By Catherina Gioino
Publication Date: 2026-06-15 18:55:00
New Mexico’s forests are dying faster than ever before. In 2025, the state recorded 209,000 acres of trees killed by bark beetles and other insects, an increase of more than 200% from the previous year, a recently released study said report from the New Mexico Forestry Division. And the main reason for this tree death was the state’s dwindling water supply.
“As of early January 2025, 35% of the state was experiencing moderate drought and 20% was experiencing severe drought,” the report said. “As of the end of December 2025, 71% of the state was in moderate drought and 52% was in severe drought.”
According to the report, New Mexico recorded its second warmest year on record. The lower Rio Grande, the river that for centuries fed farming communities in the southern part of the state, is now a river of sand most of the year as the underlying aquifer sinks by more than a foot each year.
Now it’s just two miles from the Mexican border in Chihuahuan…
