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A message from the new Rio Grande Sierra Club chair

Photo of new Rio Grande Chapter Sierra Club chair David Coss
By David Coss, Rio Grande Sierra Club Chapter chair I am honored and excited to become the chair of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club executive committee. I have always been enchanted by our New Mexico environment and I look forward to this opportunity to work for its protection through the Sierra Club. I have had a great career in natural-resources management for state government, as an officer and organizer in the labor movement and as an elected leader ...

Attend August 27 NM Game Commission meeting to protect carnivores

Speak up for carnivores
The New Mexico Game Commission is proposing rule changes that will affect carnivore populations. You need to speak up now to protect carnivores. Members of the public testified that politics is the source of these proposals and not science. Carnivores are crucially important to the integrity of ecosystems, specifically:
  • they contribute to riparian forests and stream health
  • traps are cruel and indiscriminate and should have no part in managing cougars or any wildlife
  • the opportunity for viewing these large ...
/ Wildlife

Results of recent endorsements

Photo of John P. Kelly for the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter website
The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter endorsed multiple candidates in local 2015 elections, including candidates for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Distract, Valencia County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Doña County Soil and Water Conservation District. Here are the results of those endorsements: June 2 Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District elections:
John Kelly: WON, Janet Jarratt: LOST May 5 Valencia County Soil and Water Conservation District elections:
Andrew Hautzinger (write­-in candidate): WON May 5 Doña Ana County Soil and ...
/ Elections, Politics

New edition of ‘Day Hikes’ coming — volunteers needed!

Photo of Santa Fe day hikes
Day Hikes in the Santa Fe Area was first published in 1981. We are commencing work on the 8th edition of our best-selling hiking guide. It is a serious undertaking to produce a new edition since we are all volunteers, but a very rewarding task! Our small editorial committee could use more help in the following areas:
  • Folks to sign up to check out existing hikes in the current edition
  • Draft submissions of new hikes (but nothing that has to ...

Sealing the deal on Big Bend

Photo of Big Bend
Big Bend International Park is one of the best-kept secrets in North America. Since 1932, the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, Mexican President Manual Avila Camacho, members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Rotary International and the National Parks Conservation Association have been unable to seal the deal in creating the largest symbol of international peace ever planned in the Western Hemisphere. Lands on both sides of the border have been protected ...
/ El Paso Group, Land

PNM feeling deadline pressure on San Juan plant

PNM feeling deadline pressure on San Juan plant
By Nellis Kennedy-Howard, Senior Beyond Coal Campaign Representative PNM continues to scramble in a last-minute attempt to finalize agreements that would allow for the continued burning of coal at the San Juan Generating Station. The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) voted 4-1 to allow PNM additional time to file signed ownership agreements and coal-supply agreements with the commission, extending PNM’s deadline to Aug. 1. Commissioner Valerie Espinoza dissented, saying it’s time to reject PNM’s plan. In May, PNM filed draft, non-binding ...
/ Climate Change, Latest News

Strenuous hike to Pecos Baldy Lake

Hike to Pecos Baldy
Strenuous hike to Pecos Baldy Lake, with optional summit of East Pecos Baldy.
Early start from Eldorado, long day, 16 miles, plus another mile to summit, 2600 or 3800-foot gain.  Limit 8, 2 dogs.
Contact Dag Ryen at 466-4063 by July 21. Date: Sunday July 26th, 2015
Time: 3AM
Presented by: Rio Grande Chapter
Leader: Mr. Dag Ryan
Level: Strenuous See our Event Page for our full calendar of upcoming events. Featured photo by JustTooLazy ...

‘Save the Bag’ comes to Los Alamos

Photo of a plastic bag as trash for the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter website
If you have read comments in the Los Alamos Monitor, Los Alamos Daily Post, or savethebaglosalamos.blogspot.com, you have seen that well-meaning people are either uninformed, misinformed, or have been activated by the American Chemical Association (ACA) to fight a ban on the single-use disposable plastic shopping bag. An interesting assertion from the save-the-baggers is that bags aren’t a problem locally or globally, and there are no bags blowing around Los Alamos. In order to help inform the savethebaggers, we have ...

Thank you, Margot Wilson!

Photo of Margot Wilson
We wish Margot Wilson a relaxing and rewarding retirement! From forest-restoration projects to travel management plans to injudicious mining proposals to State Game Commission meetings, Margot Wilson has advocated for the outdoors, our wildlife, our water and our natural landscapes from low elevations to high for decades. And even when doing all that, she also led outings to so many special places across New Mexico. I first met Margot in the mid ’90s when she started a Sierra Club section ...

Sunshine on the Gila River process

Gila River, photo by Alan Stark
Allyson Siwik, Chapter Executive Committee Gila Resources Information Project As the dust settles on the 2015 legislative session, I’m heartened by many of our state senators who voted to hold the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) accountable for its misguided and wasteful plan to divert the Gila River. The ISC is spending millions of dollars planning a massive diversion project that is unlikely to ever be built and may yield little water — at a likely cost of more than a billion ...