Environment

Visitor Spending At National Wildlife Refuges Boosts Local Economies By $3.2 Billion

DOI News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt has announced that 53.6 million people visited national wildlife refuges in 2017, which had an economic impact of $3.2 billion on local communities and supported more than 41,000 jobs.
 
The figures come from a new economic report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service titled Banking on Nature 2017: The Economic Contributions of National Wildlife Refuge Recreational Visitation to Local Communities. The report is the sixth in a series of studies since 1997 that measure the economic contributions of national
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Pair Of Bucks Linger Near Ravine On Rose Street

A pair of young bucks spotted late this morning near the ravine adjacent to Rose Street. Photo by Victoria Rygh

Bucks spotted late this morning near the ravine adjacent to Rose Street. Photo by Victoria Rygh Read More

Scenes Of 2019 Los Alamos ScienceFest Discovery Day

Middle school and high school students demonstrate robotics Saturday during the 2019 Los Alamos ScienceFest Discover Day. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Scene from the 2019 Los Alamos ScienceFest. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

BSA Troop 22 helped a young rocketeer assemble a rocket model. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Drone pilot Mario Rodriguez flies his drone as he looks through the viewer at the images the drone is sending back from its camera. The booth included small drones for trial flights, with supervision. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

The Manhattan Read More

Comment Period For Santa Fe Mountains Project Scoping Extended To Wednesday July 17

SFNF News:
 
SANTA FE The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) has extended the scoping period for the Santa Fe Mountains Landscape Resiliency (SFMLR) project until Wednesday, July 17, 2019, because of a technical issue with the comment submission inbox that may have made some comments undeliverable. The 30-day comment period was scheduled to end July 10.
 
“Comments received during the scoping period literally help us determine the scope of the entire project,” SFNF Supervisor James Melonas said. “On a project of this importance, we want to make sure that every comment is received
Read More

Wildflower Walk To Water Canyon Monday July 15

Join Chick Keller or Craig Martin at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 15 for a wildflower walk to Water Canyon. Participants should meet at the nature center to check in and carpool to the trailhead. Photo by Thomas Graves

PEEC News:

Join the Pajarito Environmental Education Center for its monthly wildflower walk at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 15.

Craig Martin or Chick Keller will be leading this outing to Water Canyon to identify some of the blooming wildflowers.

Participants should meet at the Los Alamos Nature Center to check in and carpool to the trailhead. The outing is free to attend, and no pre-registration Read More

AFRL & Catalyst Space Accelerator Announce Applications Open For New Space-Based ISR Cohort

Courtesy/CSA
 
Courtesy/CSA
 
CSA News:
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Catalyst Space Accelerator is excited to announce the opening of applications for the next cohort, the Space-Based ISR Cohort #CAISR, set for Sept. 9 through Nov. 22.
 
The deadline for applications for entry is Aug. 7. Applications may be found here.
 
The problem set for this cohort, by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate, was born during the August 1960 Discoverer 14 delivery of the first space-based reconnaissance imagery on photographic film. 
 
Since that
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Posts From The Road: Tent Rocks Near Cochiti Pueblo

Cone-shaped rock formations at Kasha-Katuwe National Monument near Cochiti Pueblo south of Santa Fe. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

A view from the trail in the slot canyon looking directly up through the rock formations as the sun hides behind the canyon walls. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

 
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos

Having lived in Los Alamos for 30 years, I had heard about the tent rocks near Cochiti Pueblo but had never been to see the rock formations. During a recent visit to Los Alamos, we took a day and discovered what this park was all about. Read More

Senators Request Feedback From American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian Community Leaders On Effects Of Climate Change On Native Communities

U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), chair of the Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, along with U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), John Tester (D-Mont.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), asked for input Wednesday from American Indian, Alaska
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Scenes From ScienceFest Electric Car Show Today

From left, Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) Director of Interpretation Jonathan Creel, PEEC Director of Education Sandra West, PEEC Volunteer Christine Cloyd and Los Alamos County Department Public Utilities intern Tyler Mobraten man the booth for the electric car show today during Los Alamos ScienceFest. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

A special decoration was put on the road in honor of the electric car show. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

Mary and Tom Chrobocinski check out the electric cars. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

Galen Gisler, Read More

Letter To The Editor: Fate Of Our Recyclables?

By GRAHAM MARK
Los Alamos

What happens to the stuff that we put in our recycle bins? How much is actually recycled?

Even if recycling is something of a sham (“It’s OK to be wasteful—Just recycle!”), it is broken in many parts of the US (Sierra Magazine July/August 2019).

What is the state of our local recycling? Does all of our correctly sorted recyclable stuff really get recycled? What happens to the plastic shopping bags that Smith’s collects?

Thank you. Read More

Comment Period For Santa Fe Mountains Project Scoping Extended To July 17

SFNF News:

SANTA FE – The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) has extended the scoping period for the Santa Fe Mountains Landscape Resiliency (SFMLR) project until Wednesday, July 17, 2019, because of a technical issue with the comment submission inbox that may have made some comments undeliverable.

The 30-day comment period was scheduled to end July 10.

“Comments received during the scoping period literally help us determine the scope of the entire project,” SFNF Supervisor James Melonas said. “On a project of this importance, we want to make sure that every comment is received and becomes part Read More

Udall Calls For Action On PFAS In Senate Floor Speech Opposing Nomination Of Peter Wright To EPA

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
 
U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), spoke Thursday on the Senate floor to call for action for New Mexico farmers, businesses, and families affected by exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals.
 
Udall outlined his opposition to the nomination of Peter Wright to serve as assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), which oversees the Superfund program that is responsible
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Assistant Speaker Luján Secures Major Environmental And Scientific Investments For New Mexicans

U.S. House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján
 
CONGRESSIONAL News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) announced Friday that he secured major environmental and scientific victories for New Mexican families in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which Friday passed the House.
 
“As President Trump continues to undermine our country’s national security and economy, House Democrats took the responsible step to keep Americans safe, invest in our communities, support our servicemembers, and protect our environment. I am proud
Read More

Final Update Naranjo Fire Unless Major Activity Occurs

SFNF News:

Start date: July 1

Cause: Lightning

Size: 1,010 acres

Location: Cuba Ranger District on the Santa Fe National Forest approximately 2 miles southeast of Regina, NM, off of NM State Highway 96

Containment: 50 percent

Fuel: Ponderosa pine

Weather: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures will be between 86-90 degrees, with light and variable winds 5-8 mph shifting to the southwest in the afternoon. Humidity is 17-21 percent.

Resources on scene: Type 4 organization, 50 personnel, one Type 1 crew, two Type 3 engines, one Type 6 engine and two UTVs. Read More

County Tree Trimming Underway In White Rock

COUNTY News:

Allied Tree Services, under contract with the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities, began this week trimming trees from around power lines on Meadow Lane and intersecting streets between Rover Boulevard to Overlook Park in White Rock.

Crews will work through this neighborhood until mid-August and then move to the Grand Canyon Drive area. 

According to DPU officials, the tree trimming effort is to reduce power outages by removing branches and trees that are either too close to power lines or pose a risk of falling on power lines.

Trimming trees coupled with an aggressive Read More

U.S. Climate Alliance Governors Issue ‘Nation’s Clean Car Promise’

NMED News:
 
SANTA FE — New Mexico joined 23 other states of the U.S. Climate Alliance Tuesday in condemning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) vehicle rule.
 
The rule would replace national car emissions standards enacted in 2012. Rolling back these standards will result in increased greenhouse gas emissions and weakened environmental protections.
 
“States have been stepping up to protect our environment and our citizens and will continue to do so until we have a viable partner at the federal level,” Gov. Michelle
Read More

IG Report Clears RCLC And DOE Employees Of Accepting Inappropriate Gifts

Staff Report

A U.S. Department of Energy Inspector General’s report released July 2 has found “no evidence” that DOE employees inappropriately accepted meals or tickets to a Major League Baseball game purchased by the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC). The report also states that a separate inspection is underway over RCLC’s use of grant funds.

The RCLC is a consortium of nine northern New Mexico communities that advocates for jobs and federal environmental cleanup funding at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The coalition is comprised of Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos Read More

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