|
|
 |
|
West of the 100th Meridian people like to quote the adage, Whisky's fer drinkin'; water's fer fightin'!
We don't believe that has to be true. Dialogue is about listening actively to try to understand - and not to judge - another
person's viewpoint about a strongly held value, in order to discover whether at some level you share common ground. "Water
dialogue" encompasses our Board's attempts to discover ways to address contentious issues about how we will share, manage
and protect this scarce and vital substance, and be stewards of its sources, so that they will continue to sustain us
and those who will follow us.
Our articles of incorporation define the purpose of the New Mexico Water Dialogue: "To promote the
wise stewardship of water resources in New Mexico through support of community-based forums for education, communication,
and development of common ground."
Though
this is still true, it has seemed incomplete. In fact our work goes several steps further. The diversity of the
voices represented in Dialogue forums and on our statewide Board of Directors means that we seldom take positions on the content
of water policy. But we share broad understanding about the need for open, inclusive and democratic processes in the development
and administration of those policies, and we keep track of policy-making activities in the Office of the State Engineer, the
Interstate Stream Commission, and the New Mexico Legislature to make sure that they adhere to these principles. To reflect
these concerns, the Dialogue's Board adopted a revised mission statement on July 27, 2007. The language agreed to by the
Board reads as follows:
"To promote the wise
stewardship and assure the availability of water resources for future generations of New Mexicans by sponsoring
community-based forums for education, communication, and development of common ground; supporting
inclusive, community-based planning processes, at all levels – local, regional and state; advocating
open, inclusive and democratic processes in the development and administration of water policy; and monitoring and publicizing major water policy
developments."
|
|
Our Board of Directors The Dialogue's Board
is composed of between 15 and 25 individuals who live in most of New Mexico's 16 water planning regions, and who bring
many perspectives on water issues to bear on our work. Our current Board members (as of March 2010) are listed below.
Short bio-sketches are available for some members. Click on their names, which link to the
Board Biographies page.
Michael Benson, Vice President - Navajo Nation,
Fort Defiance Alan Hamilton - Santa Fe Tracy Seidman Hephner - Wagon Mound Simeon Herskovits - Taos Janet
Jarratt - Los Lunas
Jason John - Yah ta Hey Charles (Charlie) Lujan
- Okay Owingeh Pueblo Maceo Martinet - Albuquerque Kendyl Monroe - Seneca Alex Puglisi - Sandia Pueblo
Lisa Robert - Los Lunas Dutch
Salmon - Silver City Tom Shelley - Tyrone
Staff, Consultants,
and Volunteers
Mary Murnane, President, has assumed some of the
functions of Executive Director, since we currently lack sufficient funding to hire paid staff. She will lead the planning
process for the next annual statewide meeting.
Conci Bokum, the Dialogue's immediate
past President, is acting as the managing editor of Dialogue.
John R. Brown
was the Dialogue's Executive Director from 2002 to 2006. He is actively involved in a number of Dialogue projects, edits
this Website, and maintains the mailing list. He has also written several articles and papers on water planning and policy.
Send him an e-mail here. Kathy Grassel copyedits and is responsible for layout of our newsletter, Dialogue. Yana
Merrill keeps the books and writes the checks. Lucy Moore facilitates our annual statewide
meetings and many other events..
|
|
|
Our Work
The Dialogue's work involves planning, convening, facilitating and reporting on a variety of forums that
bring together individuals and groups concerned with water issues to share information and perspectives, to explore differences
and commonalities in interests and values, to foster a deeper understanding of the implications of policy choices on others'
interests. Our major initiatives are discussed on the current projects page. We publish our newsletter, Dialogue, three times a year. For subscription and publication information
click here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|