Policy
LAND OF ENCHANTMENT LEGACY FUND
We are pleased to announce that ORD’s grant programs receive recurring funding through the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, New Mexico’s first-ever dedicated source of recurring funding for conservation, prioritizing land and water stewardship, forest and watershed health, outdoor recreation and infrastructure, agriculture and working lands, historic preservation, and wildlife species protection. FY25 was the first year of distribution and the Outdoor Equity Fund and the Outdoor Recreation Trails+ Grant received and distributed $468,000 and $1.41 million respectively. These ORD grant programs were among ten programs from six state agencies to receive this annual funding. 22 Outdoor Equity Fund grants and four Outdoor Recreation Trails+ Grant projects were funded by the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund in the inaugural year.
The Fund is set up to support existing programs that have either not been funded or been funded sporadically in the past. See where these state funds are being utilized with this interactive map.
OUTSTANDING NATIONAL RESOURCE WATERS PETITION
The ORD successfully led a petition to designate 125 miles of rivers in New Mexico as Outstanding National Resource Waters based on their “outstanding” recreational significance to the state. The waters include the Upper Rio Grande, the Rio Hondo, and the headwaters of the Jemez. The petition was approved by the State Water Quality Control Commission summer 2022. It will protect the water quality of these rivers in perpetuity for hunters, anglers, acequias, birders and everyone else living and recreating along their banks.