Rio Grande Restoration: Support for Salt Cedar Bill Pulled

Conservationists and the governor's veto sink $4 million funding for salt cedar removal-- an endeavor they support-- because they are worried about how the money will be spent

Conservationists are asking the governor to veto $4 million for salt cedar removal- an endeavor they support- because they are worried about how the money will be spent.

The General Appropriations Act passed by the Legislature last month calls for the money to be managed by the New Mexico Soil and Water Conservation Commission. It does not include a requirement that the money be spent according to a strategic plan developed by the Agriculture Department and other state agencies.

That's a problem, said Steve Harris, executive director of Rio Grande Restoration.

"Many stakeholders felt that, by implementing this plan, New Mexico would finally get a tamarisk control and riparian restoration program that was scientifically based, policy-driven and fully accountable, both fiscally and environmentally," he wrote in a letter to the Governor's Office.

Harris said in an interview Monday that state money in the past was controlled by the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts and was awarded in part according to favoritism.

Debbie Hughes, executive director of the association, said that's "totally incorrect."

She said the conservation districts have "every intention of complying with the plan" and said the Soil and Water Conservation Commission helped develop the plan.

"There's no reason the commission wouldn't want to follow the plan," Hughes said.

Richardson is "closely examining" the language in the bill, said his spokesman, Jon Goldstein.

"Eliminating salt cedar will benefit the environment but only if it is done in a way that re-establishes native plants and adequately restores the land," Goldstein said in a statement.

The governor has until noon Wednesday to sign the bill and is expected to line-item veto portions of it.

Salt cedar, also known as tamarisk, is a tenacious plant that has invaded riparian areas across New Mexico.

It can out-compete native trees for water and increases fire danger.

Copyright 2006 Albuquerque Journal - Reprinted with permission


 

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