Environment

NMDOT Prepares For Snow In Northeast New Mexico

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 23, 2019

NMDOT News:

SANTA FE –  Up to a foot of snow could fall tonight over Raton Pass, according to the National Weather Service.

In addition, 3 to 8 inches may blanket the Sangre de Cristo Mountains depending on the area. Along the I-25 corridor from Las Vegas to Raton, 1 to 4 inches of snow may fall, creating slick road conditions.

The Department of Transportation is prepared to keep the traveling public safe. Crews have been loading up salt and cinder trucks for the past two days.  Snow plows are also ready to roll. A total of 25 trucks/plows will be in the area. Patrols will be assessing the northeast Read More

UA: Researchers Discover ‘Cradle Of Comets’

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 23, 2019

UA News:

TUCSON, Ariz. — Comets are known to have a temper.

As they swoop in from the outer edges of our solar system, these icy bodies begin spewing gas and dust as they venture closer to the sun. Their luminous outbursts can result in spectacular sights that grace the night sky for days, weeks or even months.

But comets aren’t born that way, and their pathway from their original formation location toward the inner solar system has been debated for a long time. Comets are of great interest to planetary scientists because they are likely to be the most pristine remnants of material left over from the Read More

LANL AI Model Wins CDC Flu Forecasting Challenge

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 23, 2019
Dave Osthus, a statistician at Los Alamos National Laboratory, developed Dante, a predictive computer model that won the CDC’s FluSight Challenge for the 2018-2019 flu season. Courtesy/LANL
 
Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity is highly spatially variable, with higher than typical levels of flu activity (pink) concentrated around the Gulf of Mexico, and typical (white) to below typical (green) ILI levels seen throughout the rest of the country. The spatial variability illustrates the challenge and importance of jointly modeling ILI for forecasting. Courtesy/LANL
 
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Udall, Bennet Introduce Major Resolution To Set National Conservation Goal: Conserve 30% Of U.S. Lands And Ocean By 2030

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 23, 2019
U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tuesday, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced a major Senate resolution to set a national goal of conserving at least 30 percent of the land and 30 percent of the ocean within the territory of the United States by 2030.
 
The Udall-Bennet Thirty by Thirty Resolution to Save Nature recognizes that nature – like climate change – has reached a tipping point. The resolution responds to a growing group of scientists, who say that conserving at least 30% of the ocean and land by 2030 is the minimum step necessary to adequately
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PEEC: Tour Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve Saturday

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 23, 2019
Join Natali Steinberg for a morning at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden’s Leonora Curtin Wetlands Preserve Saturday, Oct. 26. Participants will meet at 8 a.m., at the Los Alamos Nature Center and carpool to the property. The tour is free, but space is limited and registration is required. Courtesy/PEEC
 
PEEC News:
 
Join Natali Steinberg and PEEC Saturday, Oct. 26 for a tour of the Santa Fe Botanical Garden’s Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve.
 
A one-hour drive will take participants to the 35-acre preserve that hosts a bountiful diversity of plants and wildlife. This tour is free
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Smoke In The Jemez Expected To Last Several Days

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 22, 2019
Scene today near the mailbox turnout in Sulfur Canyon on N.M. 4 in The Jemez. Photo by Keith Kihara/Jemez Springs
 
NMFI News:
 
JEMEZ SPRINGS — Fire managers began prescribed burn operations Thursday within Valles Caldera National Preserve.
 
Smoke from the burn is visible today and with burn operations expected to last a few days, officials say that smoke may be visible through next week.
 
The prescribed burns will target approximately 700 acres in the Banco Bonito and Cerro Seco areas in the western portion of the preserve. The burns will not
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Community Invited To Hear Bill Geist Talk About Adventures In The Alps At Mountaineers Meeting

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 22, 2019

Hear about Bill Geist’s adventures in the Alps 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22. Courtesy/PEEC

 

PEEC News:

 

Hear about Bill Geist’s adventures in the Alps at the October Los Alamos Mountaineers meeting about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22.

 

The Mountaineers’ meeting begins at 7 p.m. and covers information about upcoming outings. This event is free to attend and open to the public.

 

In August 2019, Geist and his teammate Jason Halladay participated in a 180-mile team run with a cumulative elevation gain of 80,000 feet. The race, called the Petit Trotte à Léon (PTL), traveled around Read More

Prescribed Fire For Little Coyote Creek Postponed

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 21, 2019
FSG News:
 
AMGEL FIRE ― The Forest Stewards Guild (FSG), working closely with the New Mexico State Land Office (SLO), New Mexico State Forestry, Moreno Valley Fire Department, and Angel Fire Fire Department have postponed the prescribed burn for the area around Little Coyote Creek adjacent to Black Lake.
 
The burn has yet to be rescheduled but partners are looking for favorable conditions in either late fall 2019 or spring 2020.
 
The burn area was identified as a critical area in the Enchanted Circle Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and remains a top fuels reduction
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BLM Economic Contributions Increase In FY-2018

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 21, 2019
BLM News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Friday an increase in the number of jobs supported through BLM activities in fiscal year 2018 as well as the total output for the American economy.
 
Socioeconomic figures in a newly-released report highlight a 9 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2017.
 
The report, entitled “The BLM: A Sound Investment for America 2019,” was released today and can be found here. It indicates that in 2018, BLM activities on public lands supported approximately 471,000 full- and part-time jobs, up from 468,000 jobs in
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Astronomy Dark Night At Spirio Soccer Field Oct. 26

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 21, 2019
County-Sponsored Dark Night starts at 6 p.m. (sunset) Saturday, Oct. 26 at Spirio Soccer Field. Courtesy photo
 
Pajarito Astronomers News:
 
The Pajarito Astronomers will be holding a County-Sponsored Dark Night starting at 6 p.m. (sunset) Saturday, Oct. 26 at Spirio Soccer Field, Overlook Park in White Rock.
 
Weather permitting, the public is invited to come out, wander among the telescopes and star gaze.
 
The six planets Mercury, Venus, Jupiter (with its moons), Saturn (and its rings), Neptune and Uranus will potentially be visible during the evening. There will
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USDA Announces Infrastructure Projects Across Nation Including Belen And San Ysidro In New Mexico

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 20, 2019
USDA State Director Arthur A. Garcia 
 
USDA News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald “DJ” LaVoy announced that USDA is investing $201 million to improve rural water infrastructure in 31 states.
   
“Modern, reliable and accessible infrastructure is critical to economic development and quality of life,” LaVoy said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA is committed to partnering with rural communities to help them improve their infrastructure,
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NM Association Of Museums Names ‘Penstemon Whisperer’ Larry Deaven Volunteer Of The Year

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 20, 2019

Larry Deaven, center, is honored as Volunteer of the Year by the New Mexico Association of Museums for his work in the penstemon gardens at the Los Alamos Nature Center. PEEC staff gathered Sept. 24 at the awards event with Deaven, from left, Marketing Manager Rachel Landman, Executive Director Katie Bruell, Deaven, Director of Interpretation Jonathan Creel and Adventure Programs Manager Beth Cortright. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC volunteer Larry Deaven, a.k.a. ‘The Penstemon Whisperer’, has been growing penstemons for more than 40 years and began gardening in 2015 at the Los Alamos Nature Center.
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KAFB: Air Force Research Laboratory To Rendezvous And Inspect Malfunctioning S5 Satellite

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 20, 2019
KAFB News:
 
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE ― The Air Force Research Laboratory will begin maneuvers today, Oct. 20, as the first-ever inspection mission to support real-time on-orbit spacecraft anomaly resolution operations.
 
This effort will be a rendezvous between the experimental Mycroft satellite and a second experimental AFRL satellite called the Small Satellite Space Surveillance System, or S5. The S5, launched Feb. 22, 2019, is a small satellite designed to test affordable SmallSat space situational awareness constellation technologies.
 
AFRL has experienced
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Posts From The Road: Shades Of Gold

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 20, 2019

A Mixed Bag: An assortment of color and hues are seen on a hillsidenear Carbondale, Colo., showing aspens in various stages of transformation from summer to winter. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Getting Close: The base of a group of aspen trees near Breckenridge, Colo., shines with gold leaves on the trees and many gold leaves cover the ground. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

 

By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
 
For those of us who live in the Rocky Mountain West, the changing color of aspen leaves is a sure sign that summer is fading and fall is upon us.
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