Environment

Lujan Grisham, Faso Introduce Bill To Crack Down On Fake Organics

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 2, 2017
U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham
 
LEGISLATIVE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Representatives Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) and John Faso (R-NY) announced the introduction of bipartisan legislation, the Organic Farmer and Consumer Protection Act.
 
“Organic farming and ranching is the fastest growing segment of agriculture in New Mexico,” Grisham said. “However, fraudulent organic imports threaten the integrity of the USDA Organic label that so many New Mexicans rely on. The bipartisan Organic Farmer and Consumer Protection Act will provide the National
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BLM: Annual Adjustment To Drilling Permit Fee

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 2, 2017
BLM News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― As directed by Congress, the Bureau of Land Management will adjust the fee it charges to process oil and gas drilling permits on public and Indian lands for inflation, effective Oct. 1. That adjustment will increase the fee by $180, to $9,790.
 
The non-refundable processing fee is collected when an oil and gas operator submits a drilling permit, called an Application for Permit to Drill, and is required whether or not a particular permit is subsequently approved. Congress directed the BLM to adjust the APD fee annually for inflation
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Geology Outing With Patrick Rowe Oct. 14

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 2, 2017
A Pebble Pup and parent show off what they found while exploring the windmill site with Patrick Rowe last fall. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

Local geologist Patrick Rowe will lead an outing to the Cabezon Peak area in search of geological treasures at two sites Saturday, Oct. 14.

Participants can expect to find minerals and marine fossils at the windmill site, and Shark’s Tooth Ridge is aptly named for the fossilized teeth from five species of Cretaceous Period sharks that the group will find. This program is organized by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC). Space is limited, so register Read More

Need A Reason To Support Public Lands? Here’s 8,000

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 1, 2017

NPLD News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In honor of National Public Lands Day, Trout Unlimited is celebrating by releasing 8,000 reasons public lands are important.

The responses come from individuals from across the country who signed a petition in support of keeping public lands in public hands and gave their own personal reasons why these lands matter to them.

The petition will be sent to the White House and members of Congress and caps off a month-long celebration of public lands which features thirty public land locations throughout the country. “30 Great American Places” highlighted some of our Read More

Daily Postcard: Bobcat Visits Barranca Mesa

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on October 1, 2017

Daily Postcard: A bobcat visits a backyard Saturday on Barranca Mesa. Elusive and nocturnal, bobcats are roughly twice as big as the average housecat. Though the bobcat prefers rabbits, it also hunts insects, chickens, geese and other birds, small rodents and deer. Source: wikipedia.com. Photo by Ann Funsten Read More

Year Of The Bear: 13 Cubs Inundate Cottonwood Rehab

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 30, 2017

One of 13 bears that have recently inundated the Cottonwood Rehab Center. The Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation is seeking the public’s assistance to help feed and care for these bears during their rehabilitation. Photo by James Robinson/LEWF

A bear undergoing rehabilitation at the Cottonwood Rehab Center. Photo by James Robinson/LEWF

LEWF News:

SANTA CRUZ – The Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation, a New Mexico not for profit organization, is seeking the public’s assistance in response to an inundation of Black Bears overwhelming one of its partner organizations.

New Read More

PEEC: Earth Art Workshop Oct. 8

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 30, 2017
Earth art photo by Liz Martinea. Courtesy/PEEC

Green to Yellow Leaves by Andy Goldsworthy. Courtesy/PEEC

 
PEEC News:
 
Sunday, Oct. 8, local artist and educator Liz Martineau will offer an Earth Art Workshop for adults and children at the Los Alamos Nature Center.
 
Based on the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy, Earth Art provides participants inspiration to create their own works of art using natural materials. The workshop is $8 for individuals and $10 for a pair of artists working together. Advance registration is available at www.peecnature.org.
 
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It’s A Good Time For Seeing Tarantulas In Bandelier – And Lots Of Other Places In New Mexico

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 30, 2017
Tarantulas found in the Bandelier National Monument area. Courtesy/NPS Photo
 
NPS News:
 
Around here, in Bandelier National Monument and many other parts of New Mexico, everyone starts noticing tarantulas about this time of year. 
 
Autumn is the time when males mature and start out on their quest to find a mate. This exposes them to many dangers, from hawks and skunks, which want to eat them, to fast-moving cars, to people who just find them creepy and may think they should be squashed. 
 
Tarantulas have been around for more than 16 million years, and
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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall Demands Answers From EPA’s Scott Pruitt On ‘Privacy Booth,’ Chartered Flights

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 30, 2017
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
 
U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, ranking member on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget, demanded answers from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt about his potentially excessive spending of taxpayer money.
 
Media reports indicate that the EPA is devoting $25,000 in taxpayer money to build a “privacy booth for the administrator,” despite EPA already having a fully functioning Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility
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Amateur Naturalist: Growth Of Ponderosa Trees

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 29, 2017
A mature ponderosa stops growing upward but its horizontal branches continue to grow, becoming twisted and thicker. Photo by Robert Dryja 
 
Amateur Naturalist: The Growth of Ponderosa Trees
By Robert Dryja
 
The Aquatic Center was constructed 30 years ago. The construction involved landscaping that extended about one hundred feet out from the building. 
 
There may have been only one large ponderosa tree that was not cut down as part of the clearing of land behind the Aquatic Center. It now is a mature tree. It has a flat top since it has stopped
Read More

Tales Of Our Times: Essential Truth Requires Assembly

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 29, 2017

Tales of Our Times
By JOHN BARTLIT
New Mexico Citizens
for Clean Air & Water

Essential Truth Requires Assembly

The sharpest picture we have of how humans relate to others is the familiar parable of the six blind men and the elephant.

Generations of us learned from the imagery of the blind men. The meanings of it remain vivid today. One blind man touched a side and said an elephant is like a wall. One felt the tail and said an elephant is a rope. One felt a tusk and said an elephant is a spear. A leg made one say an elephant is a pillar. One felt an ear and said an elephant is a canvas butterfly and a man at the Read More

Hunt Over For A ‘Top 50 Most-Wanted Fungi’

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 29, 2017

Researchers from LANL and several other institutions have characterized a sample of ‘mystery’ fungus and found its home in the fungal tree of life. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Tree of life still holds mysteries in the fungal world – millions of them

In a step toward bridging the gap between fungal taxonomy and molecular ecology, scientists from several institutions including Los Alamos National Laboratory have characterized a sample of “mystery” fungus collected in North Carolina and found its home in the fungal tree of life.

“Working estimates tell us that there should be more than 5 million Read More

WIPP Monitoring Potential Rock Fall

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 29, 2017

WIPP News:

CARLESBAD – Highly-sensitive ground monitoring instrumentation in Panel 7, Room 6, of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) underground is indicating increasing ground movement rates.

This area has been prohibited to personnel access for more than a year, meaning no one has entered the area. The increased rates of movement are a sign of ground (rock) instability and indicate a possible rock fall will occur. Based on current instrumentation readings and experiences from Panel 7, Room 4, last year, the likelihood of a rock fall in Room 6 is increasing.

Rock falls are not uncommon Read More

Sevanto Is Best Predictor In Weekly Pace Race

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 28, 2017
Courtesy photo
 
ACRR News:
 
Sanna Sevanto was the top predictor as well the fastest female finisher on the 3 mile trail course in the weekly pace race held on the trails behind the Aquatic Center. 
 
She had a 22 second difference under her predicted time from her actual time of 27:20. Other accurate predictors were: Tamara Jurado at 24 seconds off, Ryan Smeltzer with a 32 second differential and the top finisher on the 3 mile course with a time of 23:47, Zach Medin recorded a 33 second difference, and Laura Woodroffe was 44 seconds off.
 
On the 1 mile
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Weekly Fishing Report: Sept. 28

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 28, 2017
By George Morse
Sports and Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post
 
It’s definitely beginning to feel like fall. I’ve had reports of bull elk bugling and the leaves on the aspen trees are beginning to turn. Time to be outdoors and experience the beauty of fall here in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado.
 
Before getting started on the fishing report, I’d like to make a comment on something that has been bugging me for a long time. Because I spend time outdoors, I always check the weather report in the New Mexican to see what the weather is going to be like and what yesterday’s temperature was.
Read More

Nature Center Talk: Sally King Presents Bandelier’s Recent Pika Population Research

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 28, 2017

An adult pika perched on a rock. Photo by Sally King/NPS

PEEC News:

What does the future hold for pikas in the Jemez Mountains? Bandelier Interpretive Ranger Sally King will share results from recent research on the elusive American Pika at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3 in the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road.

This presentation is free thanks to the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) and Bandelier National Monument.

King will discuss the natural history of this remarkable critter and share photos and newly released data from studies conducted at Bandelier. The talk will give Read More

Enjoy Bandelier And Other Public Lands With No Entrance Fee On National Public Lands Day Saturday

Submitted by Carol A. Clark on September 28, 2017
Take a walk to see Ancestral Pueblo dwellings on Bandelier’s Main Loop Trail. Courtesy/NPS
 
NPS News:
 
Often just known as NPLD, National Public Lands Day (Sept. 30) is generally billed as the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands.
 
Saturday, Sept. 30, thousands of people will do volunteer work such as trail maintenance and litter pickup, while others make a special point of taking the day to enjoy the public lands that belong to everyone. To celebrate this special day, many federal lands, and some state parks as well, offer free admission.
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