Category Archives: wildlands

drought, wildlands

Aquifer feeding Texas High Plains rapidly shrinks | Albuquerque Journal News

Aquifer feeding Texas High Plains rapidly shrinks | Albuquerque Journal News

The chief underground water source for irrigating the agriculture-rich Texas High Plains is depleting at a pace that some fear will exhaust it far more quickly than anticipated.

Records examined by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal show the Ogallala Aquifer has dropped about 325 billion gallons every year for at least the past four decades, meaning the 40-foot decline in the water supply amounts to about a foot each year. But at least two Texas counties west of Lubbock — Parmer and Castro — have plunged more than double that amount — 100 feet.

The aquifer covers parts of eight states from the Dakotas to Texas, holds almost 3 billion acre-feet of water and could run out in 50 years, according to a Kansas study last year. An acre-foot of water is the equivalent of 1 acre of surface area covered by water 1 foot deep — 325,853 gallons.

“When anybody tells me it’s going to last for 50 years, I just laugh,” Lucia Barbato, associate director at the Center for Geospatial Technology at Texas Tech University, told the newspaper in a story published Sunday.

“How long the aquifer lasts depends on where you are.”

The Texas Tech center estimates four counties have less than 15 years before groundwater is exhausted for irrigation.

Aquifer feeding Texas High Plains rapidly shrinks | Albuquerque Journal News

wildlands

Wilderness proves we are still a rich nation

Take a hike on the wild side | Albuquerque Journal News

“Wilderness is an anchor to windward. Knowing it is there, we can also know that we are still a rich nation, tending our resources as we should – not a people in despair searching every last nook and cranny of our land for a board of lumber, a barrel of oil, a blade of grass, or a tank of water.”

— Clinton Anderson

Take a hike on the wild side | Albuquerque Journal News

wildlands

Beef pollutes more than pork and poultry

And cows spoil many a creek, trail, and camping site. And cattle raisers are the main opponents of restoring wolves to their rightful place in our environment, while taking advantage of public land.

Beef pollutes more than pork and poultry, study says | Albuquerque Journal News

Raising beef for the American dinner table does far more damage to the environment than producing pork, poultry, eggs or dairy, a new study says.

Compared with the other animal proteins, beef produces five times more heat-trapping gases per calorie, puts out six times as much water-polluting nitrogen, takes 11 times more water for irrigation and uses 28 times the land, according to the study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Cows are not efficient at converting feed to protein for human consumption, said lead author Gidon Eshel, an environmental physics professor at Bard College in New York.

Beef pollutes more than pork and poultry, study says | Albuquerque Journal News

wildlands

A Rash of Fire in Canada and the Pacific Northwest

Terrible. In the southwestern US, we’ve been luckier this year than in recent years.

A Rash of Fire in Canada and the Pacific Northwest : Image of the Day

In mid-July 2014, a combination of lightning, parched forests, and hot temperatures fueled dozens of wildfires in Canada and the northwestern United States. According to the Canadian government, 102 uncontrolled fires were burning in British Columbia on July 17, and there were 13 more in Alberta. Across the border, 33 uncontrolled fires were active in Washington and Oregon.

A Rash of Fire in Canada and the Pacific Northwest : Image of the Day

Albuquerque, wildlands

Sandias closed due to fire danger

I thought I had another day. (Isn’t that always the case.) Why wouldn’t the Forest Service keep the forest open through the last day of the month, the last day of the fiscal year? I’m not protesting the closing, but when it’s this hot, the only relief starts at 10,000 feet.

Rain is expected this week. Will enough come to prevent the closure of the bosque? How much of New Mexico will be destroyed on the Fourth by idiots celebrating their right to be stupid?

Forests close due to fire danger | Albuquerque Journal News

A01_jd_26jun_Sandia-Closures_NEW

newmexico, wildlands

Sessions examine Cibola National Forest plan changes

Sessions examine forest plan changes | Albuquerque Journal News

By Journal Staff
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 12:05 am

Scheduled public sessions

  • June 9 – 6-9 p.m., UNM Continuing Education Bldg. Room C, 1634 University NE, Albuquerque
  • June 10 – 1-4 p.m. and 6-8:30 p.m., Gallup Community Service Center, 410 Bataan Veterans St., Gallup• June 11 – 6-9 p.m., Socorro County Annex, Co-op Extension classroom, 198 Neel Ave., Socorro
  • June 12 – 1-4 p.m. Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th NW, Albuquerque and 6-9 p.m., Mountainair Senior Center
  • June 23 – 6-9 p.m., Mountainair Senior Center
  • June 24 – 1-4 p.m. and 6 – 8:30 p.m., Northwest New Mexico Visitor’s Center, 1900 E. Santa Fe Ave., Grants
  • June 25, 6-9 p.m., Socorro County Annex, Commission Room, 198 Neel Ave., Socorro
  • June 26, 1-4 p.m., Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th St. NW, Albuquerque, and 6-9 p.m., UNM Continuing Education Building, Room C, 1634 University NE, Albuquerque

Officials with the Cibola National Forest will host a series of work sessions this month as they move forward with planned revisions to the forest plan for the Sandia, Mountainair, Magdalena and Mount Taylor Ranger Districts.

The plan will guide future uses of the 1.63 million-acre forest.

The five-year process of revising the current forest plan, implemented in 1985, began in late 2012 when the Forest Service started a detailed assessment of the four districts.

Forest officials recently finished a series of public meetings on the draft Cibola Forest Assessment Report that was completed in April.

This month’s workshops provide another opportunity for the public to discuss any needed changes to the plan.

View the plan at fs.usda.gov/main/cibola/landmanagement/planning.

For more information, call 346-3889.

Sessions examine forest plan changes | Albuquerque Journal News

newmexico, wildlands

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in south-central New Mexico

It’s right thing for our land | Albuquerque Journal News

By Oscar Simpson / State Chair, New Mexico Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 12:05 am

The story of the hunter-conservationist is built on the premise that those of us who take directly from the land have the most obvious incentives and mandates to care for it. We have something tangible at stake when species, habitats, special spots, wildness and natural beauty are in jeopardy of being tamed or compromised. They are our skin in the game.

These are things we know. Things we love. And they are decreasing commodities in a world of growing human pressures.

Regardless of your political leanings, if you are among our ranks as a hunter, angler or outdoors person in North America today, and you are true to your roots as an advocate for the resources we all value, then you have every reason to join in applauding President Obama’s move to designate the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in south-central New Mexico.

He did so by pulling the ultimate trump card of the presidential conservation deck – the American Antiquities Act of 1906.

With the stroke of Obama’s pen, nearly 500,000 acres of our public lands – your public lands – will be afforded a phenomenal degree of protection in perpetuity. Whether anti-conservation opponents like it or not. No Washington, D.C., bickering necessary.

What a fine law it is that allows the right thing to happen in spite of the gridlock that has paralyzed and polarized the political climate today.

It’s the right thing because desert species and ecosystems, like those found in these special acres, are among our most unique and imperiled. Particularly in the face of a changing climate. … [more at the link]

It’s right thing for our land | Albuquerque Journal News

newmexico, wildlands

Happy Birthday, Gila! | New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

Sorry I’m late. The first designated wilderness. Wow! And we still have to fight to protect the tiny bit of land left unspoiled.

Happy Birthday, Gila! | New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

Happy Birthday, Gila Wilderness!

June 3, 1924-June 3-2014

Today is the 90th birthday of the world’s first designated wilderness, the Gila Wilderness.

In 1922, Aldo Leopold, a United States Forest Service supervisor of the Carson National Forest, proposed that the headwaters area of the Gila River be preserved by an administrative process of excluding roads and denying use permits. Through his efforts, this area became recognized in 1924 as the first wilderness area in the National Forest System. Then, in 1964, the Gila became the first congressionally designated wilderness of the National Wilderness Preservation System when the Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Happy Birthday, Gila! | New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

birds, newmexico, wildlands

Ranchers and Oil Industry demand the right to destroy everything for a profit. Government agrees. Win-Win?

So, ranchers and oil companies have destroyed 80% of the habitat of the lesser prairie chicken and want the other 20%? Greedy much? And the county government serves the money, not the public and certainly not the creatures that lived their long before we did..

Suit filed to stop listing of rare grouse | Albuquerque Journal News

Federal officials say the bird has lost more than 80 percent of its traditional habitat, mostly because of human activity such as oil and gas drilling, ranching and the construction of power lines and wind turbines.

The federal government said those states had fewer than 18,000 lesser prairie chickens in 2013, down almost 50 percent from 2012.

Ranchers and oil companies believe the listing will have a negative effect on the ranching, oil and gas and wind farm industries in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. That’s where the chicken’s habitat is known.

Suit filed to stop listing of rare grouse | Albuquerque Journal News

newmexico, wildlands

A monumental day for NM | Albuquerque Journal News

Note that the largest area protected is west of Las Cruces. This includes favorite areas for ATV-abusers.

A monumental day for NM | Albuquerque Journal News

OrganMtns_DesertPeaks_Monument_Map

“I am grateful for the incredible partnership of so many residents of this region – including ranchers and tribal leaders and hunters – and many of you here today, especially Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall and former Senator Jeff Bingaman, who were instrumental in helping preserve this treasured landscape,” Obama said.

The stroke of the president’s pen set aside 496,000 acres of federal land in five south-central New Mexico mountain ranges as a national monument, bypassing Congress to ensure the rugged but scenic country is protected for future generations. The moment marked Obama’s 12th use of the Antiquities Act to establish a national monument, and he vowed it won’t be his last.

The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks monument was the second national monument Obama has designated in New Mexico. He established the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in March 2013.

“I’ve preserved more than 3 million acres of public lands for future generations – and I am not finished,” the president said Wednesday, referring to his national effort.

The southern New Mexico land, currently managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management, is home to ancient petroglyphs and lava flows, rare plants and animals and vast recreational and hunting areas.

While the mood was joyous in the Interior Department’s auditorium Wednesday, not all New Mexicans were pleased with the decision.

A monumental day for NM | Albuquerque Journal News

newmexico, wildlands, wolves

Let the wolves into El Malpais

If wolves can survive in El Malpais, let them in. Those of us who hike in that area would love the chance to see them.

Gray wolf breeding pair released in Arizona | Albuquerque Journal News

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed expanding the area where the predators are allowed to roam, but it could be months before a final decision is reached. Until then, the agency is required to capture those wolves found outside the nearly 7,000-square-mile wolf-recovery area, which straddles the Arizona-New Mexico line.

That was the case with a pair that had traveled north to El Malpais National Monument near Grants. They had been in the area since February before wildlife managers darted and captured them last Friday.

This was the farthest north a pair of Mexican gray wolves had been documented, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity.

“This is excellent habitat. It’s remote country, and filled with deer,” he said. “This would have been an opportunity for the population to expand naturally.”

Gray wolf breeding pair released in Arizona | Albuquerque Journal News

Albuquerque, wildlands

Pitch in to clean up foothills hiking trails | Albuquerque Journal News

Pitch in to clean up foothills hiking trails | Albuquerque Journal News

The City of Albuquerque’s Open Space Division will be working every Saturday in April in to remove graffiti, clean up trash and/or perform trail maintenance in the foothills. Volunteers who want to help are asked to meet in time to start work at 9 a.m.

The schedule includes:

  • April 5: Copper trailhead. East of Tramway on Copper Ave.
  • April 12: Indian School trailhead. East of Tramway on Indian School Road.
  • April 19: Menaul trailhead. East of Tramway on Menaul Blvd.
  • April 26: Piedra Lisa Open Space. East of Tramway on Candelaria Road and south on Camino de la Sierra.

Bring gloves, a picnic lunch, a water bottle, sturdy outdoor shoes and sun protection. No registration necessary, unless you are part of a group.

Groups of 10 or larger are asked to register by calling 452-5213. Children under 18 must have a parent/guardian with them.

Pitch in to clean up foothills hiking trails | Albuquerque Journal News

arizona, wildlands

Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona expanded

New lands are open for exploring | Albuquerque Journal News

The Petrified Forest National Park has announced that 14,650 acres of park expansion lands are now open.

The lands were acquired by the park from the Bureau of Land Management (4,800 acres) and by purchases from willing private sellers (9,850 acres) since the Petrified Forest Expansion Act was passed in 2004.

One of the areas newly opened is Billings Gap, which is a route between mesas that contains fossil remains of approximately 220-million-year-old clam beds. The park staff have already found interesting paleontological finds in this area, which can be accessed on foot. There are no established trails in this wide, open terrain but route information and maps are available on the park’s website (www.nps.gov/pefo) or at the park’s visitor centers.

The park is about 80 miles west of Gallup off I-40.

New lands are open for exploring | Albuquerque Journal News

wildlands

House attempts to gut Antiquities Act–and the future of national monuments and parks | Wilderness.org

The Senate will stop this. Will you give the Senate to the Republicans this fall?

House attempts to gut Antiquities Act–and the future of national monuments and parks | Wilderness.org

The House passed a bill on March 26 that would gut the Antiquities Act, a law used by presidents from both parties to protect special places for more than a century.

The latest salvo against public lands, H.R. 1459, would add bureaucratic hurdles and arbitrary limits to the process of designating national monuments, a presidential tradition upheld since the Antiquities Act was first signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and used on a bipartisan basis by 16 presidents since then. …

If it became law, the bill would…

  • Prevent presidents from declaring more than one monument in a state during each term without an express act of Congress;
  • Add bureaucratic hurdles by requiring additional government studies for most monument designations;
  • Waste taxpayer dollars–an additional $2 million over the next four years–on those studies, some of which would have to be submitted for Congressional review;
  • Make monument designations of under 5,000 acres temporary and subject to review by Congress within three years. 

Many of America’s most cherished public places, from Statue of Liberty to Giant Sequoia National Monument, were first protected under the Antiquities Act. More than 30 national parks, including Grand Canyon National Park and Pinnacles National Park were originally protected as monuments under the Antiquities Act.

House attempts to gut Antiquities Act–and the future of national monuments and parks | Wilderness.org

How did your Representative vote? The scoundrel Republican Steve Pearce voted against preserving and for exploitation. Democrats Grisham and Lujan voted for preservation.

Final Vote Results for Roll Call 147

BILL TITLE: To ensure that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of national monuments, and for other purposes

Final Vote Results for Roll Call 147