Environment

PEEC: Fiery Conversations In Los Alamos April 21

Learn about Los Alamos County’s 2022 wildland fire season outlook at a virtual talk Thursday. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

LANL Wildland Fire Management Officer Richard Nieto and Los Alamos County Fire Department Division Chief Kelly Sterna will discuss predicted 2022 seasonal wildland fire conditions.

This virtual talk happening at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 21 will provide knowledge on deciding fire danger ratings and other practices used to predict and mitigate seasonal conditions of wildland fire in the region.

For more information about this and other PEEC programs, visit peecnature.org Read More

Earth Day Festival Returns To Nature Center April 23!

Fun and entertainment for all ages will be available at PEEC’s Earth Day Festival April 23. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

The Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s (PEEC’s) signature event, the annual Earth Day Festival, returns 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23 at the Los Alamos Nature Center on Canyon Road.

After two years of COVID cancellations, the festivities are back in full swing, including delicious food, fun activities, informational booths, and exciting entertainment.

Throughout the day, guests can visit a variety of local, regional, and state booths with all kinds of activities Read More

Masks Now Optional On Atomic City Transit Buses

COUNTY News:

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the order requiring masks and face coverings on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) along with Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) also have lifted any required mask or face covering orders.

Therefore, effective immediately, Atomic City Transit will abide by the directive and allow customers and operators the option to utilize a mask or face covering on Atomic City Transit bus service.

Atomic City Read More

Cleveland Has Perfect Prediction In Weekly Pace Race

Runners gather Tuesday on North Mesa near the Rodeo Arena for the ACRR weekly pace race. Courtesy/ACRR

ACRR News:

5 year old Scout Cleveland, 5, had a perfect prediction of 18 minutes in the Atomic City Road Runners (ACRR) weekly pace race Tuesday on North Mesa on the trail next to the Rodeo Arena. 

Other accurate predictors: 

  • Morgan Treat, 11, with a 4 second differential as well as the first female finisher on the 1 mile course at 10:04;
  • Ryan Smeltzer was 7 seconds off;
  • Teddy Atkins recorded an 8 second difference; and
  • Roxana Candia was 17 seconds off.

On the 1 mile course:

  • Diego Leonard, 12, was the
Read More

BLM New Mexico Issues Notice For Oil & Gas Lease Sale

BLM News:

SANTA FE — Following an injunction from the Western District of Louisiana, Monday the Bureau of Land Management New Mexico State Office issued two final Environmental Assessments and the sale notice for the June 2022 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale.

Today’s notice incorporates recommendations from the Department of the Interior’s Report on the Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Program, as well as other reports issued by the Governmental Accountability Office and Congressional Budget Office.  

The BLM is applying a first-ever increased royalty rate of 18.75 percent for the leases Read More

NMDOT Launches 1st Of 3 Roadside Beautification Plans

NMDOT News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) has contracted with two private companies to clean up state roadsides.

The companies simultaneously began Monday tackling the highly visible, heavily traveled stretch of I-25 from La Bajada south of Santa Fe to Los Lunas, south of Albuquerque. A separate company will work in five-mile increments on the stretch of I-25 from the Texas border, north past the city of Las Cruces.

The private contacts are paid with the $10 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds approved by the state legislature for roadside beautification. Read More

Heinrich Welcomes $4 Million In Investments In New Mexico Landscape Restoration Projects, Wildfire Mitigation

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, welcomed $4 million in funding for New Mexico through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) aimed at reducing the risk of severe wildfires, supporting local economies, creating jobs and enhancing forest and watershed health.

These funds, announced today by the Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, were made available through a combination of funding from Read More

LANL: Input Sought For Shift To Carbon-Neutral Economy

Sangeeta Negi of Los Alamos National Laboratory holds a flask of algae, which can be used to make fuel, plastics and other products. Bioenergy and bioproducts are one example of new technologies that can support a carbon-neutral economy. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

From wind farms to electric cars, the movement of global markets away from conventional fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources is gaining momentum. To identify options for the Intermountain West, a new coalition is asking the public for input on regional perspectives as part of a plan for making the shift to a carbon-neutral Read More

Heinrich, Bicameral Group Of Lawmakers Urge USPS IG To Provide Additional Analysis On Fleet Electrification, Cost Of Carbon

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is leading a group of 20 lawmakers who are calling on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to accurately assess the cost of reliance on fossil fuels, which impacts national security and the climate crisis, as the agency prepares to update its vehicle fleet.

The request comes in response to a recent report from the USPS Office of the Inspector General that identified the benefits of fleet electrification but stopped short of analyzing the social costs of fossil fuel reliance.

In a letter to USPS Inspector Read More

Crew Adds Third Story To Bluffs Apartments On DP Road

Construction on the Bluffs Apartments is coming along as workers add the third story to the complex last Monday morning on DP Road. Photo by Ed Birnbaum

The Bluffs Apartment complex under construction last Monday morning on DP Road. Photo by Ed Birnbaum

The Bluffs Apartment complex under construction last Monday morning on DP Road. Photo by Ed Birnbaum Read More

NPS: Valles Caldera National Preserve Road Crews Making Seasonal Improvements To Backcountry Roads To April 29

NPS News:

JEMEZ SPRINGS — The backcountry road between the Entrance Station and the cabin district will be closed to all traffic during the weekdays beginning today through April 29.

Road crews at the Valles Caldera National Preserve will be improving that two-mile section of road for a better driving experience to the cabin district. During the weekend, travel will be available along the backcountry road as far as the horse barn northeast of the cabin district. 

Meanwhile, road grooming is being done on the rest of the backcountry roads currently closed for the season. All this work is in preparation Read More

Rotary: Council Chair Randall Ryti Addresses Climate Change

Los Alamos County Council Chair Randall Ryti speaking at the April 5 Rotary Club meeting. Photo by Linda Hull 

By LINDA HULL
Vice President
Rotary Club of Los Alamos

Los Alamos County Council Chair Randall Ryti spoke at the April 5 meeting of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos at Cottonwood on the Greens. 

With a nod to this month’s celebration of Earth Day, Ryti told Rotarians about the United Nations Climate Change Conference he attended in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021. Ryti was able to attend through the County’s membership in the Coalition for Sustainable Communities New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based Read More

New Mexico Environment Department Reviewing Abatement Plan To Investigate Groundwater Contamination From Potash Mine Discharges

NMED News:

CARLSBAD — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is reviewing a Stage 1 Abatement Plan (Plan) to investigate and define the extent of groundwater contamination from discharges associated with potash mining.

Groundwater contamination between Laguna Grande and the Pecos River has been detected in groundwater monitoring wells. As a result, NMED required Mosaic Potash Carlsbad to submit the Plan to characterize the nature and extent of groundwater contamination from mine discharges between Laguna Grande and the Pecos River.

Mosaic Potash Carlsbad operates a potash mine Read More

Daily Postcard: Herons Return To The Jemez

Daily Postcard: The herons have returned to the Jemez including this one spotted sunning and grooming outside the nest Saturday. The herons moved their nests from last year down the trees about 10-20 feet … apparently they didn’t like the penthouse view on top of the trees. Photo by Keith Kihara
Read More

Posts From The Road: Chihuly In the Desert

Blue Birch Reeds: Blue Birch Reeds and Scorpion Tails is an installation consisting of dozens of reeds, which stand tall amongst a garden of barrel cactus at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Ariz. The brilliant blues and cobalts are seen in natural daylight in this photo. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Red Reeds: The Red Reeds exhibit was photographed at dusk not long after the artificial lights began illuminating the reeds. Framed with Yucca spires in the foreground similar in shape and design to Chihuly’s glasswork. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

By GARY WARREN
Photographer Read More

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