Data

New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) mapping of areas where waters of the state may be vulnerable to contamination from septic tank discharges, and where stricter standards may be imposed. For more information please visit the NMED Ground Water Quality Bureau at https://www.env.nm.gov/gwqb/.

Impaired streams and lakes for the 2018 reporting cycle to the EPA under the Clean Water Act Section 303(d). To learn more about the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list of impaired water please visit https://www.epa.gov/tmdl/overview-listing-impaired-waters-under-cwa-section-303d/.

Floodplain and wetland areas in New Mexico. Floodplains are areas along rivers and streams that are covered with water when the river or stream flows over its bank. Wetlands are areas that are usually covered with water. Wetland types include riverine – lacustrine – depressional – slope – mineral soil flats – organic soil flats.

Ground Water Discharge Permits for Dairies. Dairies are considered to be agricultural ground water discharge permits.

NPDES Permit Locations - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" ("NPDES") can be defined as the national program for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements, under sections 307, 402, 318, and 405 of CWA. For more information on NPDES Permits please visit https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/npdes-permits//.

The State Cleanup Program (SCP) administers those portions of the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) Regulations, 20.6.2 NMAC, that require the cleanup of contaminated soil and ground water to protect human health and the environment. The regulations require corrective actions to mitigate any damage caused by an unauthorized discharge, and investigation and abatement of subsurface contamination in order to attain ground water standards.

For more information on NMEDs SCP program please visit https://www.env.nm.gov/gwqb/ros-scp/.

Surface waters of New Mexico from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD).

According to the CDC, economic stability is listed as one of the Social Determinants of Health SDOH are defined as conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes. For more information on economic stability as an SDOH, please visit the New Mexico Department of Health’s webpage on the topic.

The percent of a block group's population in households where the household income is less than or equal to twice the federal "poverty level." Source: EPA Environmental Justice Mapping and Screening Tool (EJScreen).

Species of Concern (SOC) are defined as species of state and/or national conservation importance where 1 is "Highest Priority" and 6 "Lowest Priority". Hexagons were scored based on observations for the following: federally listed Endangered, Threatened, or Candidate species; New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) New Mexico listed animal species (Threatened or Endangered); New Mexico State Forestry Division State Endangered Plant Species (Endangered or Threatened ), and Natural Heritage New Mexico Conservation Status rankings (G1/S1 Critically Imperiled globally and within the state, respectively; G2/S2, Imperiled; G3/S3, Vulnerable; G4/S4, Apparently Secure, and G5/S5, Secure). Observations older than 1975 and with a spatial uncertainty greater than 2,500 m were excluded. Area within a designated U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Critical Habitat for Endangered or Threatened species was considered “observation” data.

Priority Level 1

Federal Endangered species, OR Federal Threatened species, OR State Endangered species, OR G1 species observations

Priority Level 2

Federal Candidate species observations, OR State Threatened species observations, OR G2 species observations, OR Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act species observations, OR modeled habitat for >15 SGCN species

Priority Level 3

G3 species observations for species (not state or federally listed), OR modeled habitat for at least one of the following: Federal or State Endangered species, OR 11-15 SGCN species

Priority Level 4

G4 or G5 species observations that are also ranked S1 or S2 (not state or federally listed), OR modeled habitat for at least one of the following: Federal or State Threatened species, OR Federal Candidate species, OR 8-10 SGCN species

Priority Level 5

G4 or G5 species observations that are also ranked S3 (not state or federally listed), OR modeled habitat for at least one of the following: at least one G1, G2 or G3 species, OR G4 or G5 and S1 species (not state or federal listed); >3 G4 or G5 and S2 or S3 species (not state or federally listed)

Priority Level 6

None of the above or no data

A description of the Species of Concern data layer can be found in the metadata section of the NM-CHAT website at http://nmchat.org/data-metadata.html.

Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are distinct areas that provide essential habitat for one or more species of birds in breeding, wintering, or migration and are considered the most important places for birds as identified by the National Audubon Society. For more information please visit the Audubon Society’s web page on New Mexico IBAs here.

NMDGF State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) are areas in the State considered having superior potential for conserving Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). Like all other components of the State Wildlife Action Plan, COAs provide a non-regulatory tool to help focus and prioritize statewide actions to locations where conservation actions may maximize opportunities to prevent future listings of species, and to promote recovery of species that have already been listed..

For more information on SWAP COAs please visit nmswap.org.

Critical habitat is the specific areas within the geographic area, occupied by the species at the time it was listed, that contain the physical or biological features that are essential to the conservation of endangered and threatened species and that may need special management or protection. Critical habitat may also include areas that were not occupied by the species at the time of listing but are essential to its conservation.

Please check out the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s IPaC (Information for Planning and Consultation) tool at https://ipac.ecosphere.fws.gov/  to enter a project and get a list of intersected species and critical habitats.

Active energy production wells (oil, gas, CO2) as well as injection and salt water disposal wells in New Mexico; last updated 3/22/2023.

“Orphan wells” are a subset of unplugged abandoned wells. They are non-producing wells for which no owner or operator can be found, or the owner or operator cannot or is unwilling to plug the well. This could happen if the owner goes bankrupt or if the well is left unplugged and abandoned prior to the recent plugging standards, and now no legal responsible party can be found for the well.