Risa
First Congressional District of New Mexico
GO

Home

About Heather

District Profile

Constituent Services

News Center

Issues

E-News

Student Corner

Contact Heather

White Line Space
Default Image
Bottom Shadow
Left Space Hot Topics Left Space
Hot Topics Lines Welcome Home Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Economic Stimulus Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Social Security Debit Cards Hot Topics Lines

 

Left Space
Contact
Left Space


ask.heather@mail.house.gov

In Washington DC
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, DC
20515
202-225-6316 Phone
202-225-4975 Fax
In Albuquerque
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM
87102
505-346-6781 Phone
505-346-6723 Fax

White Line Space
Solar Power
White Line Space
E-news Submit Button
Printer Friendly
White Line Space

Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico


Releases
space
Wilson Applauds Historic Funding for Middle Rio Grande Conservation Projects September 28, 2000
 
$15.9 million for Rio Grande Conservation projects will allow for protection of New Mexico water rights and silvery minnow habitat restoration
WASHINGTON, DC –Congresswoman Heather Wilson celebrated today’s passage of the fiscal year 2001 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which includes $15.9 million for the Middle Rio Grande Project. This funding includes $8.5 million for operations and maintenance, and $7.4 million for resource management and development. The $7.4 million for resource management and development represents and increase of $4.7 million over the president’s $2.6 million budget request for the project. Together with Senator Domenici, Congresswoman Wilson has been working to get House negotiators to agree to fund this critical program for New Mexico. Wilson secured funds in the House bill for leasing water rights and habitat restoration and helped convince House members of the conference committee to add additional funds in conference with the Senate. The amount approved by the Conference Committee is higher than both the House and the Senate approved levels. “The Rio Grande is a major water supply source for the city of Albuquerque, several Indian Pueblos, a substantial area of irrigated farmland and contains the last remaining population of the endangered Silvery Minnow,” Wilson said. “This agreement will provide the funds necessary so that we can work to protect the river while continuing to allow for responsible use of this precious resource. I don’t think there has been a larger commitment to a project of this kind in recent years anywhere in the country.” “The important thing is that we have House-Senate agreement to provide the Bureau with even more funds with which to manage the Rio Grande. The funding will allow the Bureau to work with water rights owners with a goal of ensuring that the Rio Grande remains a suitable wildlife habitat and a source of life for those who live along its banks,” said Domenici, who is chairman of the Senate subcommittee that developed the $23.6 billion Energy and Water appropriations package. Some of the specific programs that will receive funding though this agreement are: * $830,000 to lease water from various entities to help ensure flows through river to the maximum extent possible in the Middle Rio Grande during the irrigation season; * $4 million for habitat conservation and restoration activities along the middle Rio Grande valley from the Cochiti Dam to the headwaters of Elephant Butte Lake; * $500,000 for research, monitoring and modeling to provide water use information for use in daily water management activities—the Bureau of Reclamation is to work cooperatively with the interagency working group on these activities; and * $258,000 for the Bureau of Reclamation to implement a program to transplant minnow larvae and young-of-year fish and related monitoring activities. State and local matching funds will further bolster this program.
###
space



Privacy Statement
| Toolbox | Hablas Español?