition of the crisis that we're facing around water in New Mexico statewide that all of our rivers are feeling. And of course, folks in Las Cruces know this very well with the river drying annually down there.
Susan Morée:
Right. The problem isn't just confined to Albuquerque itself. Can you talk a little bit more about how the Rio Grande's being dried up this early in Albuquerque effects those of us who are downstream?
Tricia Snyder:
Yeah, I think we're seeing more serious effects of climate change. And unfortunately, that's just going to get worse. Our best available science is telling us that the weather is going to get hotter, drier. As that happens, we're going to have increased water demands across all communities, whether that's our human communities, for industry, for agriculture, for communities, but also plants and animals, fish, they're going to need more water as well. All while we're having the backdrop of reduced water. We had a leap ahead analysis that looked at what water in across the state is going to look like in and over the next 50 years or so. And we're looking at a 25% reduction in stream flow and water availability. And so that's huge for everybody. And so we wanted to highlight with this event, you know, just reminding folks how important our rivers are, both economically for the state, but also culturally and providing a place of a refuge, a place for folks to recreate, especially in Albuquerque. You know, we have the beautiful Bosque area where folks love to walk and bike and, you know, if we don't have water, then all of that goes away.
Susan Morée:
Is there any upcoming river protection legislation that's on the horizon that you can talk about?
Tricia Snyder:
Yeah, one of the other things that we really wanted folks to walk away from with this event is the hope that exists. You know, things are dire. The situation is only going to get harder. The solutions are going to take a lot of work, but they are possible. And we're starting to see that at the state level in particular. This last legislative session in 2025, 2026, excuse me, we saw an incredible investment on the part of the legislature with hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in water. We had record-breaking investments in things like the Strategic Water Reserve, which is a tool that helps keep more water in New Mexico's streams and rivers. But we need more of that. And so we're working together with our partners at the event. We were honored to have Governor Galvan from the Pueblo of Jemez with us. And he spoke about Senate Bill 21 and the surface water quality permitting program, because of course, our water issues are not just around quantity, they're also around quality. And that's getting up and running. In this next session, we hope to really have a focus on river protection and putting in place protections that will maintain those rivers that do still have really great ecological function, that are, you know, healthy. We need to protect those places as well as work in some of the areas that are more embattled. And around that, we're doing a lot of work on environmental flows, just trying to stretch every drop of water as far as we can to meet as many needs as possible. We just don't have the luxury of siloing our interests anymore. We can't think about just needing water for agriculture or for industry or for cities. We have to think about how can we meet as many needs as possible with that one drop of water as we can.
Susan Morée:
And what can individuals do to advocate or to try to address the issue in whatever individual way a person can?
Tricia Snyder:
Yeah, I think first and foremost, we have a lot of access to our legislators here in New Mexico. And one thing I would recommend folks doing, if you don't already know who your legislators are, your state house representative and senator, get on the New Mexico State Legislative website. There's a great tool called Find My Legislator. You can identify, you can just type in your address and identify who they are, get their e-mail address, and just write to them. See if you can have a moment to chat, let them know that water is important to you and that you're paying attention. You know, the next thing I would say is groups like New Mexico Wild, we are always putting petitions and different advocacy actions up on our website. You can get on our mailing list to hear about that, or you can just check on our website But those are great ways to stay involved. You know, we have events like the community gathering on Saturday, but we also do things like river cleanups. We'll keep folks updated when we do get closer to the legislative session and need to, you know, turn people out to really speak on a specific bill or a specific budget item and just keep people updated. And lastly, I would say, you know, connect with water whenever you can. You know, I am actually from the El Paso Southern New Mexico area myself, and growing up in that region is what brought me to this work. Just seeing a river that was dry nine months out of the year and wondering, you know, why that was so, but also who gets to make those decisions. But I also say, like, if you ever doubt the connections that people have with rivers, go down to Las Cruces when the water is flowing again. It's always impactful and, you know, heart rendering to me to see that even in a stretch of river that has been channelized, that, you know, has as many problems as the Rio Grande south of Elephant Butte does, there's still that deep connection with the water that communities have. And so I think maintaining that connection, getting out and experiencing that, you know, taking a walk, picking up trash, whatever you can do just to help maintain those connections and keep our rivers healthy is a great first step.
Susan Morée:
Okay, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me, Tricia.
Tricia Snyder:
Yeah, thank you.
