Environment

KAFB Project Field Trip Registration Deadline Extended

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NMED News:
 
The New Mexico Environment Department Spring Field Trip registration deadline has been extended to by Thursday, March 31. Register at this website.
 
The Field Trip is Saturday, April 23. Buses will take attendees onto Kirtland Air Force Base to see project activities including the full-scale treatment system completed in December 2015
 
Two Field Trip time choices: 
  • 10 a.m. to noon; or
  • 1-3 p.m.
 
Spring Public Meeting Tuesday, April 19
 
5:30-6 p.m., Poster Session**
**To include a poster presentation by Advanced Placement students
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High Winds And Cold Temps Leave Marks

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High winds and cold temperatures at lunchtime today begin to freeze the water feature on the patio at the Blue Window Bistro. Photo by Alan Madsen

Today’s strong wind blew this 60-foot tall ponderosa pine onto a residence on 35th Street. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

A wider view of the ponderosa pine that fell during today’s high winds onto a home on 35th Street. Photo by Bart Daly

Strong wind today topples a large tree onto a car parked at a residence on 45th Street. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com Read More

LANL: Novel Water-Removal Technique Boosts Performance Of Carbon Nanomaterials

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LANL News:

  • ‘Transformational implications’ for fuel cells and batteries

New research illuminating water’s critical role in forming catalysts for oxygen reduction in materials has revealed the key to designing next-generation carbon nanomaterials with enhanced performance for fuel cells and batteries.

“The implications of understanding water’s role in achieving high-performance layered materials for energy generation and storage devices will be transformational,” said Gautam Gupta of the Materials Synthesis and Integrated Devices group at Los Alamos National Read More

Heinrich, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Announce $1 Million Annually For Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich with members of the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps Tuesday at the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. Courtesy photo 

From The Office Of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe announced Tuesday that the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge will receive $1 million in additional annual funding to engage urban communities and youth in conservation and outdoor recreation.

The Refuge, located Read More

Prescribed Burn Planned On Santa Fe National Forest Jemez Ranger District

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SFNF News:
 
SANTA FE ― Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest are working with communities in the Jemez Ranger District to conduct the bi-annual Thompson Ridge slash-pit prescribed burn. 
 
The slash pit, 10 miles north of Jemez Springs, is a collaborative effort between the Jemez Ranger District and the surrounding area to promote fire-adapted communities in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). 
 
WUI refers to the transition zone between natural areas and human development. As more homes are built in the WUI adjacent to public lands
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Prescribed Burn Planned On Santa Fe National Forest Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District

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SFNF News:
 
SANTA FE ― Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest are planning to begin the previously announced prescribed burn in Gallinas Canyon and Las Dispensas area on the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District Wednesday, March 23, if conditions are favorable. 
 
Once ignitions have started, they are expected to last up to seven days.
 
Fire managers would like to complete the Gallinas Canyon burn by Thursday, March 31, but that window is dependent on favorable conditions, including fuel moisture levels, air quality, weather forecasts and available
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How The Hen House Turns—The Eyes Have It

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How The Hen House Turns
By Carolyn A. (Cary) Neeper, Ph. D.
 
The Eyes Have It

As a biology student, I was enthralled with the amazing diversity of tiny critters that swam energetically in a drop of water under the microscope. After studying embryology, I was even more amazed that any of us were ever born halfway normal. But comparative Anatomy in the Zoology Department at college topped them all. The variety of eyes that have evolved on this planet is amazing.

It’s not just the eyes’ variety of color and design, as pictured in a recent issue of National Geographic. It’s their Read More

White House To Host Water Summit … Los Alamos Watershed Research Among Featured Projects

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LANL News:

On Tuesday, March 22—World Water Day—the Administration will host a White House Water Summit to raise awareness of the national importance of water and to highlight new commitments and announcements that the Administration and non-Federal institutions are making to build a sustainable water future.

A project from Los Alamos National Laboratory will be among the research areas featured.

Safe, sufficient, and reliable water resources are essential to the functioning of every aspect and sector of U.S. society, including agricultural and energy production, industry and economic Read More

NMED Calls On EPA To Reimburse $1.5 Million For Emergency Response To Gold King Mine Spill

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NMED News:
 
SANTA FE ― On Friday March 11 the New Mexico Environment Department called upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reimburse $1,505,155 for short-term emergency response activities associated with the Gold King Mine spill.  
 
On Aug. 5 an EPA work crew triggered the Gold King blowout near Silverton, CO that released three million gallons of contaminated water into a creek that flowed into the Animas, then San Juan Rivers. New Mexico’s initial response and monitoring costs of $1.5 million encompass 14 New Mexico state agencies, academic
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