HM 12 — "INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CAVES & KARST"

HOUSEA MEMORIAL 12REQUESTING 55THTHE LEGISLATUREGOVERNOR -TO STATEISSUE OFA NEWMEXICOPROCLAMATION -RECOGNIZING FIRST2021 SESSIONAS 2021THE INTRODUCED"INTERNATIONAL BYYEAR CathrynnOF N.CAVES AND KARST".

Brown5 andWHEREAS, Gailcaves Armstrongand 6related 8landforms 10like Asinkholes, MEMORIALsprings REQUESTINGand THEsinking GOVERNORstreams, TOcollectively ISSUEknown Aas PROCLAMATIONkarst, RECOGNIZINGpresent 2021some ASof THEthe "INTERNATIONALworld's YEARmost OFdramatic CAVESlandscapes; AND KARST".

14and WHEREAS, caves and relatedkarst landformshave likediverse sinkholes,economic, springsecologic, scientific and sinkingcultural streams,impacts collectivelyaround knownNew asMexico, karst,the presentUnited someStates ofand the world'sworld; most dramatic landscapes;

and e t 17 WHEREAS, cavesCarlsbad andCaverns karstnational havepark diversealone economic,has ecologic,an weconomic lbenefit nof dabout 18thirty-four scientificmillion anddollars cultural($34,000,000) impactseach aroundyear for New Mexico,Mexico; the United = = 19 a l States and the world;

and i a e r 20 WHEREAS, Carlsbadother CavernsNew nationalMexico parkcave alonetourist hasdestinations aninclude aBottomless tLakes mstate mpark, 21Santa economicRosa benefitblue ofhole, aboutthe thirty-fourice millioncave dollarsand dBandera rvolcano eand 22El ($34,000,000)Malpais eachnational yearmonument; for New Mexico;

and c e s k 23 WHEREAS, otherthe Newcountry's Mexicofirst caveunderground touristwilderness destinationswas eestablished ain nNew bMexico 24to includeprotect Bottomless Lakes state park, Santa Rosa blue hole, the uspectacular [Lechuguilla icecave; cave and Bandera volcano and El Malpais national monument;

.219712.1 and WHEREAS, the country's first underground wilderness was established in New Mexico to protect the spectacular Lechuguilla cave;

and WHEREAS, the primary water supplies for roughly fifteen HM 12 Page 1 percent of New Mexico are karst aquifers, especially supporting the communities in the southeast quadrant of the state;

and WHEREAS, recognizing New Mexico's significance and interest in the area, the United States congress established the national cave and karst research institute, located in New Mexico in partnership with the state and under the administration of the New Mexico institute of mining and e t 17 technology;

and w l n d 18 WHEREAS, insect-eating bats from New Mexico's caves and = = 19 a l around the country save American agriculture twenty-three i a e r 20 billion dollars ($23,000,000,000) each year in pesticides;

and a t m m 21 WHEREAS, globally, bats help produce more than four d r e 22 hundred fifty foods, medicines and industrial products, in c e s k 23 addition to other benefits;

and e a n b 24 WHEREAS, caves in New Mexico and worldwide are the main u [ repositories of thousands of years of rich cultural history .219712.1 - 2 - found nowhere else;

and WHEREAS, while cave and karst areas have multiple benefits, they also pose many challenges, as their aquifers HM 12 Page 2 are easily contaminated and drained, and sinkholes alone cause over three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) in road damage in the United States each year;

and e t 17 WHEREAS, in recognition of the many benefits and w l n d 18 challenges provided by caves and karst in the areas where they = = 19 a l occur, the international union of speleology is spearheading i a e r 20 the celebration of 2021 as the international year of caves and a t m m 21 karst;

d r e 22 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF c e s k 23 REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be e a n b 24 requested to acknowledge the importance of caves and karst in u [ New Mexico by issuing a proclamation recognizing 2021 as the .219712.1 - 3 - "International Year of Caves and Karst";

-HM 412 -Page 73 925 11 13 15 e t 17 w l n d 18 = = 19 a l i a e r 20 a t m m 21 d r e 22 c e s k 23 e a n b 24 u [ .219712.1