So much of what makes New Mexico unique we owe to the work of both those who came before and today's men and women who keep meaningful traditions alive. Nowhere is that more true than in connection with our acequias, those life-giving irrigation ditches that bring water to families and fields across the state.

For 20 years, the New Mexico Acequia Association has worked to bring attention to issues of importance to acequia parciantes, building a united voice to preserve water, culture and traditions that otherwise would have vanished.

Today, the group meets at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds for its annual Congreso de las Acequias, where it will have a water blessing and hand out awards to the unsung heroes who help make life better for the rest of us. Even for city dwellers, we are a stronger and more prosperous state when the people closest to the land continue to clean their ditches, water their fields and grow their crops. Such patterns of life keep us close to our past while making our present vibrant.

This year, honorees come from Rio Arriba and Taos counties, deep in the heart of the acequia culture of the north.

Palemón Martínez, of Valdez in Taos County, is receiving the first-ever Acequia Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the Taos Valley Acequia Association and for decades of dedication to negotiations in the Abeyta water settlement. Also from Taos are Acequia Rancher of the Year, 95-year-old José Manuel Archuleta, and Mark Shuetz, Acequia Advocate of the Year. Mayordomo of the year is Estevan Griego of Dixon, while the Acequia de San Rafael del Guique in Rio Arriba is being honored for its work with Ohkay Owingeh in keeping their ditch flowing strong.

Paula Garcia, the executive director of the acequia association, points out that these irrigation ditches have endured for centuries in our dry state. Because so many have worked to maintain their ditches and preserve their water rights, people today as well as our children and grandchildren, benefit. Their work deserves both our thanks and our appreciation.


It was a clever campaign ploy, short and catchy: Sell the jet, the three words bringing together dissatisfaction with Gov. Bill Richardson's fancy ways and a pledge to be a more down-to-earth leader.

But Gov.-elect Susana Martinez shouldn't mind backing away from a promise that is more sound bite than substance. If selling the jet — bought for $5.45 million but now worth about $3 million — costs the state money, put the sale on hold until the market for used jets improves. Use it for long trips, rely on King Air for the most part and try to break even on its sale.

New Mexico is the fifth-largest state, and traveling by air saves time and gets the governor and other officials out and about across the state — which is just where they need to be. Although, we do agree with Sen. Tim Jennings that members of the highway commission should try driving the roads they are charged with supervising.