Environment - Los Alamos Daily Post

Penasco Fire Ignites In Coyote Ranger District Today

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 9, 2018

SFNF News:

The Penasco Fire ignited today in the Coyote Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest and there are approximately 5 to 10 acres burning on the ground with some single tree torching.

Start Date: Aug. 8

Cause: Unknown

Size: 5 to 10 acres

Location: Coyote Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest

Containment: 0 percent

Resources: 0

Situation: The Penasco Fire is in a remote area of the Rio Chama Wilderness in the 2017 Ojitos Fire burn scar. The fire is approximately 5 to 10 acres burning on the ground with some single tree torching. Due to safety concerns, no resources will be committed Read More

What’s New At Farmers Market This Week?

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

Gonzales Farm. Courtesy photo

LAFM News:

Whats at the Farmers Market this week:

Peaches- Berries- Apples- Plums- Lamb- Beef- Yak- Bison- Pork- honey- honey sticks- Tomatoes- Shishitos- Onions- Green onions- celery- Salad Mix- Beets- Turnips- Apple Cider- Sharpening Service- Corn- Grapes- Kettle Corn if it’s not raining- Nursery- Plants- grasses- hanging Flowers- Cut Flowers- Herbs- Eggs-Beans of every color- Cucumbers- Carrots- Squashes- radishes- Lettuce- Cabbage- Garlic- Potatoes of every color and variety- Squash Blossoms- Tortillas-Jams &

Mountain Club Adult Swim Program Begins Sept. 5

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

MOUNTAIN CLUB News:

Mountain Club will have its adult swim program, starting Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Mountain Club would like to thank many adult swimmers and parents their valuable feedback, encouragement, and support for this program.

The goals for this program are:

Learn basic water skills to get comfortable in water, such as kick, walk, float in the water.
Learn how to swim with four strokes, free, back, breast, and fly strokes.
Improve techniques to swim with ease, beauty and speed.
Improve physical condition for our body.
Create a social environment for adults

Couple Douses Abandoned Campfire Burning In Jemez

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

This morning while walking their dog up in the Jemez, a couple came across this abandoned campfire that was still burning. Using a shovel they had in the back of their truck and jugs of water, the couple extinguished the fire. “I realize there’s a lot to think about these days, but how can anyone leave a HOT campfire? If the fires in California aren’t part of one’s awareness or the lack of snow this last winter, how about the smoky skies?” Bernice Williams said. “It is pretty unbelievable! Reminds me of the lady who threw a lit cigarette butt out the window of the car in front of me when we were evacuating Read More

Two Men Sentenced For Poaching Mule Deer

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

NMGF News:

LOVINGTON ― Two men pleaded guilty to killing mule deer out of season, unlawful possession, tampering with evidence and other charges filed against them in Lovington District Court last December.

Both men received probation and were ordered earlier this month to pay $2,400 in fines, $330 in court fees and forfeit their rifles.

It all started Dec. 28, 2017 when Hobbs District Officer Andrew Jolliff received a tip from the Operation Game Thief hotline — a number set up by the Department of Game and Fish for the public to report poachers — about a deer that was killed

Pajarito Astronomers Dark Night Saturday

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

PAJARITO ASTRONOMERS News:

The Pajarito Astronomers are hosting a County-Sponsored Dark Night starting at 8 p.m. (sunset), Saturday, Aug. 11 at Spirio Soccer Field at Overlook Park in White Rock.

Weather permitting, the public is invited to come out, wander among the telescopes, and star gaze. The planets Venus, a brilliant Mars, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its rings, Neptune and Uranus will potentially be visible during the evening. There will be a tour of the summer constellations and there will be telescope views of double stars, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.

Pair Of Bucks Spotted On Barranca Mesa

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

A couple of bucks are spotted hanging out in the front yard of a home on Barranca Mesa. Photo by Deb Huling Read More

Weekly Fishing Report: Aug. 8

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

By GEORGE MORSE

Los Alamos Daily Post

Sports Editor

The streamflows throughout New Mexico remain well-below normal despite the monsoon rains. The streamflow in the Rio Grande Tuesday (8/7) at Cerro, where it crosses the border between New Mexico and Colorado, was a paltry 43.3 cubic-feet-per-second.

With streamflows this low and warm water temperatures, the trout are stressed close to their limit. Trout stop growing and water temperatures 0f 78 degrees can be fatal. I know it’s asking a lot, but give the trout a break during the summer under the current conditions.

Lakes

Daily Postcard: Evening Clouds Following Rain

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 8, 2018

Daily Postcard: Evening clouds following rain Tuesday viewed from Los Alamos. Photo by Riki Byers

Daily Postcard: Evening clouds following rain Tuesday viewed from Los Alamos. Photo by Riki Byers Read More

Lightning Sparks Cerro Fire On BLM Land Sunday

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 7, 2018

BLM News:

ALBUQUERQUE – Lightning from a storm Sunday, Aug. 6, started the Cerro Fire on Bureau of Land Management lands southwest of Grants.

The fire is now 20 acres in size and being managed by local BLM resources.

The fire is burning in piñon and juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forest. No homes or structures are threated. Firefighters have been suppressing the northern portion of the fire adjacent to private land in order to establish an anchor point. Tactics will be used that will yield a high probability of success and meet land management objectives, while allowing for the safety Read More

Senators To Zinke: Staking And Developing New Mining Claims Within National Monuments Is Illegal

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 7, 2018

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) led a group of 23 senators in demanding answers from Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke about news that a Canadian mining company has acquired a dozen mining claims – totaling more than acres of lands – within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

The company, Glacier Lake Resources, has announced its plans to begin development of these claims in the near future.

“New mining within the boundaries of a national monument is illegal,” the senators

Daily Postcard: Cloudy Sky Over Black Mesa

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 7, 2018

Daily Postcard: A large cloud hovers over Black Mesa Wednesday just before the rain. Photo by Kathryn Willcutt Read More

Exploring VCNP Dendroglyphs As Historic Records

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 7, 2018

VCNP Interdisciplinary Scientist/Communicator Ana Steffen will give a talk at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7 the Nature Center about how aspen carvings left at the Preserve can inform current knowledge of the early peoples who occupied the landscape. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

The Valles Caldera National Preserve is the home of thousands of aspen carvings left by early twentieth century peoples. The Preserve recently completed a compilation of data for more than 2,500 carvings.

Aspen dendroglyphs. Courtesy/PEEC

VCNP Interdisciplinary Scientist/Communicator Ana Steffen is presenting a free Read More

Udall, Heinrich Urge Reauthorization Of Land And Water Conservation Fund

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 6, 2018

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich joined a bipartisan group of senators urging Senate leadership to permanently reauthorize and to fully fund the Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

“The LWCF is one of the country’s best conservation programs, preserving public lands and ensuring access to outdoor recreation in rural and urban areas,” the senators wrote. “For the last half century, it has protected lands, historic sites, national parks, wilderness areas, and urban parks in every state… It is critical that this program be reauthorized

Taos Electric Vehicle Expo Sept. 8

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 6, 2018

TEVE News:

On behalf of Renewable Taos, we are pleased to announce the 2018 Taos Electric Vehicle Expo from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8.

The Taos EV Expo will be held at the UNM-Taos Bataan Hall with indoor and outdoor exhibits. We are organizing this event in coordination with Michael Hearne’s Big Barn Dance – a fabulously popular three-day music event at the Kit Carson Park and Stage here in Taos. For all the details, visit TaosEVExpo.org.

This is a great opportunity to see and learn about the rapid growth and demand for electric vehicles

Traditional NNM Stories With Paulette Atencio Aug. 16

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 6, 2018

NPS News:

WATROUS ― Long before the written word, culture and history were preserved in the stories told by community elders and passed on to younger generations. Such stories served both to entertain and educate young minds. In New Mexico, children have long grown up under the traditional wisdom found in “cuentos,” or stories that often blended magic into the events of daily life.

Join Paulette Atencio, and listen with both mind and heart to some of the traditional stories from New Mexico.

This program is at 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 16, at the CCHP Santa Fe Trail Interpretive

Update: Venado Fire Burns 4,150 Acres

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 6, 2018

SFNF News:

The lightning sparked Venado Fire that began July 20 in the Jemez Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest has consumed 4,150 acres of Ponderosa Pine and is now 66 percent contained.

Weather: Rain is forecasted through today, then a drying trend with above normal temperatures, until another round of predicted rain arrives later next week

Resources: 94 personnel

Situation: Resources completed containment lines on the Western Flank of the fire from Deer Creek Landing to above the Joaquin Drainage and FR 488. The entire fire perimeter is now in Mop up phase and containment

Engineered Cleanup Technologies Achieve Major Milestones At Kirtland Air Force Base

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 6, 2018

NMED News:

The groundwater extraction and treatment system was installed by the Air Force three years ago to collapse ethylene dibromide (EDB) contamination plume and pull it back towards Kirtland Air Force Base.

EDB is a toxic additive that was used in aviation gasoline. Recent monitoring data strongly suggest that the EDB plume footprint and contaminant concentrations are decreasing in the extraction area. More than 445 million gallons of groundwater have been extracted and purified.

“The fact that we are seeing evidence of plume collapse three years into

Udall Speaks As Senate Passes Interior, Environment Funding Bill 92-6

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on August 6, 2018

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, spoke on the Senate floor just before the full Senate passed the FY2019 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, a funding bill authored by Udall’s committee.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DBu6mzHmno&feature=youtu.be

The bill, authored in the Senate Appropriations subcommittee led by Udall and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), rejects