The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, State Parks Division, has released a draft of “Viva New Mexico: A Statewide Plan for Outdoor Recreation” and is having a public meeting Thursday, October 15th, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Porter Hall, located in the Wendell Chino Building at 1220 S. St. Francis Dr. in Santa Fe.
The public is invited to attend and give public comment on Viva New Mexico, a statewide comprehensive outdoor recreation plan, or SCORP, which provides recommendations to guide local, state, and federal outdoor recreation providers in achieving a common vision for outdoor recreation resources in New Mexico and identifies the economic contributions of outdoor recreation.
Víva New Mexico, New Mexico’s SCORP, is an effort required by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, which administers the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). LWCF funds are provided annually to New Mexico for the acquisition and development of outdoor recreation facilities. The plan helps determine priorities for allocating the LWCF funds. To remain eligible for LWCF funding, each state is required to develop a SCORP every five years.
Since LWCF began in 1965, New Mexico has received approximately $212 million for Federal agencies, $42 million for stateside grants, and $7 million for its Forest Legacy program. Those funds have been used to protect places such as the Petroglyph National Monument and to develop and renovate outdoor recreation facilities at places such as Pancho Villa and Rockhound State Parks.
New Mexico’s unique geography combined with its abundant natural resources and the outdoor recreational opportunities that accompany them are part of the reason New Mexico is known as the “Land of the Enchantment.” A statewide survey completed for SCORP process found that 93 percent of adult residents participate in at least one outdoor recreation activity.
According to a report prepared by Southwick Associates for the Outdoor Recreation Association in 2013, outdoor recreation supports 68,000 New Mexico jobs and ultimately $458 million in state and local tax revenue. On average, the 3 million out-of-state visitors who participate in outdoor recreation annually spend approximately $1,000 per trip, or $290 per day. Out-of-state visitors who attend outdoor recreation events spend about $900 on a trip associated with planned outdoor recreation events, an often-overlooked economic driver. An annual total spending estimate for outdoor recreation events in New Mexico from visitors from Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Colorado is approximately $385 million.
Viva New Mexico was developed with the thoughtful input of a technical advisory committee that included local, state and federal agencies; members of the New Mexico Recreation and Parks Association; the New Mexico Outdoor Coalition; and the New Mexico State Parks Advisory Board.
For those interested in providing comments on the plan but are not able to attend in person, the State Parks Division will offer a simultaneous webinar. Viva New Mexico may be viewed through this link: