We, the undersigned residents of the Village of Capitan, New Mexico, petition our governing body to protect our water and our water wells and stop immediately the sale of water to commercial enterprises. We are in a severe drought, have recently had near our community a forest/grass fire that endangered a historical site, fire danger is extreme, several communities in New Mexico have major water shortages, several springs on the Rio Bonito and its tributaries have dried up, senior downstream users of the Rio Bonito waters are considering a priority call to the Office of the State Engineer [OSE] that junior water rights owners curb or stop taking water and experts knowledgeable of water availability and water rights in the County of Lincoln have warned we are running out of water. We believe our water should first be used for drinking, cooking, hygiene purposes and then for agricultural purposes to grow food. Any uses of water beyond that is a waste of precious water unless it is being used to fight fires