Biodiversity and Land Use

We are committed to protecting wildlife, habitat, ecosystems, and cultural resources everywhere we operate. Biodiversity and natural habitat protection are key considerations for PNM and TNMP. As part of our commitment to enhancing biodiversity, we have procedures to protect, enhance, restore, and mitigate impacts to natural habitat at all of our significant operational locations and throughout our service territory..

Environmental Protection of Lands

We work closely with local communities to identify and protect environmentally and culturally sensitive areas. We have a robust review process whereby we analyze infrastructure developments and maintenance projects to understand the risk of disturbance to sensitive habitats and archeological sites, as well as community concerns. We complete comprehensive environmental reviews and stakeholder engagement to identify potential biodiversity and community impacts, and seek input from residents, businesses, landowners, American Indian communities, government and other stakeholders to address and mitigate concerns.

When a project has the potential to affect the rights or resources of a American Indian community, we follow established regulatory and company guidelines to engage tribal communities with respect. We are committed to continue working collaboratively with the American Indian communities to avoid or minimize our impacts and foster lasting beneficial relationships.

Environmental conservation and education programs are also supported through PNM and TNMP, TXNM Energy Foundation grants and on-the-ground Community Crew volunteer projects. The TXNM Energy Foundation awarded grants to Tree New Mexico for replanting trees within the Rio Grande Bosque, the New Mexico Avian Protection (NMAP) Working Group, Hawks Aloft, and the Nature Conservancy. Recent TNMP grants included funds to purchase STEM kits for Lewisville middle-school students and funds for friends of LLELA (Lewisville) to purchase equipment and supplies to be used in upgrading hiking trails and the natural environment.

Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project

In 2023, PNM transferred a critical water infrastructure from the now decommissioned San Juan Generating Station to the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project for delivery of life-changing drinking water to Navajo tribal communities that continue to face dire water supply scarcity. The SJGS water infrastructure includes a diversion channel and pumping station on the San Juan River where the water is diverted and pumped eight miles up to a large reservoir where water can be stored. The transfer will help deliver water to meet the current and future demands of more than 43 Navajo Nation chapters, the City of Gallup and the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

Avian Protection

Both PNM and TNMP developed Avian Protection Plans (APP) in accordance with the guidelines established by the Avian Powerline Interaction Committee which is comprised of over 70 utilities, Edison Electric Institute, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, EPRI, National Rural Electrical Cooperative Association, and Rural Utilities Service. Each APP continues to be updated and includes commitments to both reactive and proactive avian protection efforts.

Since 2014, the Company has spent over $10.6 million to make distribution poles avian‐safe. The cost to bird guard a structure is dependent upon the location, the necessity to plan an outage to bird guard, the aerial equipment located on the pole, and the pole configuration.

To encourage safe nesting for raptors and other large birds, and to improve and maintain reliability, PNM completed a large project installing hundreds of perch diverters along a 212‐mile main transmission line that experienced bird‐related outages. PNM engaged a local avian conservation, research and education organization to help determine the species of bird and the location of the nests on the structures. This data assisted in identifying the cause of interruptions that were occurring along the line. Findings showed that when the birds perch on certain parts of the transmission structures, their excrement can “stream” and bridge the clearance between the power lines, causing faults on the line. Installing perch diverters discourage the birds from sitting on certain parts of the structure while encouraging them to move to a safer location. The diverters were installed on over 400 structures by line crews who are flown to each structure in a helicopter, and the project was done while the line remained energized to minimize outages.

PNM also completed bird guarding at the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). To support the mission and extensive habitat development plans of NWR in the South Valley of Albuquerque, PNM removed an unused line segment along a refuge boundary and installed bird guarding on the remaining infrastructure within the refuge.

PNM has developed a long-term partnership with Hawks Aloft, Inc., an organization dedicated to the conservation of native birds and their habitats through research, public education, and avian rehabilitation. The TXNM Energy Foundation provides financial support to Hawks Aloft to help fulfill their mission and PNM provides the occasional use of bucket trucks and equipment. Hawks Aloft assists PNM by providing birds for educational purposes during employee training and community outreach events and by assisting with nest removal/relocation and injured bird rescue and rehabilitation.

Each February, TNMP is a major sponsor of the Rains County Eagle Fest. The event sponsors boat tours around Lake Fork for participants to catch a glimpse of Bald Eagles that inhabit the Lake Fork area. The main benefactor of the program is the “Last Chance Forever” program dedicated to the rehabilitation of sick, injured, and orphaned birds of prey and the education of the public about those birds. TNMP has been the lead corporate sponsor of this event for at least the last 14 years and support is on-going.

Pollinators

TXNM Energy is a supporter of the Power-in-Pollinators Initiative with the EPRI. This initiative brings together electric power companies across the nation to support and advance pollinator research, tools, and resources for pollinator conservation efforts across millions of acres of land they collectively manage. PNM and TNMP also sponsored “Power for Pollinators,” a documentary on how electric power companies consider pollinator habitat around power plants, solar sites, and transmission lines and the importance of pollinators and opportunities to support pollinator conservation while balancing affordable electricity.

TXNM Energy is also analyzing habitat and opportunities to enhance pollinator habitat within the PNM and TNMP service territory. TXNM Energy enlisted EPRI to evaluate landholdings for Monarch butterfly habitat. The objective of this project is to develop a GIS modeling protocol and apply it to landholdings to identify likely Monarch habitat locations. With the input of an expert scientific advisory committee, EPRI improved their past modeling approach related to monarch habitat and their methods are now at US Fish and Wildlife Service for comment and review. The GIS model will Inform company decisions about where impacts likely need to be avoided and the monarch protection measures implemented. It will also inform company decisions about which lands, if any, to enroll in the Monarch Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances.