STATE AGENCY INSECT WORKSHOP

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A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING CERTAIN STATE AGENCIES TO PARTICIPATE IN A
WORKSHOP ABOUT INSECT IDENTIFICATION, ECOLOGY, MONITORING AND
MANAGEMENT AND TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT INSECTS.
WHEREAS, New Mexico is a beautiful state that is rich in
natural resources and filled with a wide variety of plants
and animals, including insects, which make up over one-half
of the more than one million five hundred thousand identified
animal species on the planet; and
WHEREAS, insects, such as butterflies, bees, ants and
beetles, are six-legged invertebrates with three body
segments, antennae, compound eyes and an exoskeleton; and
WHEREAS, insects provide vital functions in ecosystems,
including being the primary pollinators of one-third of food
for global crop production, decomposing waste, eliminating
pests, protecting soil health, especially in arid regions
where decomposition is slow, and serving as food for many
species; as one student said, "Bugs help the earth by helping
the flowers and our food grow"; and
WHEREAS, many people misunderstand insects and see
insects as pests, even though most are harmless and play an
important ecological role; as one student said, "[Sometimes]
people are fearful and disgusted with insects because they
are uneducated about their importance", and as another
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student said, "Insects are misunderstood because they look
gross and scary"; and
WHEREAS, insects are important to New Mexico's
communities, including indigenous communities, for everything
from ecosystem health to healthy soil for farming; as one
class said, "Insects are used to help our people [Navajo]
with protein and medicine", and another student emphasized
that "Without insects, the food chain could start to crumble
and have a lasting effect on humans"; and
WHEREAS, insects play critical ecological roles in every
ecosystem, and in the words of two students, "Insects weave
life through New Mexico's wild places", and "Insects make our
world a better place by maintaining balance in nature"; and
WHEREAS, scientists are worried about decreasing insect
populations due to habitat loss, pollution, pesticides,
invasive species and climate change, which threaten the
functioning and health of natural ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, in 2025, a law amended the statutory definition
of "wildlife" to include invertebrates such as insects; and
WHEREAS, state land management agencies manage over nine
million acres of land in New Mexico and should have staff who
are knowledgeable about insects in the state; and
WHEREAS, it is important for state land management
agencies to study insects, which will enable the agencies to
make informed decisions about land management and wildlife
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and to share their knowledge with the public so that, as one
student said, "people understand the value of insects and how
everyday actions can help protect them". Another student
added that "knowing more about insects might help people make
better choices about how they treat the environment"; and
WHEREAS, the wild friends program, a civics and science
education program for youth housed at the university of New
Mexico school of law; the university of New Mexico museum of
southwestern biology, a research and teaching facility about
biological diversity and the natural environment; and the
Xerces society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the
conservation of invertebrates and their habitats, have
offered to sponsor a workshop for interested agencies about
insect identification, ecology, monitoring and management in
the spring of 2026; and
WHEREAS, education is important, in the words of some
students, "to show how cool insects are and why people should
protect them instead of assuming insects are gross", and
because "teaching others helps reduce fear and misinformation
about insects and most people are more likely to protect what
they understand"; and
WHEREAS, education can help the public learn how to
protect beneficial insects by taking actions such as avoiding
harmful pesticides, planting native plants of different
heights for food and shelter, providing water, turning off
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artificial lights at night and leaving some leaves on the
ground in the fall and through the winter; and
WHEREAS, education can help, as a student eloquently
stated, "to protect all the creatures big and small that make
this the land of enchantment while at the same time ensuring
that many future generations are able to enjoy the beauty
that comes to us thanks to these tiny creatures who work
diligently behind the scenes"; and
WHEREAS, the importance of insects in ecosystems across
New Mexico and the role that the public and state agencies
can play in helping to protect them is widely recognized;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the
department of game and fish, the state land office, the state
parks division and the forestry division of the energy,
minerals and natural resources department, the New Mexico
department of agriculture, the department of transportation
and other interested agencies be requested to participate in
a workshop about insect identification, ecology, monitoring
and management, sponsored by the wild friends program in
conjunction with the museum of southwestern biology and the
Xerces society; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these state agencies be
encouraged to disseminate educational information about
insects, including materials designed by students in the wild
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friends program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the department of game and fish, the state land
office, the state parks division and the forestry division of
the energy, minerals and natural resources department, the New
Mexico department of agriculture and the department of
transportation for appropriate distribution.