By Ralph Vigil, Opinion Contributor to The Santa Fe New Mexican
The phrase “outstanding waters” is just one way to describe the river my family and countless others have depended on for hundreds of years and countless generations.
The Pecos River has sustained life along its banks for thousands of years for humans and much longer than that for the ecosystem it created.
Now, thanks to the recent ruling from the Water Quality Control Commission, the northern part of the Pecos, along with over 125 miles of rivers in Northern New Mexico, were designated as Outstanding National Resource Waters. The commission came to this conclusion citing the river’s recreational, ecological and cultural significance.
As an organic farmer who lives and depends upon the acequias the Pecos River feeds, I am celebrating today. I am celebrating with the coalition of people brought together to protect our outstanding Pecos River. This coalition was made up of people who love our river, many of them for different reasons.
Some love its amazing fishing. Some, like me, are dependent on it for feeding my family and my community. Some fight for the ecosystem and animals that depend on it for life. Some enjoy birding, hunting and kayaking. Whatever reason you love the Pecos, I am thankful you made your voice heard and made a stand.
As chairman of the New Mexico Acequia Commission, we as a commission made the decision to send a letter to the water quality commission. Our traditional way of life depends on the river, but we were only successful because such a diverse, grassroots coalition came together to support the designation. That is something we need to do more in the future.
Conservation of our way of life, our waters and the ecosystem should be something we all agree on. In the past, we may have butted heads, there is no more time for that. The mining and oil industry are on the same page, working together, so we must do the same.
Speaking of the mining industry, this designation is a huge blow to the loathed proposed exploratory mine, the Terrero Mine. This battle is still going on, but there are ways we can continue to push back. Once again, it will take coming together to fight for our communities, our way of life and our wilderness.
Another initiative the Acequia Commission has recently signed off on is support for the Pecos Watershed Protection Act being introduced by Sen. Martin Heinrich with the backing of Sen. Ben Ray Luján. Whatever we can do to protect our outstanding waters, we must do.
Our historic acequias still depend on clean water from the Pecos to irrigate crops and water livestock. Maintaining a healthy watershed and ensuring clean water continues to flow in the Pecos and in our acequias continue to be essential for protecting the culture and agricultural traditions of the Pecos watershed.
This article originally appeared in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Ralph Vigil is an organic farmer in East Pecos, the chairman of the New Mexico Acequia Commission, and New Mexico Wild’s Northern New Mexico Organizer.
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