New Mexico
January 22, 2010--US House passes northern NM water settlement bills (Denver Post)
Two bills that would resolve decades-long water disputes in north-central New Mexico have passed the U.S. House. The Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act and the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act are based on years of negotiations between American Indian leaders and local, state and federal officials.
January 10, 2010--Forecasts expect runoff to be low in New Mexico rivers (Durango Herald)
Spring runoff is expected to be below average in New Mexico's two major river systems this spring, according to National Weather Service forecasts. The Rio Grande is expected to see only 91 percent of average runoff into Elephant Butte Reservoir north of Truth or Consequences, according to Ed Polasko of the NWS.
November 27, 2009--NM researcher develops trees for dry, rural areas (Denver Post)
A New Mexico State University researcher is using tree planting to help arid, impoverished regions in the Four Corners region and Africa. Mick O'Neill, the superintendent of New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, researched hybrid poplar trees to see which clones will grow best using drip irrigation in the arid region.
November 7, 2009--Collapse of cavern under N.M. city feared (Denver Post)
The bright yellow signs on U.S. 285 are the first indication that things aren't right in Carlsbad. "U.S. 285 south subject to sinkhole 1,000 feet ahead," motorists are warned.
November 1, 2009--Toxic waste trickles toward New Mexico's water sources (Los Angeles Times)
More than 60 years after scientists assembled the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, lethal waste is seeping from mountain burial sites and moving toward aquifers, springs and streams that provide water to 250,000 residents of nor
October 26, 2009--More needs to be done to conserve NM water (Denver Post)
Water users along the Middle Rio Grande have made strides in conservation, but experts say more needs to be done if New Mexico is to avoid long-term problems. The Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly gathered Saturday in Albuquerque for the group's annual meeting. They reviewed progress since the 2004 completion of the Middle Rio Grande Water Plan.
October 25, 2009--A new demand for uranium power brings concerns for Navajo groups (Washington Post)
About 50 miles from Mount Taylor, the company Hydro Resources Inc. (HRI) also plans to begin mining 101 million pounds starting around the Navajo towns of Church Rock and Crownpoint, N.M.
October 18, 2009--Proposal worries N.M. ranchers (Durango Herald)
Thousands of miles of New Mexico rivers and streams would gain special protection under the federal Clean Water Act as part of a proposal being pushed by Gov. Bill Richardson and environmentalists. But ranchers worry the plan is a backdoor effort to stop grazing on public land.
October 2, 2009--Salazar signs decision on Navajo-Gallup water supply (Environmental News Service)
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today joined New Mexico's congressional delegation to advance a vital water supply project that will provide clean, safe and reliable water to a quarter of a million people in the Navajo Nation, the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the city of Gallup, New Mexico.
September 2, 2009--Effort in NM to keep medications out of Rio Grande (New York Times)
New Mexico's largest water utility announced a plan Tuesday aimed at
educating the public and keeping pharmaceuticals out of one of the
West's most important water ways, the Rio Grande.The
announcement by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility
Authority follows a recent discovery in the Rio Grande of caffeine,
which scientists often look for as a possible signal for the presence
of
