Melissa Mackey, left, speaks with Los Alamos County Water and Energy Conservation CoordinatorAbbey Hayward  about steps that can be taken to reduce energy usage at home. Photo by Martha Katko

LLA students learn about mulch and recycling at the Eco Station. Photo by Terra Hite

LLA News:

Los Alamos Leadership met for its environmental session Friday April 19, the final session before this year’s cohort of participants graduates. The day’s session began with student speeches on various topics from appreciating modern art to influential bosses. This was followed by several informative presentations from the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) and the Los Alamos Fire Department, a tour of the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) museum and planetarium, a tour of the Los Alamos County EcoStation, and the day ending with an information fair.

Jorge Silva-Bañuelos, the superintendent of Valles Caldera National Preserve, gave a fascinating presentation about the history of the Caldera, both geologically and the political history of how it went from being indigenously occupied, to a Spanish land grant, to becoming a national preserve. He shared about what the caldera has gone through with recent fires and the incredible work being done to clear “the dog hair thicket trees” to leave a more sustainable number of trees that can flourish and are less at risk of fire. Other goals he shared of VCPN are listening to and partnering with indigenous voices and working on making the caldera more open and welcoming for visitors to learn from and enjoy.

Bob Parmenter, the Division Chief of Science and Resource Stewardship, who is also with VCNP, then spoke on the impact of climate change on the caldera. They are doing wonderful work to care for, support, and protect both flora and fauna as the climate changes. Parmenter shared graphs detailing the recent decrease of precipitation and simultaneous rapid increase of temperature in the Jemez mountains. He also shared projections into the next few hundred years of how the rise in heat may fluctuate and, though we won’t be around to witness it, there are trees that will live to see these changes. He then spoke on how VCNP has a large mammal monitoring project which tracks the movement of wildlife including elk and mountain lions. One mountain lion was tracked up to southern Colorado and then returned back toward our area.

Captain Van Leimer, of the Los Alamos Fire Department then spoke on fire mitigation and the efforts the fire department has made in the county to provide defensible space. The fire department is also available to do assessments of defensible space of personal property.

The class then went to the PEEC to visit the museum and get a demonstration of the planetarium. There they gathered under the ponderosas and shared a vibrant salad bar picnic lunch with most food sourced from organic and or local farms primarily via the Los Alamos Co+op. 

Armando Gabaldon, Division Manager of the LA County Environmental Services then gave a tour of the EcoStation. As the wind rose, the class learned about all of the services offered by the Eco Station and the efforts to keep as much as possible out of the landfill. County members can drop off many items to be recycled such as used oil, batteries, and electronics. There is also a free section where items can find a second home. 

The day ended with an information fair at LANL which included representatives from Atomic City Transit, Bee City, LANL Sustainability & Net Zero Initiatives, Los Alamos County Recycle Game, Los Alamos County Sustainability Team & Net Zero Initiative, Los Alamos County Utilities Clean Energy Programs, Los Alamos County Water Production, and N3B Environmental Cleanup & Stewardship at LANL.

Leadership Los Alamos is a non-profit organization whose mission is to identify current and emerging leaders in Los Alamos and surrounding communities, to enhance their leadership skills and deepen their knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing the community.

Each class learns about a variety of topics like community organizations, cultural and history, youth, education, local government, economic development, and environmental issues. For more information go to: Leadership Los Alamos – An educational organization dedicated to the future of Los Alamos

Vaidehi Reddy-Kruse shares about her leadership experience. Photo by Terra Hite

Valles Caldera National Preserve Superintendent Jorge Silva-Bañuelos speaks about the beauty and history of Valles Caldera. Photo by Terra Hite