August 12, 2025
In 2023, New Mexico took center stage as one of the West’s foremost conservation leaders when it created its first dedicated funding source for conservation, the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund. The state kicked off the program with an initial investment of $100 million. Then, in 2024, legislators further cemented the state’s commitment, appropriating a historic $300 million so the program could weather economic downturns, access federal matching dollars, and meet the ongoing needs of New Mexico communities, wildlife, and ecosystems.
Now, after its first full fiscal year, the results are in: The Legacy Fund has become a cornerstone in New Mexico’s work to sustain its vibrant ecosystems, economies, and cultures, now and for many years to come.
The Legacy Fund provides a lifeline for existing state programs, like the Outdoor Equity Fund and River Stewardship Program, which were never funded or funded sporadically in the past, allocating over $12.5 million to on-the-ground projects and existing grant programs each year. It offers critical programs a recurring and predictable source of funding where other resources, like the state and federal budget, may wax and wane.
By sending funding to 10 existing programs across six state agencies, every dollar from the fund supports:
- Land and water stewardship
- Forest and watershed health
- Outdoor recreation and infrastructure
- Agriculture and working lands
- Historic preservation
- Wildlife species protection
What makes the Legacy Fund so powerful?
Programs that receive funding can use it to leverage matching grants with local, private, and federal matching dollars, strategically expanding New Mexico’s support for conservation by getting the most out of every dollar. In its first fiscal year, 100% of the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund programs tapped into some form of matching support.
Another unique feature of the fund is its two-part structure, designed to support programs now and generate the interest needed to keep them afloat for years to come. The Legacy Expendable Fund makes annual contributions to existing state programs that have a track record of success, are shovel-ready, and in need of monetary support. Between 2023 and 2025 the fund received $50 million to distribute. The Legacy Permanent Fund is the Legacy Fund’s investment account, which generates interest that is disbursed to state programs once the balance in the account reaches a certain level. With a balance of nearly $383 million, interest gained from the Legacy Permanent Fund is expected to increase annual distributions to all programs in fiscal year 2026 and beyond.
WRA took a leadership role in the passage of the fund, building a diverse coalition of organizations that worked closely with the governor’s office and state agencies to collaboratively develop the legislation and see it signed into law. Now, it’s paying out dividends — uplifting long needed conservation projects and ensuring the state leaves a lasting conservation legacy that all New Mexicans can be proud of.
By the Numbers
- 100% of the $12.5 million has been allocated for fiscal year 2025, supporting 185 projects in 93% of New Mexico counties
- More than 64,905 acres of public and private land are being improved by Legacy Fund programs
- 40,348 forest and watershed acres targeted for treatment through the Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Forestry Division
- 10,751 acres of agricultural land are being improved thanks to the New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Soil Program
- 7,735 New Mexico youth served by the Outdoor Equity Fund
- 34 species, many considered of greatest conservation need, supported by Department of Game and Fish projects
- 460 acres of wetlands and riparian habitat, plus 33 miles of creeks and streams, protected by New Mexico Environment Department’s River Stewardships Program
- 80% of funded projects are in rural areas and 10 Tribal communities are benefitting from Legacy Fund programs
L Bar / Marquez Wildlife Management Area
One of the largest grants this year, $1.5 million, went toward the conservation and restoration of the state’s largest wildlife area, the L Bar / Marquez Wildlife Management Area.
The L Bar Ranch, located outside the small town of Grants, was privately owned for many years. But in one of the nation’s biggest expansions of public land in 2022, the state of New Mexico purchased the 54,000-acre property for $34 million, intent upon preserving the land for conservation, habitat, and recreation. WRA advocated for this transfer every step of the way.
Combined with the existing 15,000-acre Marquez Wildlife Management Area, the now 68,000-acre tract — nestled against Mount Taylor and just a short drive from Albuquerque and Santa Fe — is home to abundant ecological diversity and is culturally significant to over 30 Tribes. The wildlife area connects critical habitats and migration corridors formerly threatened by development and provides a source of food for families reliant on hunting.
With this infusion from the Legacy Fund, the New Mexico Forestry Division will conduct cultural surveys, inventory roads and ensure proper maintenance, develop a burn plan, and take on forest and meadow thinning over the next five years.
Combined, these efforts will reduce the chances of catastrophic fire on this important landscape, enhance wildlife habitat, improve forest and watershed resilience against flooding and drought, and improve the recreational experience for the area’s many visitors.
Department of Game and Fish Wildlife Studies
Supported by Legacy Fund dollars, the newly reformed and soon-to-be renamed Department of Game and Fish, is investing 100% of its annual $2.75 million allotment to support the conservation of key species and stewardship of public lands.
The Department of Game and Fish, thanks to advocacy by WRA and our partners, now has the tools, authority, and funding to care for most of New Mexico’s diverse wildlife species. The department is using the money from the Legacy Fund to focus on the animals most at risk of ending up on the endangered species list, like the bald eagle and American pika. Ensuring these creatures and their habitats are cared for now saves the state money in the long run. The agency now has wildlife survey projects supporting 34 species with overlaps in all 33 New Mexico counties.
The Legacy Fund represents a major commitment to New Mexico’s unique biodiversity — the state is home to over 6,000 species of animals with more than 200 in need of protection.
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge — home to sandhill cranes, brown bats, and over 200 species of birds as they migrate each year — received over $500,000 to bolster riparian areas in three of the five wetlands located on the 782-acre property.
Riparian areas are located on the edges of rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands, where the ecosystem interacts with and relies on both land and water. Riparian areas are vitally important to the function of the landscape, with dense vegetation preventing erosion and disastrous flooding, filtering water, and creating lush habitat.
With the infusion of funding from the Legacy Fund, the refuge will seed and foster several native wetland plant species that are well adapted to fluctuating water levels, periodic flooding, and saturated soils, all characteristics common at Valle De Oro. Rio Grande Return, a New Mexico-based restoration nonprofit, will carry out the project.
This is another big win for Valle de Oro, which was expanded by 212 acres last year by New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, a move celebrated by dedicated organizations like WRA. As the Southwest’s first urban wildlife refuge, this expansion, paired with restoration projects, ensures this stunning landscape can be enjoyed by humans and wildlife for decades to come.
Outdoor Equity Fund
WRA has long been an advocate for New Mexico’s first-of-its-kind Outdoor Equity Fund, created in 2019, and our coalition successfully secured almost $4 million more for this key program in 2025.
Our advocates and partners frequently aim to allocate additional appropriations to the Outdoor Equity Fund, but, even in years when budgets are tight, the Legacy Fund provides a consistent $470,000 annually. This supports efforts to get all New Mexico youth, despite their background, economic status, or zip code, outside to enjoy the state’s abundant outdoor recreation opportunities. In 2025, annual disbursements exceeded projections, sending over $565,000 to the Outdoor Equity Fund.
This year Project Venture, a youth development program focused on blending outdoor recreation with cultural significance, received $40,000 to advance outdoor and adventure-based learning in New Mexico. The program has already served 625 Indigenous youth by using traditional Indigenous modes of learning and culturally meaningful service-learning activities. It was one of 22 on-the-ground programs that received Legacy Fund backed grants this year, all dedicated to getting kids into nature.
Aiming to create the next generation of caring and resilient young people, Project Venture gets kids outside and into natural areas to reclaim their history, culture, and traditions.
After one year, it’s clear Legacy Fund dollars are already hard at work across the state, supporting conservation, restoration, agricultural lands, cultural heritage, and equitable recreation.
In fact, the program is so popular that it received over $50 million in requests for its $12.5 million in available funds. To continue to meet demand, WRA and our partners hope to improve the Legacy Permanent Fund’s disbursements in 2026, funneling even more needed funding into New Mexico communities.
Whether it’s improving our outdoor recreation infrastructure, helping thousands of New Mexico youth to fall in love with the outdoors, or restoring vital waterways and landscapes, the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund is fulfilling its promise to New Mexicans, and it’s just getting started.
