Four Corners Power Plant
As a family fills their water barrels, the Four Corners Power Plant operates in the background. About 15 miles west of Farmington, New Mexico.
Photo: Brian Leddy
Our Mission + Vision
Our mission is to engage the people of New Mexico in our long-standing shared values of protecting our air, land, water and the health of our communities. We do this by mobilizing people to advocate on policy, enhancing the voting process, encouraging people to vote, cultivating conservation leaders and amplifying the voices of those most affected.
Our vision is for a New Mexico where decision-makers and public policies represent the conservation values of our people.
Our Equity Commitments
CVNMEF is committed to identifying, exploring, and challenging factors of inequity and racism and their impacts on our organization, our systems, our staff, and the communities we serve. We are dedicated to examining ourselves and the systems in which we operate. In doing so, we work to dismantle inequity and embed diversity into everything we do. If you’d like to learn more about our commitment to equity, click here.
Facing Climate Change Issues
As New Mexicans, our lives are inextricably linked to the air, land and water in our Land of Enchantment – and how we treat these resources directly impacts our health and livelihood.
Focus Area
Air Quality
Air quality is a significant and growing concern in New Mexico. Experts link exposure to air pollutants to many adverse health effects, including exacerbation of asthma symptoms, diminished lung function, birth deformities, cardiovascular disease and childhood cancer. As many New Mexico families understand all too well, one of the most common health conditions caused or exacerbated by air pollution is asthma.
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Focus Area
Protecting Democracy
Effective government (or “good government”) refers to the way in which elected officials exercise their political authority to serve their constituencies. Good governance, with respect to the environment, requires that decisions are made and implemented using legitimate (legal), transparent, participatory, responsive and equitable processes to achieve effective policies that protect New Mexico’s communities and natural resources.
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Focus Area
Climate & Energy
Relying on oil, coal and natural gas for the bulk of our energy needs is a losing proposition. Recent fracking booms, including the one in the Permian basin, are not sustainable and their boom-and-bust cycles create havoc for state and local budget planning. Independent data has shown that methane emissions are likely much higher than industry and federal government monitoring suggest and oil and gas facilities also emit harmful ozone and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which are known carcinogens.
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Focus Area
Lands, Water & Wildlife
A strong sense of place and reliance on the land that sustains us is a common thread that unites us as New Mexicans. From the forests and mesas that catch rain and snow to feed our rivers, to the vibrant ecosystems that New Mexicans farm, hunt, fish, hike and bike, our relationship to the land, water and wildlife is central to our quality of life and deep cultural diversity.
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Focus Area
Land & Water Restoration
Significant amounts of land remain in a natural condition in New Mexico, creating opportunities to protect those places for future generations. At the same time, due to relaxed mining and oil and gas leasing regulations, New Mexico’s public lands have become a haven for extractive industries seeking to mine and refine natural resources and minerals. These activities degrade the water and air, making other uses impossible without expensive cleanup and remediation.
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Our Scope of Work
We value responsible stewardship of our water, our land and our natural resources. We believe that ecological health and social equity among New Mexico’s diverse and culturally rich communities protects our cherished quality of life. We are dedicated to ensuring democratic accountability and access for all New Mexicans to participate in the political process. We support policies and lawmakers that promote long-term ecological and economic sustainability. This is our responsibility to future generations.
Theory of Change
Our democracy is strongest when all voices are engaged in the process
For too long, the communities that have historically borne the brunt of extractive industry, pollution, and climate change have been excluded from the policy process. Whether trying to exercise the right to vote, shaping policy, advocating for change, or other forms of civic engagement, environmental racism and systemic oppression have pushed low income and Black, Indigenous, Latine and other people of color communities out of decision-making spaces. This has resulted in devastating policy decisions that have historically favored big polluters over people, and deeply harmed underrepresented communities.
CVNM Education Fund believes that our democracy and environmental policy are strongest when all voices – especially those most impacted by policy and rulemaking – are engaged in the process.
New Mexico’s state legislature has a monumental impact on the laws that protect – or harm – our communities, and its process is opaque. CVNM Education Fund serves as a bridge between the public and policy process, helping people understand how to navigate the policy process. We educate the public about environmental issues, facilitate ways the public can engage with their decision-makers, shine light on the voting process, and amplify the voices and stories of those most impacted.
CVNM Education Fund partners closely with other nonprofits, community organizations and leaders, and decision-makers to engage in solutions that address some of the biggest environmental threats of our lifetime, including climate change. This work is founded in collaboration with organizations that represent or are led by those most impacted by climate pollution, especially rural and communities of color.
Our Committment
Meet our People
The CVNM Education Fund team works hard to bring New Mexicans together, whether it is on advising on policy, hosting town halls, or encouraging people to use their civic voice. Meet the people from across the state who advocate for our collective future.
Donate
Help us to build a thriving, just and resilient New Mexico.
We are committed to creating long-term change by working with communities to address environmental issues impacting their health and quality of life. We do this by bringing community members together to work on policy solutions, providing skills-building trainings and resources, organizing public events and connecting activists with decision-makers.