Digital Commons Network^™

Indigenous Community Research Opportunities, Sharon Hausam, Aaron M. Canter

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Innovation Hubs In Mountain West Cities, 2025, Cason Noll, Sean Curry, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents data on 20 innovation-dense Mountain West cities across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The CommercialCafe report, “Santa Clara, Berkeley & Tempe Lead Among Western Innovation Hubs,”  uses 15 indicators to rank 63 western cities for innovation hub activity across three categories: employment and talent, education, and business activity.

Wading In The Waters: The Public’S Use Rights In Non-Navigable Streams, Loren Vigil

Natural Resources Journal

In New Mexico, the water law of prior appropriation rules. As a result, no individual holds a complete right to ownership of water in New Mexico. Instead, New Mexico landowners hold only a right to put appropriated waters to beneficial use. Appropriation of waters requires diversion, a distinct feature that prevents landowners from claiming natural watercourses flowing through their property boundaries. The unappropriated waters of the state are then vested in the state via public trust, to be used and enjoyed by the public. This public right to use often abuts landowner property rights, as water flows over and through …

Changing Right Before Our Eyes: Landscape Transformation In New Mexico, Laura Mccarthy

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (“Itek”) In Post-Wildfire Response And Recovery, Phoebe Suina

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Theorizing Rural Cosmopolitanism: Modern Economic History, Urban Elites, And The Political Economy Of Disaster Recovery, Manuel Montoya

Natural Resources Journal

A heavily understated dimension of cosmopolitanism is the urban rural divide. This is particularly true in the context of modern economics, which emerged at the same time that the notion of cosmopolitanism was gaining renewed political significance. This paper examines how economic thought of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries directly influenced the socio-literary interactions of a “World Republic of Letters” and how writers such as Goethe used terms like “universal spiritual commerce” to valorize the role of the city in the making of a new modern world. The paper also describes how the rural was left behind in …

Trial By Fire: Disaster Justice And Lessons Learned, Clifford J. Villa

Natural Resources Journal

Disaster Justice reflects the intersection of environmental justice and disaster law. The study of disaster justice is becoming increasingly essential as disasters become more frequent and devastating in the face of accelerating climate change. Disaster law is marked by statutes such as the federal Stafford Act and by theory such as the “disaster cycle” of readiness, response, and recovery. Environmental justice recognizes that the distribution of harms such as bad air or water quality may be distributed inequitably among groups such as low-income populations or racial minorities. In similar fashion, the adverse impacts of disasters may also be distributed inequitably …

Unknowing Sacrifices: Public Health And Radiation Illness In New Mexico And Nevada, 1940s-1960s, Beatriz Avila-Marquez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The detonation of the first atomic bomb in the early morning of July 16, 1945, in New Mexico welcomed the atomic age that forever changed the world. After that day, thousands of lives were lost due to nuclear weapons, and hundreds of thousands more continued to suffer from the effects of atomic testing. The Atomic Energy Commission, fueled by the arms race of the Cold War, chose Nevada to continue the United States’ nuclear weapons testing. Knowledge of the dangers of radiation exposure, the effects of radiation, and techniques to prevent exposure are now available in part due to the …

Fluid Geographies: Water, Science, And Settler Colonialism In New Mexico, Wiley K. Waggoner

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Whose Water Is It, Anyway? Federalism And Texas V. New Mexico, Bryon Louk

Arkansas Law Review

When a problem erupts between two states, interstate compacts provide a solution without the need for a nationwide decision. Rather than waiting for federal consensus, the states can, with Congressional approval, compact to solve their problems. However, the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas v. New Mexico (Texas II) has threatened interstate compacts, ignored principles of federalism, and overextended its original jurisdiction. It has allowed the United States to force Texas and New Mexico to keep fighting over a compact, even when the states have resolved their issues on their own.

First, this Comment will describe the legal background of compact …

Bachelor's Degrees And Earnings In The Mountain West, 2022, Anthony Arroyo, Sydney Mitchell, Lara Karaalp, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents 2022 data on the median annual earnings of bachelor's degree holders for specific fields of degrees (FODs) across the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet also examines the share and earnings of individuals with less than a bachelor’s degree compared to bachelor’s degree holders in the three Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) appearing among the 30 largest MSAs in the United States: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ; Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO; and Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV. The “Field of Bachelor's Degree in the United States: 2022” report from the U.S. Census Bureau …

Iberian Origins Of New Mexico's Community Acequias, Jose A. Rivera Ph.D., Thomas F. Glick Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

When Spanish officials first entered the northern region of New Spain in the late sixteenth century, they realized that irrigation would be a necessary development in the establishment of permanent communities. To sustain the early settlements, they built irrigation systems following the Iberian model, itself an extension of Arabo-Berber traditions from north Africa and the Middle East.

Study Of Vegetated Islands Along The Middle Rio Grande Using Openet Satellite Toolbox, Athena Victoria Sophia Shapiro Esq.

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Sustainable water management is a challenging issue facing most of the western United States. This study analyzed evapotranspiration predictions at 14 sites along the Middle Rio Grande, changes have occurred over time as these vegetated sand bar islands have developed. Additionally, this study examines the methods of predictions and analysis of evapotranspiration or ET rates along the river using OpenET. An added area of research is the understanding of the presence of vegetation on the sandbar islands. This was analyzed using satellite imaging data from OpenET, which was used to see how changes in vegetation density change ET values seen …

Ephemera As A Versatile Primary Resource: A Case Study Of The Nancy Tucker Postcard Collection, Dylan J. Mcdonald, Jennifer Olguin, Monika Glowacka-Musial

Journal of Western Archives

Ephemera are rich primary sources too often overlooked within archival materials and at collecting institutions. This case study argues that archivists and librarians should recognize ephemera, specifically postcards, as powerful historical documents worthy of scholarly investigation. By analyzing a sample set of digitized postcards held at the New Mexico State University Library, we show how scholars can use postcards to develop evidence-based arguments. Through the images, printed texts, and hand-written inscriptions found on these early 20th century postcards, we demonstrate how researchers can examine the pro-development messages found in southern New Mexico postcards.

Building Materials Cut From The Earth: A Look At Sod Construction Around The World And In New Mexico, Giulia Caporuscio

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Terrón, or sod, is an earthen building technology that is being lost. The blocks are cut directly from the ground, generally along banks of bodies of fresh water, marshlands, or grassland valleys. The resulting blocks are clay rich with plant root systems that provide strength to the construction material. This building material is found in archeological and modern structures around the world. Today the material and knowledge behind this earthen technology is being lost.

This paper starts by summarizing other studies of sod construction in Indigenous cultures of the Americas, homesteaders of the Plains of the United States and Canada …

Analyzing The Impact Of Oil And Gas-Contaminated Fluids On Soil In Eddy And Lea Counties Using Sequential Extraction, Mary Adu-Gyamfi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The study investigates the impacts of oil and gas-contaminated fluids on soil within the context of Eddy and Lea Counties in New Mexico, the United States. The increase in oil and gas operations has led to enormous wastewater production that is handled, stored, and transported, leading to thousands of spills yearly. The continuous and accidental release of this wastewater poses several risks to the environment due to its high levels of hazardous pollutants. Several studies were conducted on how to reduce the contaminants; however, the impact caused on the environment and the fate of the spilled fluids is unclear due …

Till The Rivers All Run Dry: Equal Sovereignty And The Western Water Crisis, Simon Ciccarillo

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

Across the United States, a countless number of people rely on groundwater for basic necessities such as eating, drinking, agriculture, and energy-creation. At the same time, overuse combined with increasingly dry conditions throughout the country, tied to the increasingly unpredictable and devastating impacts of climate change, threaten this fundamental building block of society. Nowhere is this problem more pernicious than the American Southwest. The Colorado River Basin has always been the epicenter of water disputes between communities and states. Bad policies, unhelpful federal actions, and sluggish Supreme Court decisions stop the painful but necessary steps to address the increasingly dire …

Million-Year Melt-Presence In Mogollon-Datil Volcanic Field Rhyolites: Constraining The Histories Of The Bursum Caldera Resurgent Domes, Ethan Wagner

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Mogollon-Datil volcanic field which is located in southwestern New Mexico, is the result of punctuated volcanism and the transition between arc and rift magmatism. The resurgent domes within the 28 Ma Bursum caldera records the transition from rhyolitic to basaltic andesite volcanism that occurred between 27-26 Ma. Using a combination of new zircon U-Pb ages using chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-ID-TIMS) with zircon U-Pb geochronology and trace element contents by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) and whole rock and mineral trace element contents and isotope geochemistry this study investigates the temporal and …

Time And Space Evolution Of Late Permian To Early Triassic Deposits In The Northern Delaware Basin, Southeast New Mexico, U.S.A.: Sediment Sources, Dispersal Pathways, And Timing Of Salt Deformation, Omonde Sitou Akakpo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The northern Delaware Basin in southeast New Mexico recorded the deposition of thick evaporite beds followed by siliciclastic materials between the late Permian and Early Triassic. Mineralogy and whole-rock geochemistry of the bioturbated zone and the first mudstone/halite (M1/H1) informal units in the Los Medaños Member (Rustler Formation) suggest felsic volcanic arc origins for the bioturbated zone and felsic upper continental crust passive margin origins for the M1/H1. The previously studied marine transgression that deposited the bioturbated zone likely transported detritus from southern North America and Central American volcanic arcs into the northern Delaware Basin, whereas the regression allowed migration …

Symposium On New Mexico's Just Transition, Melanie Coffing, Logan Stokes

Natural Resources Journal

A Just Transition aims to develop capacity for a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy while maximizing benefits and minimizing hardships for working communities. The ideation and implementation of such a sweeping, intersectional policy framework requires thoughtful conversation, collaborative action, and years of dedication from community members and policy makers alike. On November 3, 2023, the Natural Resources Journal, through the University of New Mexico School of Law, and the New Mexico Speaker of the House, Javier Martínez, hosted the Symposium on New Mexico’s Just Transition. Students from the law school and the Natural Resources Journal had the opportunity to collaborate with community …

Climate Change Will Make The Final Call In New Mexico's Groundwater Appropriation, Lauren Hewitt

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Twisted Machines: Police Pursuit Policy And Accountability, Madeline Hedrick

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

Part I of this comment will examine the cultural and legal approach to high-speed pursuits exemplified in Los Angeles—the national center of televised car chases. Part II will unpack the thorny judicial doctrine of qualified immunity and evaluate how it impacts the incentives and accountability of police pursuits. Part III will examine who pays for the lawsuits that survive qualified immunity and the role insurance companies have in the facilitation of police reform. In Part IV, this comment will examine the qualified immunity bills in New Mexico and Colorado, the nationwide example they set, and the pushback they have received. …

Assessment Of Forest Stand Characteristics And Environmental Conditions On Soil Burn Severity And Post-Wildfire Flooding In The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, Raquel L. Valdez

Civil Engineering ETDs

Wildfire is a natural disturbance in forest ecosystems but has the potential to drastically change watershed conditions, leaving them highly vulnerable to post-wildfire hazards. High severity fires can significantly affect soil and landscape interactions, resulting in decreased evaporation and infiltration and increased runoff in the newly exposed soil surfaces. Most post-wildfire research focuses on reactive solutions. However, the time between wildfires and post-wildfire hazards is growing closer in margin. Therefore, assessing post-wildfire risks, pre-fire is helpful when assessing fire severity and is valuable to resource managers for pre-wildfire management, planning, and mitigation. This research is in the Upper Gallinas Watershed …

The Economic Impact Of Oil And Gas Production In The Permian Basin, Aditi Sarkar

Economics ETDs

The dissertation aims to analyze the economic and social consequences of unconventional oil and gas (UO&G) production in the Permian Basin, located in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. The first paper focuses on the effect of methane reduction regulations imposed by the United States (US) government on the production of natural gas and the drilling of new wells. Specifically, the question asked is “what is the impact of methane reduction regulations on the drilling of new wells and the production of natural gas over a 40-year time horizon?” I develop dynamic optimization in a system dynamic setting to assess …

3d Printing Of Earthen Materials: Toward The Carbon-Zero Construction, Shiva Bhusal

Civil Engineering ETDs

In recent years, digital manufacturing techniques in the architecture and construction industry have rapidly gained attention, especially with 3D printing, also called additive manufacturing. The use of cement has been common in modern construction and is now being explored for 3D printing. However, due to cement's contribution to approximately 7 percent of global carbon emissions and its high cost, research on sustainable and greener materials has gained attention. Previous studies on alternative construction have examined the mechanical and rheological properties of soil mixes, but not much attention has been given to printability evaluation, shrinkage, and cracking, which can affect the …

Rural Water Manager Challenges In New Mexico, Amy "Aj" Jones

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

New Mexico poses a valuable set of circumstances to study the challenges faced by drinking water systems. A general lack of resources for small systems, be it personnel and funding issues, lack of community engagement, lack or loss of institutional knowledge, ability to meet regulations, and aging managers were found to be very common and widespread. Rural water manager positions that are unsupported financially do not assist in alleviating rural poverty or draw the workforce. Therefore, the negative state demographic statistics are reinforced, further complicating rural water management rather than helping the issues. To look at drinking water management comprehensively, …

Planned Adaptation And Implementation Of The Community Guide Recommendations For Increasing Physical Activity In Rural Community Settings: A Qualitative Study, Julia Meredith Hess, Sally M. Davis

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this paper is to report on the implementation of an evidence-based model, VIVA, which was developed to translate physical activity (PA) recommendations to rural environments and was scaled-up to 12 rural communities across New Mexico. Our longitudinal qualitative research describes processes of planned adaptation in the rural context with an exploration of inner and outer context adaptations that consider important implementation constructs including leadership, partnership and collaboration.

MATERIALS & METHODS: An enhanced version of the RE-AIM framework was used to formulate community-level engagement and process questions essential to implementation science. Qualitative methods, using a thematic approach …

Lechuguilla Cave – Discoveries In A Hidden Splendor, Victor J. Polyak

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Facing New Mexico's 21st Century Water Challenges; A Report Of The New Mexico Water Policy And Infrastructure Task Force, New Mexico Water And Infrastructure Task Force N/A

Publications

No abstract provided.

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …