Primary elections are June 4. These are endorsements made by the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club for candidates in contested elections.
2024 Primary Endorsements
Rio Grande Chapter endorsements for 2023 November state-wide elections.
Inflation Reduction Act Delivers $156M in Solar for All Funds for New Mexico
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that New Mexico was awarded $156,120,000 in funding through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s Solar For All program.
NM Air Quality Decision-Makers Vote to Continue New Clean Car Standards To Deliver Major Benefits to New Mexicans
The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board voted 4-1 to reject a challenge to newly enacted clean car standards. The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board also voted 5-0 to reject the challenge. These standards will bring more electric vehicles to the state and directly benefit New Mexicans.
Public opposition to pesticide spraying in Rio Arriba
The Rio Grande Chapter’s recent “Aerial Pesticide Alert” resulted in over 250 personalized comments from members, and thousands from residents and organizations, opposing the USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service’s (APHIS) proposal to spray close to 40 square miles of public lands in the Cebolla area of Rio Arriba County between April and June. These objections resulted in SLO and BLM withdrawing their acres from the program and the 2023 project was stopped. This year, a similar project is being proposed in Rio Arriba County based on projections of a higher-than-normal cricket population on some public grazing lands.
Sierra Club statement on Biden Administration Protections for Buffalo Tract
The Biden Administration announced new protections for critical public and ancestral tribal lands near Placitas in New Mexico. An order issued by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland protects more than 4,200 acres of New Mexico landscapes known as the Buffalo Tract and the Crest of Montezuma from gravel mining and other extraction for the next 50 years.
Biden Administration Finalizes Important Reforms to Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program
In April 2024, the BLM issued its final Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Rule, the first comprehensive update to the federal onshore oil and gas leasing program in decades. The rule includes long-overdue, commonsense fiscal reforms and incorporates updates passed by Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Update on the Solar Tax Credit
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 252 into law. This new law makes $20 million in supplemental New Solar Market Development tax credits available to individuals.
Sacrifice Zone – What is it?
The New Mexico Environment Department denied a permit for a concrete batch plant on the State Highway 220 corridor due to local opposition and potential endangerment of health and lives. The Environmental Improvement Board, in a complete disregard for the residents of the area, has reversed this decision.
New Staff Bios
We bid farewell to Mona Blaber and Luis Guerrero, and welcome to Caroline Funk and Melissa Bernardin.