[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING RALPH VIGIL'S LIFE AND LEGACY

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 3, 2025

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ralph Vigil's life 
and legacy. He lived a life of passion--passion for the protection of 
the water, the land, the ecosystems, and the community of our beautiful 
Pecos, New Mexico.
  The first time I heard Ralph, he was talking about the importance of 
protecting our land as a place for everyone and everything, including 
our wildlife. He repeated the dicho, or Spanish saying:

       ``Un poquito para mi, un poquito para vos, un poquito para 
     las criaturas de Dios'' (``A little for me, a little for you, 
     and a little for the creatures of God'')

  as he spoke of how he farmed and left some of the bounties in the 
field.
  Ralph was colorful and strong in his language when he asked me and 
others in leadership if we would stand with the people and the places 
we all loved. (You all are laughing because you can hear him now.) The 
lands we love don't fight for themselves. They need leaders like Ralph 
who understand our ``herencia (heritage), cultura (culture), y futuro 
(future)''), to organize the parciantes, organize the meetings, 
organize the hikes, and the advocacy. He was a tireless advocate for an 
array of conservation issues, from the Caja del Rio to our beloved 
acequias to protecting the Pecos watershed. There aren't many people in 
the Pecos Valley or in the conservation community who don't know the 
great Ralph Vigil because if there was ever a problem to fix or 
knowledge to learn, he was the person to call.
  New Mexico is blessed with a beautiful landscape. Ralph understood 
this better than anyone because there wasn't a day he wasn't recording 
footage or capturing photos of this beauty. His social media was 
sprinkled with beautiful sunsets and sunrises, clean flowing water, and 
the oasis of green that evokes awe in our desert landscape.
  With his collaboration and leadership, some of the victories for our 
cultura, herencia y futuro include the moratorium on mineral 
development on state trust lands in the Pecos with Stephanie Garcia 
Richards, the two-year protection of the Pecos River Watershed from 
mining claims put in place by Secretary Haaland, and the inspiration he 
gave to leaders from Santa Fe to D.C.
  Love is at its most powerful when it is unconditional when nothing is 
asked in return and setbacks and faults do not diminish the passion. 
Ralph loved New Mexico's lands and people unconditionally. Ralph was 
connected to the land and people of Northern New Mexico as if there 
were an umbilical cord that was never severed. He was connected to the 
land through his farming, his gentle care of acequias, and his 
protection of the watershed that in turn protected the water that is 
our lifeline. He embodied the definition of querencia (no translation--
a place where one feels safe, happy, and strong, a place where they can 
truly be themselves).
  He was a son, a father, a brother, an uncle and friend that everyone 
could look to for leadership and wisdom. Like so many, I cried when I 
learned of his passing.
  I am honored to recognize the legacy that is Ralph Vigil. We are 
living through a historic moment where we need leaders like Ralph whose 
ability to transcend and translate is needed more than ever. His legacy 
will not only live on in his beloved rural communities but, today, also 
in the records of our great Nation--a Nation that Ralph made endlessly 
better during his incredible life.

                          ____________________