ALL ACROSS NEW MEXICO IN THE MOUNTAINS, IN THE DESERT, IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE ARE STREAMS THAT RUN ONLY AFTER A SUMMER MONSOON OR SPRINGS THAT TRICKLE ONLY AFTER THE SNOWS START MELTING.

MORE THAN 90% OF NEW MEXICO'S WATERWAYS ARE CONSIDERED TEMPORARY.

THAT IS, THEY DON'T RUN ALL YEAR LONG.

CLIFF IS A PROFESSOR FROM THE BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO.

HE STUDIES TEMPORARY WATER WAYS.

THE AREA WE ARE IN TODAY IN THE SANDIA MOUNTAINS WHERE MANY ARE SMALL SPRING FED SPRINGS THAT FLOW FOR A CERTAIN DISTANCE AND THEN GO UNDERGROUND.

IN OTHER AREAS, THEY ARE SIMPLY WASHES OR ARROYOS THAT FLOW PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU GET INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE SUMMER.

LET'S SEE WHAT KIND OF FLOW WE HAVE AT THE SPRING HERE TODAY.

SO, I AM GOING TO START THIS AND SO I AM GOING TO START NOW.

OKAY.

2.4 GALLONS A MINUTE, SO, AROUND TWO-AND-A-HALF GALLONS PER MINUTE.

THESE TEMPORARY WATER WAYS SUSTAIN TREES AND WILDLIFE AND SUPPORT GRASS LANDS AND ENTIRE ECOSYSTEMS.

FARMERS RELY ON THEM AND HAVE FOR CENTURIES IN NEW MEXICO.

WE ARE STANDING HERE NEAR AN INTERMITTENT SMALL INTERMITTENT STREAM AND IT HAS A BEAUTIFUL COTTONWOOD BOSQUE ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

TUNNEL SPRINGS IS ONE OF ABOUT 30 SPRINGS THAT ARE FOUND AROUND SANDIA MOUNTAINS.

IT FLOWS MOST OF THE YEAR AND THIS SPRING PRODUCES A WATER SUPPLY THAT HAS BEEN USED FOR CENTURIES AND IT ALSO IS A GOOD QUALITY WATER.

IT COMES OUT OF HERE AND YOU WILL SEE WHERE THE SPRING POPS OUT OF THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, THEN RIGHT BELOW THE SPRING YOU'LL FIND A LOT OF BAR CREST GROWING, AN INDICATION OF HIGH QUALITY OF WATER THERE.

AND YOU'LL ALSO SEE THAT FOR ABOUT QUARTER OF A MILE, A SERIES OF COTTONWOOD TREES.

FOUR YEARS AGO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FINALIZED THE CLEAN WATER RULE FOR WATERS OF THE U.S. RULE.

IT WAS A WAY TO BUILD ON THE CLEAN WATER ACT.

THAT IS THE BED ROCK ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PRESIDENT NIXON SIGNED IN 1972.

THE UPDATE PROTECTED THESE TEMPORARY OR INTERMITTENT STREAMS AND RIVERS AND WET LANDS THAT DON'T FLOW THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR.

BUT IN DECEMBER, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELEASED NEW REVISIONS TO THE CLEAN WATER RULE, WHICH WOULD UNDO MANY OF THE PROTECTIONS FOR THESE TEMPORARY WATERWAYS.

RACHEL CONN IS PROJECT DIRECTOR WITH AMIGOS BRAVOS, A NONPROFIT.

ALL OF THESE EPHEMERAL AND INTERMITTENT DRAINS FLOW DOWN TO OUR BIGGER RIVERS LIKE HERE, THE RIO GRANDE BEHIND ME, AND, IMPACT WATER QUALITY IN OUR MAIN RIVER SYSTEMS ACROSS THE STATE WHERE MANY OF US GET OUR DRINKING WATER, WE IRRIGATE FROM, WILDLIFE IS DEPENDENT ON THESE WATERS AND SO IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT WE HAVE SO MANY WATERS HERE THAT DON'T FLOW YEAR ROUND SO OVER 94% OF OUR WATERS ARE EITHER EPHEMERAL OR INTERMITTENT WHICH MEANS THEY DON'T FLOW CONSISTENTLY YEAR ROUND EVERY YEAR.

AND THIS RULE THAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IMPACTS THOSE WATERS, TAKES AWAY FEDERAL PROTECTIONS FROM THOSE WATERS.

UNDER THE NEW RULE, STREAMS THAT FLOW ONLY AFTER RAINS OR SNOWS, THESE ARE EPHEMERAL AND WOULDN'T BE PROTECTED.

IT ALSO QUESTIONS REMOVING PROTECTIONS FROM INTERMITTENT STREAMS.

THOSE ARE STREAMS LIKE TUNNEL SPRINGS THAT COME FROM GROUNDWATER, BUT MIGHT NOT RUN ALL YEAR.

EPHEMERAL AND INTERMITTENT WATERS ARE IMPORTANT TO US AS A STATE BOTH ECONOMICALLY AS WELL AS CULTURALLY.

THERE IS STUDIES THAT HAVE SHOWN UPWARD OR 400,000 NEW MEXICANS DEPEND ON DRINKING WATER SOURCES THAT ARE FED BY INTERMITTENT OR EPHEMERAL WATER.

THEY ARE CRITICAL TO US AT ALL LEVELS OF OUR LIFE.

THE RULE WOULD REMOVE PROTECTIONS FOR MOST OF NEW MEXICO'S WETLANDS LIKE OUR MOUNTAIN MEADOWS.

PLAYAS WOULDN'T BE PROTECTED OR CLOSED BASINS.

THOSE ARE PLACES WHERE STREAMS DON'T EVENTUALLY FLOW TO THE OCEAN.

IN NEW MEXICO, ABOUT 1/5 OF THE STATE'S LAND MASS IS A CLOSED BASIN, THERE ARE WAYS TO STILL PROTECT NEW MEXICO WATERS, EVEN WITH THE REVISED RULES STILL IN PLACE.

WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY UNDER THE WATER QUALITY ACT STATE WATER QUALITY TACT TO PROTECT NEW MEXICO'S WATERS.

WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE STRUCTURE IN PLACE TO DO THAT.

THAT IS A BIG CONCERN, IMMEDIATE CONCERN.

IF THESE PROTECTIONS ARE YANKED AWAY, WE ARE LEFT WITH UNPROTECTED WATERS HERE IN NEW MEXICO.

CONN WOULD LIKE TO SEE NEW MEXICO CREATE A STATE PROGRAM TO PROTECT ITS OWN WATERS, MUCH LIKE OTHER STATES.

NEW MEXICO CAN ALSO TAKE CONTROL OF ITS CLEAN WATER ACT PERMITTING PROGRAM.

TIME WILL TELL IF A NEW GOVERNOR, NEW LEADERSHIP WILL CHANGE THE STATE'S APPROACH TO OUR PERMANENT NEED FOR THESE TEMPORARY WATERS.

FOR OUR LAND, I'M LAURA PASKUS.