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Committee adopts amendment and sends beaver management memorial for statewide study
Summary
The committee adopted an amendment adding the Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and voted to pass Senate Memorial 3 directing state agencies to jointly develop recommendations for a statewide beaver management plan.
Senator Hamlin introduced Senate Memorial 3, which asks multiple state agencies to work jointly on a statewide beaver management plan and to report recommendations to the appropriate legislative committee(s) by October 2025. The sponsor said the memorial responds to beaver population pressures, the species’ role as a keystone that affects watershed health, and past memorials on the subject.
An amendment requested by the Department of Agriculture was presented and adopted; the amendment adds the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment to the list of agencies to participate in the study. The sponsor explained the amendment inserts those agencies into several sections of the memorial.
Two witnesses representing agricultural and watershed interests spoke in organized support. Jillian Joyce of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union urged a plan that balances ecological benefits with practical assistance for producers, including relocation and infrastructure support. Jenny Burner (recorded as representing the Sierra Soil and Water Conservation District) said local landowners along the Rio Grande and irrigators have called for help addressing beaver impacts on riparian trees, ditches and irrigation infrastructure and asked that soil and water districts, acequias, irrigators, farmers and ranchers be included as stakeholders in the memorial’s stakeholder input.
Senators discussed the memorial’s purpose and whether Game and Fish already has authority to act; several members said an interagency study would provide useful stakeholder-driven recommendations. Members identified possible appropriations and noted an in-session allocation in House Bill 2 for $3,500,000 to build capacity at the Department of Game and Fish for work on the American beaver.
Senator Brantley moved a due-pass recommendation and the committee approved the memorial. Members asked that the study include input from landowners, irrigation districts, acequias and other stakeholders whose operations can be affected by beaver activity.
