New Mexico lawmakers question fallowing as way to reduce water use along the Rio Grande

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some New Mexico lawmakers are warning that the state’s fight with neighboring Texas over management of one of North America’s longest rivers is still brewing despite a proposed settlement and that leaving farmland unplanted won’t be a long-term answer to ensuring Texas gets its share. A key legislative panel met Tuesday in Las Cruces to discuss a proposed settlement that would end a yearslong legal battle over the Rio Grande. The agreement still needs the endorsement of a special master and then approval by the U.S. Supreme Court. Some officials talked about fallowing land along the Rio Grande. Others pushed for infrastructure projects they said would result in more efficient use of the river and management of storm water runoff.