Environment

County Renewable Revolution: New Solar And Battery Contracts Set To Double Clean Electricity Supply

Solar farm. Courtesy/LAC

COUNTY News:

With a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Los Alamos County Council approved the Foxtail Flats Solar and Storage agreements, putting Los Alamos County on an accelerated trajectory toward meeting its goal to be a net carbon-neutral energy provider by 2040.

The Council unanimously approved agreements for 170 MW of solar power from the Four Corners Area and 80 MW of battery storage.

In 2016, the Los Alamos Board of Public Utilities (BPU) set a goal for the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to become a carbon-neutral electrical energy provider by 2040. DPU Read More

Learn About Diné & Ndé At Bosque Redondo Ranger Tours

NMHS News:

New Mexico Historic Sites (NMHS) announces that Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner Historic Site is offering a new series of ranger-led tours.

Join Ranger Lily and Instructional Coordinator Rebekha on Saturdays for a guided tour of the new permanent exhibition, “Bosque Redondo…A Place of Suffering…A Place of Survival” and exterior grounds at Fort Sumner Historic Site, 1-3 p.m., Saturdays, March 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2024.

Directions:

Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner Historic Site, I-40 to Santa Rosa, south on US 84 to the village of Fort Sumner. Take Hwy 60/84 3 miles east Read More

Los Alamos Community Seed Library Birthday Party Today!

COUNTY News:

The Los Alamos Public Library will launch the second year of the Los Alamos Community Seed Library 1-3 p.m. today, March 2.

At both Mesa Public Library and White Rock Branch Library, local gardening experts will be on hand to help you choose the best seeds for your garden and offer tips and guidance to growing in the unique challenges of both White Rock and Los Alamos. There will be birthday cake, seed games and paper crafts for the whole family.

It has been a successful first year for the Los Alamos Community Seed Library, with almost 1,500 packages of seeds borrowed from the Seed Library’s Read More

Review, 2023 Annual Periodic Monitoring Report For Base-Flow Sampling Added To LANL Electronic Reading Room

LANL News:

Per regulatory requirements, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) announces new documents have been added to the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract Electronic Public Reading Room.

All legacy cleanup documents required to be posted after April 30, 2018, are available on the site linked above.

For legacy cleanup documents that were posted prior to April 30, 2018, please visit the LANL electronic public reading room:

  • Review, 2023 Annual Periodic Monitoring Report for The General Surveillance Monitoring Group: Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyon, Mortandad and Sandia Canyon, Water
Read More

NMG&F: Off-Highway Vehicle Grant Applications Available

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is accepting applications for its 2024-2025 Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Grants. Courtesy/NMGF

NMGF News:

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is accepting applications for its 2024-2025 Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Grants through April 5, 2024.

These grants are available to not-for-profit organizations and federal, state and local government agencies. Entities can apply for up to $20,000 per project. Recipients may use grant funds for projects that enhance recreational use of side-by-sides, ATVs, motorcycles and snowmobiles on Read More

LANL: Recycling Old Electrical Devices Minimizes Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Eco-Footprint

In a project that rounded up more than 100 of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s legacy electrical devices no longer in use — all of which contained oil and some that contained the now-banned chemical compound known as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs — one non-negotiable prevailed. The devices must be recycled, rather than buried in a landfill, which is what LANL project owners told interested bidders. Read the full article here. Courtesy/LANL Read More

New Mexico Environment Department Enforcement Watch Alert: 333 Actions Initiated, 13 Resolved In February 2024

NMED News:

SANTA FE— The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) released updates for the month of February 2024 on the Enforcement Watch.

The Enforcement Watch is a listing of all active and resolved enforcement cases. Active cases involve an alleged violation of a regulation, rule, permit, license, etc. Resolved cases are those that were adjudicated in court of law or administratively resolved.

The Enforcement Watch also provides tools for the public to report alleged environmental or workplace safety violations.

In the month of February, 333 new entries were added to the Active Matters Read More

Daily Postcard: Rabbit Munches Twigs At Valles Caldera

Daily Postcard: A rabbit captured on the #WildlifeWednesday webcam munching on twigs at Valles Caldera National Preserve. While much of Valles Caldera’s native wildlife either hibernates or migrates for the winter, the cottontail rabbit remains on-site and active. When its usual food sources like grasses and shrubs become dormant and/or get buried by deep snow, the hardy cottontail adopts a seasonal diet, turning to woody plant parts like bark and twigs. Cottontails are vital to mountain ecosystems, especially in the winter, because they provide food for a variety of meat-eating animals Read More

Weekly Fishing Report: Feb. 29, 2024

By GEORGE MORSE
Sports And Outdoors
Los Alamos Daily Post

There are several fishing areas in Northeast New Mexico that will open Friday (March 1) for the 2024 season.

Morphy Lake State Park, Clayton Lake State Park and the Charette Lakes will open for fishing. The Charette Lakes should be good for some nice, holdover trout. There should also be some holdover trout at Morphy Lake.

Clayton Lake will also open. Clayton Lake was stocked Feb. 21 with 3,200 rainbow trout  in preparation for it’s opening Friday for the 2024 season. The state-record walleye was caught here. Clayton Lake is a designated Read More

Amateur Naturalist: Pieces Of History In The Canyons

A log dining facility was a part of the military police picnic grounds. It was called ‘Eagles Nest’. Picture from the Los Times Newspaper, Jan. 3, 1947. Courtesy photo

A stone fire place still can be seen at the picnic grounds, decades later. Courtesy photo

By ROBERT DRYJA
Los Alamos

What was it like to live in the Manhattan Project during World War II and the years immediately afterwards? What was it like to know you were helping to create a whole new way to have war with the atom bomb? To quote Oppenheimer, “Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds”. People could not come into the laboratory without Read More

New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board Unanimously Approves Repealing And Replacing Fee Structure For Radioactive Materials Licenses Statewide

NMED News:

          • State radiation protection program ensures oversight of the safe use of radioactive materials

SANTA FE — At the request of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), the Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) today voted unanimously to repeal and replace a 22-year-old fee structure for radioactive materials licenses in New Mexico.

The updated state fee structure now aligns with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fee structure as of July 1 of this year.

NMED’s Radiation Control Bureau oversees 210 licensed facilities across the State of New Mexico including Read More

Santa Fe National Forest Prescribed Fire Update

SFNF fire managers are tentatively planning a prescribed burn in Pacheco Canyon. Courtesy/SFNF 

SFNF News:

SANTA FE — Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) fire managers are tentatively planning to begin ignitions Thursday and Friday of this week on the Pacheco Canyon pile burn project located near Forest Road 102 in the Espanola Ranger District.

The Pacheco Canyon unit is 60 acres of debris left after fuel reduction projects that involve thinning or cutting of trees in the forest. Currently, ideal conditions within the project unit exist including persistent snowpack, air quality, ventilation, Read More

Plan Unforgettable Spring Break Around Skiesta At Pajarito

COUNTY News:

Skiesta—Pajarito Mountain’s iconic annual Spring Break celebration—returns Saturday, March 16 to Los Alamos.

The highly anticipated event will once again feature exhilarating ski races, live music from local bands, local craft beer, and a vibrant, quirky atmosphere unique to Northern New Mexico.

“Whether you’re planning a family Spring Break vacation, or you’re looking for a fun weekend getaway, Skiesta is a must-attend event,” County Economic Development Administrator Dan Ungerleider said. ­“With lively costumes, outdoor recreation, local craft beer, and music from Read More

Santa Fe Community College Foundation Announces Two Presentations By Michael Zeiler About Upcoming Eclipse

Geographer and cartographer Michael Zeiler

SFCC News:

SANTA FE — Santa Fe Community College Foundation will present eclipse-chasing geographer and cartographer Michael Zeiler and his multi-media tour of the path of the April 8, 2024 eclipse at two separate presentations at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 19 and at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 in the SFCC Planetarium, 6401 Richards Avenue.

Attendees must pre-register at bit.ly/4bU7de1. The $25 admission will benefit SFCC Foundation, which supports students through scholarships and other initiatives.

The approximately one-hour program Read More

Cory Atencio Helps Keep Community Ship-Shape Through Junk-It Business

Junk-It owner Cory Atencio on a fishing trip with his daughter. Courtesy photo

By Andy McBride
Los Alamos Daily Post
Student Reporter

Cory Atencio is a 30-year-old with a burning passion to help others in his community—a working man with a story to tell.

He and his brother, Joby Atencio were born and raised in Española. They were raised by a single mother, Michelle Jacquez-Romero.

Atencio was the man in the house, with no father figure in his life. Atencio said he had to grow up fast and learn what it took to earn an honest living. He attended Española Valley High School where he was an all-around athlete Read More

CVNM On Signing Of New Mexico Match Fund Into Law

CVNM News:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed HB 177 NM Match Fund into law Wednesday.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Dixon (HD-20), Rep. Armstrong (HD-49), Rep. Herrera (HD-41), Sen. Campos (SD-8), and Sen. Woods (SD-7), will deliver critical resources to more than 2,800 entities statewide and help New Mexico compete with other states vying for historic federal funding made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

In response, Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) Climate & Energy Director Samantha Kao issued the following Read More

Valles Caldera Drew More Than 76,000 Visitors In 2023

VCNP News:

JEMEZ SPRINGS — Last week, the National Park Service announced that 400 national parks reported a total of 325.5 million visits in 2023, an increase of 13 million—or 4 percent—over 2022.

Valles Caldera National Preserve saw 76,090 people experience the park, an increase of more than 12,000—or 19 percent—over 2022.

“Valles Caldera’s location at the heart of the Jemez Mountains provides abundant natural, cultural, recreational, and historical experiences for everyone,” Superintendent Jorge Silva-Bañuelos said. “We were thrilled to welcome so many people to the park, whether Read More

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