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Senate committee rejects memorial seeking federal withdrawal of 164,810 acres around Pecos River headwaters
Summary
House Joint Memorial 5, which sought federal administrative action to withdraw 164,810 acres from mining to protect the Pecos River headwaters, failed in committee on a 3-4 vote after testimony from local residents and officials urging protection of the watershed.
The Senate Rules Committee voted down House Joint Memorial 5 on Monday, a proposal urging federal administrative action to withdraw 164,810 acres in the Pecos headwaters from mining. The committee recorded three votes in favor and four opposed, and the memorial did not pass the committee.
Supporters of the memorial, including local residents and elected officials, said the Upper Pecos watershed supplies critical water resources and outdoor recreation opportunities and that past mining-related contamination had harmed the river. "This area is the headwaters of the Pecos River," said Ralph Vigil, an eight-generation local resident and witness. He described historical mining and a reclamation-era runoff that previously killed tens of thousands of fish and warned that more extractive activity could worsen water-quality risks.
San Miguel County Commissioner Max Trujillo, testifying by Zoom, described the Pecos as the state’s only native river and said the headwaters have historic, agricultural and recreational value. "This waterway is so important, not only to outdoors and outdoor recreation, agriculture, culture, historic value," Trujillo said, urging lawmakers to protect the watershed.
Supporters noted recent local and state-level steps, including a moratorium on 2,000 acres announced by the state land commissioner, and argued the memorial would reinforce efforts to preserve water quality. Opponents who voted against the memorial were not recorded in the supplied transcript; the committee announced the final tally as 3 in favor and 4 opposed.
A roll call conducted during committee business produced the result; a motion for a due pass earlier in the meeting failed to reach the required support. Committee members who opposed the memorial did not state their reasons on the record portion of the transcript provided. The memorial’s defeat means no committee recommendation will go forward to urge federal withdrawal at this time.
