Environment

Benson: Gus, The Glow-In-The-Dark Gopher

By JODY BENSON
Los Alamos 

Today demarcates the point in the calendar halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox.

In simpler times, (prior to anthropogenic green-house gases causing climate change with the resulting predictability of drought, fires, floods, and species extinction, but the rarely predictable weather) on this day—Groundhog Day—it would be up to the groundhog to partner with his shadow to determine the weather for the next six weeks.

Here in New Mexico, as many of you already know, we do not have groundhogs. Rather we have gophers. Bwazillions of gophers. Los Alamos’s Read More

Punxsutawney Phil Sighted In Maui On Groundhog Day!

Former Los Alamos groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sent word this morning from his vacation spot in Maui that he did indeed see his shadow – thus predicting six more weeks of winter. Courtesy/Julie Habiger

Groundhog Day News:

This morning, Punxsutawney Phil (formerly of Los Alamos) mysteriously showed up in a photo submitted to his “handler” Julie Habiger, on Groundhog Day. Phil was spotted by a visiting tourist at a Maui resort on the beach, sporting a tan and carrying several island activity brochures.

Phil’s appearance in Maui came as no surprise to Habiger, who said after retiring to Kansas City Read More

Electric Utility Is Sparking! Department Of Public Utilities Briefed On County Electric Distribution And Generation

Participants Thursday night at the BBU Town Hall in Council Chambers. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

The BPU hears a presentation on the County’s electric distribution. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

While Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is exploring a variety of energy options for its electric generation including solar and battery storage, geothermal, wind, pump hydro and simple cycle gas turbines, there is one option that DPU feels is the strongest bet: the Carbon Free Power Read More

Summit Garden Club Features Magelssen At Feb. 6 Meeting

Nightime view of a blooming datura plant. Courtesy photo

Summit Garden Club News:

At its Monday, Feb. 6, meeting of Summit Garden Club, Judy Magelssen will present a program titled “Establishing A New Garden: Managing Your Expectations”. The meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. at White Rock Baptist Church, 80 State Road 4.

KN95 masks will be available to those who wish them.

Magelssen will present slides from her moonlight garden at the Los Alamos Demo Garden, showing it after one year and after two years.

Archaeologists have found that as early as 600 years ago moonlight gardens existed in India – Read More

Gull Spotted Strutting Around Central Park Square

Update: A reader in the know has identified this bird spotted today in Central Park Square as a ring-billed gull, adding that it is ‘a fairly common species in New Mexico. The mantle on a black-tailed is much darker, and the entire end of the bill is dark (with red at the tip). They are extremely rare in North America. Black-tailed has only been found in NM once before, a brief 2-day period at Brantley Lake in August 2008.’ Photo by Michelle Stallings

Read More

Op-Ed: Steps To Reduce Impact Of Climate Change On New Mexico’s Forests And Surrounding Communities

By LAURA MCCARTHY
New Mexico State Forester

For years, climate experts have been warning that our planet is undergoing changes that would make extreme weather events more common—and this past year, New Mexico saw those predictions come true. Extremely dry and windy weather in the spring and early summer created the perfect conditions for what proved to be the worst wildfire season in our state’s modern history. Then, a mere few weeks later, heavier than normal monsoon rains dropped nearly 20 inches of rain on parts of the state, flooding areas that had been scorched by the fires.

As our neighbors—many Read More

Amateur Naturalist: Winter Snow Fall

Deer prints in the snow. Photo by Robert Dryja

Squirrel prints in the snow. Photo by Clyde Hyde

By ROBERT DRYA
Los Alamos

Winter has clearly arrived with snowfalls. Meadow lands and open areas among trees now have a gentle and smooth layer of snow. The natural world becomes visible in new ways with the arrival of the snow. Different kinds of footprints may be seen crossing an otherwise undisturbed field of snow. One straight line of prints has been made by a deer. These footprints show the distinct cloven shape of its hooves. There is a distance of about three feet between sets of prints. Perhaps it was Read More

Monthly Notification Of Groundwater Data Added To LANL Legacy Cleanup Electronic Public Reading Room

LANL News:

Per regulatory requirements, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) announces new documents have been added to the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract Electronic Public Reading Room.

All legacy cleanup documents required to be posted after April 30, 2018, are available on the site linked above.

For legacy cleanup documents that were posted prior to April 30, 2018, please visit the LANL electronic public reading room:

  • Monthly Notification of Groundwater Data Reviewed in January 2023
    (Link)
  • Review, Phase II Threemile Canyon Aggregate Area Progress Report Los Alamos National
Read More

County Public Meetings For Hazard Mitigation Plan Feb. 8-9

COUNTY News:

Los Alamos County Emergency Management (EM) Division is working with Integrated Solutions Consulting (ISC) to hold two in-person public meetings regarding the importance of hazard mitigation planning and an overview of the County’s Plan.

Citizens are encouraged to attend either meeting 5-6:30 p.m., Feb. 8 at Fuller Lodge at 2132 Central Ave. in Los Alamos or noon to 1 p.m., Feb. 9 at the White Rock Fire Station #3 at 129 N.M. in White Rock.  

The purpose of hazard mitigation planning is to identify policies and actions that can be implemented before a disaster occurs to reduce risk Read More

Scenes From Pajarito Mountain Ski Area This Afternoon

Scene this afternoon from Pajarito Mountain Ski Area. Courtesy/webcam

Scene this afternoon from Pajarito Mountain Ski Area. Courtesy/webcam

Scene this afternoon from Pajarito Mountain Ski Area. Courtesy/webcam

Scene this afternoon from Pajarito Mountain Ski Area. Courtesy/webcam Read More

As New Mexico Water Trust Fund Dries Up, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth Champions Bill To Infuse It With $250M

Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, exits the Senate floor Thursday. Wirth is sponsoring a bill to appropriate $250 million from the general fund to the Water Trust Fund. Photo by Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

By DANIEL J. CHACON
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A state fund that has helped finance dozens of water infrastructure projects around New Mexico since it was created nearly two decades ago is drying up.

The State Investment Council has been sounding the alarm for years, warning the so-called Water Trust Fund, which it manages, could be depleted within 15 years without an additional Read More

LANL: MSGP Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan Added To Electronic Public Reading Room

LANL News:

Per regulatory requirements, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) announces new documents have been added to the LANL Electronic Reading Room.

The document(s) have been submitted to fulfill one or more requirements of the Los Alamos National Laboratory:

          • MSGP Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for: TA-03-0038 Metal Fabrication Shopsn (Link)

You may view these documents and many others at LANL’s Electronic Public Reading Room. Read More

Posts From The Road: Chloride, New Mexico

Monte Cristo: The Monte Cristo building in Chloride, New Mexico stands tall but not as a saloon or a dance hall but as a gallery and gift shop for visitors to shop in when visiting Chloride today. The building has been completely restored and upgraded to meet current standards. The structure also served as a school for a short time and possibly other had uses over its 143 year life span. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Doodle Dum: The Doodle Dum Cobblestone house in Chloride is a newer addition to Wall Street, the main street in Chloride, as it was not constructed until about 1920. The house was Read More

Daily Postcard: Red-tailed Hawk Sits Atop Tree At Bandelier

Daily Postcard: Driving to or from Bandelier National Monument, it is not unusual to see a large bird sitting upon a telephone pole or at the top of a tree such as this Red-tailed Hawk spotted Saturday. If the bird’s head is a rich chocolatey brown, the wings a dark mottled brown, and the belly pale with a darker band, the bird you see is almost certainly a Red-tailed. Should that bird take flight while you pass by the identification could be confirmed by the bird spreading its distinctive red tail. Red-tails are among the biggest Buteo hawks in North America, second only to the Ferruginous Hawk. They’re Read More

Valles Caldera Moves To Online Permits For Backcountry

The Valles Caldera National Preserve has ample snow for skiing and snowshoeing … drive to the Cabin District and go from there, or ski from N.M. 4. Courtesy/VCNP

CALDERA ACTION News:

The managers at the Valles Caldera National Preserve have come up with a new system for issuing permits to visit the “backcountry” at the Valles Caldera. You will now have to reserve your drive into the Caldera beyond the cabins on recreation.gov, a national public land reservation system.

Starting now, the “backcountry” is the area accessible by road beyond the Cabin District which is the group of cabins on Read More

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