Fall Colors Begin To Emerge Along West Road
Fall colors emerge on a towering tree spotted Saturday along West Road. Photo by Jennifer Bartram Read More
WIPP Update: Supplemental Ventilation System
SVS installed in the WIPP underground. Courtesy/WIPP
WIPP News:
The Underground Ventilation System at WIPP is undergoing a significant change that will provide additional airflow in the underground.
The large fan that is part of the Supplemental Ventilation System (SVS) was recently downloaded to the underground and has been successfully installed. Read More
PEEC Monthly Wildflower Walk Sept. 14
Local wildflowers. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
Since the Los Alamos area received an abundance of rain this summer, beautiful wildflowers abound even as the end of the summer draws near.
Join PEEC’s Jemez Mountain Herbarium Curator Chick Keller for a Wildflower Walk at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14 to discover what some of them are and where they can be found.
This will be an easy walk to identify some of the wildflowers that can be found in and around Los Alamos. The group will meet at the Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road, and the group will carpool to the trail that Keller will select based on what Read More
Award-Winning Author Sharman Russell Speaks At PEEC Tuesday
Sharman Apt Russell
PEEC News:
Revolution. renaissance. transformation: these are the words of Sharman Apt Russell, an award-winning New Mexican author, as she describes the exploding world of citizen science.
Russell will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. She will share her stories, knowledge and passion for being a part of the world where thousands of volunteers contribute to cutting edge science: monitoring climate change, tracking bird migration, watching clouds for NASA, or excavating mastodons.
Her most recent book, Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and Other Read More
PEEC Day Trip To Explore Copper Mine Sept. 12
PEEC News:Bear Sought In Attack On Los Alamos Man
The entrance to the area where a bear attacked a Los Alamos man Wednesday on the Canon de Valle Trail is closed today while officers from New Mexico Game & Fish sassisted by Los Alamos police and LANL earch for the bear. The public is asked to stay away from the area. Photo by Chris Clark/ladailypost.com
NMG&F vehicles are at the scene of Wednesday night’s bear attack on a 56-year-old Los Alamos man on the Canon de Valle Trail. The man arrived at the Los Alamos Medical Center Emergency Department where he was treated, stabilized and transferred by Classic Air Medical to ChristusCeres’ Bright Spots Seen In Striking New Detail
This image, made using images taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, shows Occator crater on Ceres, home to a collection of intriguing bright spots. Courtesy/NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
NASA/JPL News:
The brightest spots on the dwarf planet Ceres gleam with mystery in new views delivered by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. These closest-yet views of Occator crater, with a resolution of 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel, give scientists a deeper perspective on these very unusual features.
The new up-close view of Occator crater from Dawn’s current vantage point reveals better-defined Read More
Alert: Bear Attacks Man On Canon de Valle Trail
Staff Report
A man was attacked by a bear Wednesday night while on the Canon de Valle Trail in Los Alamos County.
In a statement released by Los Alamos Medical Center, Marketing Director Mary Beth Maassen said, “Last night at approximately 8:30 p.m., a 56-year-old man arrived at the Los Alamos Medical Center Emergency Department following a bear attack on the Canon de Valle Trail. The patient was treated, stabilized and transferred by Classic Air Medical to Christus St. Vincent in Santa Fe.”
Chief of Information and Education Ofc. Lance Cherry from New Mexico Game & Fish said this morning Read More
Dartmouth Study Finds Arctic Mosquitoes Thriving Under Climate Change
Courtesy/timrettig.comNational Public Lands Day Volunteers Needed
SFNF News:
SANTA FE – Celebrate National Public Lands Day (NPLD) Sept. 26 by helping the Santa Fe National Forest reroute a section of the popular Winsor Trail.
The nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands, NPLD is a great opportunity to educate the public about the environment and natural resources, and the need for shared stewardship of public lands.
Organizers of the NPLD Winsor Trail project are looking for volunteers 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. Each volunteer who participates will receive a free t-shirt, compliments of REI, and Read More
Environmental Research Reflected In Obama’s Trip To The Arctic
Cathy Wilson says, ‘I am collecting shallow cores to quantify the depth of the peat layer in the soil. The peat thickness strongly controls the transfer of heat from the atmosphere into the deeper soil, which impacts how deep the soil thaws each year. We then use the hole in the ground to perform hydrologic measurements. Peat depth and hydraulic conductivity are two important parameters that go into our models that predict the rates of permafrost thaw.’ Courtesy photo 
Frozen Methane Bubbles in Alaska: When ice-rich permafrost thaws, former tundra and forest turns into a Udall On Need To Extend LWCF At Valles Caldera
Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce Manager Nancy Partridge, left, is among a group that gathered Friday with U.S. Sen. Tom Udall at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Courtesy/Sen. Udall’s Office
Sen. Tom Udall, second from right, and the group participate in a cookout. Courtesy/Sen. Udall’s Office
U.S. SENATE News:
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall hosted a roundtable discussion Friday at the Valles Caldera National Preserve on the urgent need to extend the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at the Valles Caldera.
He participated in a group discussion about the need to reauthorize Read More
NM Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Cucumbers
NMED News:
15 Cases Reported In New Mexico
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health is investigating 15 confirmed cases of Salmonella Poona infection in New Mexico that appear to be linked to eating garden variety cucumbers grown in Mexico.
The department is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the New Mexico Environment Department, the Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, and multiple state health departments as a part of an ongoing investigation of 285 confirmed cases nationally from 27 states.
The cucumbers Read More
Rodent Causes Friday Power Outage
Rodents wreck havoc on electrical wires. Courtesy/americanpest.net
COUNTY News:
A rodent caused a power outage affecting 537 Department of Public Utilities customers late Friday morning.
The outage began at approximately 10 a.m. when the animal got inside an electric switch cabinet at the Airport entrance and damaged a switch.
Parts of the Los Alamos business area on Trinity Drive blinked, while customers North of Central to Canyon and east toward the airport lost power for a longer duration of time. Electric linemen were able to restore power by 10:22 a.m. to Read More
Explore Southwest Desert Climbing Sept. 16
The magnificent Titan, greatest of all desert towers. For scale, at two-thirds height on the left skyline is a feature called ‘the Duck’ with an unknown climber visible to the right. Courtesy photoJoin the Los Alamos Mountaineers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos for an exciting presentation by Steve “Crusher” Bartlett, a desert climber extraordinaire!
Social time and reports of recent and upcoming trips take place at 7 p.m. with the program at 7:30 p.m.
The Southwest features the most colorful landscapes Read More
Labor Day Citizen Science Project: Yard Day Bird Count
Spotted Towhee. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
On Labor Day, Dave Yeamans, a long-time enthusiast of the natural world, is opening his home for a citizen science project, Big Yard Day Bird Count.
To participate, register at www.peecnature.org for the Big Yard Day and stop by Dave Yeaman’s house anytime between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. “Everybody learns something and has fun or my job is not complete,” says Yeamans, who also is a caring host.
Participants are encouraged to wear natural-colored clothing, move gently, and whisper to improve the chances of seeing a wide variety of birds. Light snacks and Read More
DOE Taps Todd Shrader To Lead Carlsbad Field Office
New Carlsbad Field Office Manager Todd Shrader, third from left, during a tour last November at Hanford with EM Office of River Protection Manager Kevin Smith, right, Waste Treatment and Immobilization Project Assistant Manager Bill Hamel, left and EM Acting Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney. Courtesy/DOE
WIPP News:
The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the selection of Todd Shrader as the manager for the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO).
“Todd Shrader is a proven leader and experienced engineer who has successfully tackled some of DOE’s toughest issues,” said Monica Regalbuto,Read More
Pajarito Environmental Education Center Leads Efforts To Certify Los Alamos As A Community Wildlife Habitat
PEEC Board members celebrating the certification of the nature center as a Wildlife Habitat, from left, Jeremy Campbell, Bob Walker, Jennifer Macke, Selvi Viswanathan, Esta Lee Albright, Michele Altherr, Nancy Arendt, Felicia Orth, Ann Shafer, Sue Watts, Mary Carol Williams, Becky Shankland, Talia Dreicer, Karla Sartor and Rebecca Oertel. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
A team of Pajarito Environmental Education Center volunteers is working to make Los Alamos the first certified Community Wildlife Habitat in New Mexico.
To date, our community consists of 126 backyards, four common areas, Read More
PEEC: September Night Sky Planetarium Shows
Night Sky Milky Way Astrophotography from Wikimedia Commons by ForestWander. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
Do you want to know how to identify more of the planets and stars in the night sky?
Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is holding star shows in the Los Alamos Nature Center planetarium at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12.
Each show will introduce celestial objects easily viewed through binoculars this month including planets, the lunar eclipse, star patterns, star clusters, nebulae, double stars, and other celestial objects. Read More
Los Alamos Arms Control Group Considers Support Of Iran Policy
