New Mexico's forests are dying faster than at any time on record. In 2025, the state mapped 209,000 acres of trees killed by bark beetles and other insects, which was more than a 200% increase over the year before, according to a newly released report from the New Mexico Forestry Division. And the main impetus for that arboreal death was the state's dwindling water supply.
"At the beginning of January 2025, 35% of the state was in moderate drought and 20% in severe drought," the report read. "By 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 has sustained farming communities in the southern part of the state for centuries, is now a river of sand most of the year, as the aquifer underneath is dropping by more than a foot each year. The issue has to do with the dry conditions creating the perfect environment for bark beetles to kill trees in record numbers.
And 2026 is shaping up to be no different. "We had a bleak winter and little to no snowpack, and there are areas that are currently experiencing bark beetle attack," said Victor Lucero, forest health program manager for the New Mexico Forestry Division. Drought stress, he said, is the primary condition that leaves trees defenseless: stripping them of the sustained sap flow that is their only natural shield against infestation. "Things may change with respect to tree mortality if things remain hot and dry," Lucero said. The one scenario that could turn the tide: "If the summer monsoon rains arrive as predicted, this may improve the resilience of live trees to withstand bark beetle attack."
Now, just two miles of the Mexican border in the Chihuahuan Desert, Oracle and OpenAI are building one of the largest data centers in the country.
"At the beginning of January 2025, 35% of the state was in moderate drought and 20% in severe drought," the report read. "By 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 has sustained farming communities in the southern part of the state for centuries, is now a river of sand most of the year, as the aquifer underneath is dropping by more than a foot each year. The issue has to do with the dry conditions creating the perfect environment for bark beetles to kill trees in record numbers.
And 2026 is shaping up to be no different. "We had a bleak winter and little to no snowpack, and there are areas that are currently experiencing bark beetle attack," said Victor Lucero, forest health program manager for the New Mexico Forestry Division. Drought stress, he said, is the primary condition that leaves trees defenseless: stripping them of the sustained sap flow that is their only natural shield against infestation. "Things may change with respect to tree mortality if things remain hot and dry," Lucero said. The one scenario that could turn the tide: "If the summer monsoon rains arrive as predicted, this may improve the resilience of live trees to withstand bark beetle attack."
Now, just two miles of the Mexican border in the Chihuahuan Desert, Oracle and OpenAI are building one of the largest data centers in the country.
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