Democracy for New Mexico

Reminder: Dia de Los Lobos Rally Friday at KiMo

From the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance:

Dia de Los Lobos - In 2 Days!
A Public Rally for Our Mexican Gray Wolves
Friday, March 14, 7 - 9 PM
KiMo Theater in Downtown Albuquerque
FREE ADMISSION

With just 23 wild Mexican Gray Wolves left in New Mexico today, now is the time to make our voices heard loud and clear. Please plan to attend and participate in an historic evening that will send a powerful message to Washington, D.C. that our wild Mexican Gray Wolves need to be protected!

Our lobos need you to speak out for them. Dia de Los Lobos is your opportunity to make your voice heard to our elected officials. Please attend this important event and send this email alert on to your friends.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:
Congressman Tom Udall (D-NM) - Invited
Rick Bass - Author (The Ninemile Wolves, The Lost Grizzlies)
David Parsons - Former Head of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Wolf Reintroduction Program
Oscar Simpson - New Mexico Wildlife Federation
Cynthia Lee Wolf - Outfitter
Arturo Sandoval - Conservation & Political Activist
Dave Foreman - The Rewilding Institute

Answer the howl to action and be the difference in saving our lobos in New Mexico. For more information, please contact Nathan Newcomer: nathan@nmwild.org / 505-843-8696

Voices For Wolves: Leave a Voicemail for Our Lobos
Take a few minutes to call in and voice your concerns for protecting our wild Mexican Gray Wolves! Our objective is to get as many voices as possible speaking out on protecting our lobos. Call 505-333-0420 and leave a voicemail for our lobos! Tell our elected officials that they must do everything in their power to save these animals from a possible second extirpation.

Under the Bush administration the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program has become the Mexican Wolf Eradication Program. The US Fish and Wildlife Service removed 15 wolves last year without regard to their mandate to recover this critically endangered wolf under the Endangered Species Act.  Today, just 23 wolves roam freely in New Mexico.

Please be concise and short in your comments. Our objective is to create a CD of voices and present them to our congressional delegation, letting them hear, directly from you, the importance of protecting the Mexican Gray Wolf. Your message may also be used in DVD presentations that we create.

Please call (505) 333-0420 and leave a message today for our lobos!

See our previous post on this event.

UNM Wilderness Alliance to Lead 2nd Annual Spring Break Wolf Tracking Expedition

On March 15th – 20th, 2008, UNM Wilderness Alliance will be leading the 2nd Annual Spring Break Wolf Tracking Expedition. The event—which will include 16 UNM students, 7 activists, and a documentary filmmaker—will be located in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in the Gila National Forest.

“2008 is an important year in the federal Mexican wolf reintroduction program for a couple of reasons,” said Phil Carter, President of UNM Wilderness Alliance. “March 29th is the 10th anniversary of the first wolf releases but 2008 also represents the third year of wolf population decline since 2004. The purpose of this year’s wolf tracking expedition is to call attention to both of these facts, as well as demonstrate the UNM community’s admiration for and support of its mascot.”

Every student participating is required to help document the expedition using some sort of media, with the purpose of compiling the media after the event into a master narrative. With this media, the event participants intend to relate the current conditions of the wolf recovery area and, luck willing, to document some wild wolves.

Regarding the event, Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, said: “It’s great to see young people enjoying the Southwest’s wildest landscape and tracking North America’s most imperiled mammal. The Bush Administration acts as if these public lands belong exclusively to the livestock industry, but a new generation of nature lovers at the University of New Mexico will explore their Gila National Forest and hopefully see or hear the Mexican gray wolves who call the Gila home.”

In January 2008, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service released its annual population totals for wild Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona. The agency documented 52 wolves in the Southwestern U.S. and only 23 wolves currently residing in New Mexico.

UNM Wilderness Alliance (www.unm.edu/~unmwild) is UNM’s only conservation student group. The organization has long been engaged in wolf advocacy, including organizing Wolf Awareness Day on the UNM campus on Oct 17th, 2007, issuing the UNM Wolf Recovery Resolution in September 2007 (available on the group’s website), and creating a special “Save the Lobo” t-shirt for sale at the UNM Bookstore.

The March 2007 expedition included 15 participants and focused on tracking the Saddle Pack. At the time of the event, an U.S. Wildlife & Service SOP13 removal order was being enforced on the alpha male of the pack and federal aerial reconnaissance airplanes were viewed by the expedition. The male wolf was exterminated a few days after the event on March 17, and the alpha female of the pack was removed from the wild later in the year. The Saddle Pack no longer exists in the wild.

“It is UNM Wilderness Alliance’s belief that all of the university has an obligation to defend and support its mascot, the lobo,” said Carter. “This year’s wolf tracking expedition is an exciting opportunity to showcase this support to New Mexico and the Southwest at large.”

Santa Fe County Suspends New Oil and Gas Drilling

Yesterday the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners passed an emergency interim development ordinance that temporarily suspends the processing and granting of applications for permits to drill for oil and natural gas within the Galisteo Basin until February 28, 2009. The ordinance also empowers the Board to extend the prohibition for an additional 6 months, if necessary.

The County Commission voted unanimously to approve the ordinance and received a standing ovation from the crowd of more than 100. The suspension is designed to give County staff more time to study environmental, geographical and archeological issues in the basin before completing the final draft of new oil and gas regulations. The County had begun drafting new oil and gas regulations last fall after Tecton Energy announced plans to drill for oil in the Galisteo Basin.

In January, Gov. Bill Richardson issued a similar six-month moratorium on drilling in the Galisteo Basin to allow for a study on the area's extensive archaeological treasures. The City of Santa Fe will soon begin a review of the ownership of subsurface mineral rights for city-owned property in the area.

To join the battle against drilling in the Galisteo Basin area, visit the Drilling Santa Fe website and sign on to endorse the principles of the Coalition for Energy Accountability. For months, citizens and advocacy groups have been actively fighting Tecton's announced plans to drill in Santa Fe County and urging governmental action to ban or delay drilling and conduct technical studies that may form the basis for strengthened drilling regulations.

NM-Sen: Defenders of Wildlife Endorses Udall, Will Target NM in 2008 Elections

The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund in Washington, DC announced this week that one of its main areas of focus during the 2008 elections will be the state of New Mexico. The group will focus primarily on electing Rep. Tom Udall, whom it is endorsing in his race for the U.S. Senate. In addition, it is likely to be very active in one or more of the three open seat House races in New Mexico. Ed Yoon, the group's field campaign manager during its successful 2006 campaign against former Rep. Richard Pombo (CA-11), has been designated as state campaign manager and has established an office in Albuquerque.   

"New Mexico presents a rare opportunity for Americans who care about conservation to increase their ranks in the Senate and House," said Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen. "Rep. Tom Udall has a stellar conservation record and we know he'd be a true champion for New Mexico in the Senate.  Conversely, Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson both have atrocious conservation records. They both sit on House committees that are vital to our nation's conservation efforts, yet both have voted repeatedly to provide tax breaks to polluting industries and undermine key laws that protect our air, land and water. Their horrible record in these key committees has earned them a place on our target list for 2008."

There of a Kind: Pombo, Pearce, Wilson
Rep. Pearce sits on the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees much of the nation's wildlife and land conservation efforts. Rep. Wilson is on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which takes the lead on issues related to pollution, clean energy and global warming. The Defenders Action Fund focuses special attention on these vital committees, believing that membership on these committees should come with a commitment to protect our nation's air, land and water. In 2006, the Action Fund targeted the then-chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Richard Pombo, because of his record of accepting campaign contributions from polluting industries and then using his elected position to undermine and weaken conservation laws. Although heavily predicted to win, Pombo was handily defeated, the only sitting chairman to lose in that election cycle.

"Reps. Pearce and Wilson have followed the same path the voters have seen so many times, taking big campaign contributions from polluting industries and then promoting their special interest agenda in Congress. Both Pearce and Wilson have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from big oil, gas, mining and other polluting industries, and then repeatedly voted against clean energy and efforts to combat global warming, and against commonsense measures to protect New Mexicans' quality of life," said Schlickeisen. 

"For too long, Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson have refused to protect New Mexico's conservation heritage and to address our nation's energy needs in a way that protects our air, land and water for future generations," said Ed Yoon, Action Fund campaign manager for New Mexico. "We're going to build a strong and effective grassroots campaign and work with our allies to change that."

The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

To sign up to support Rep. Tom Udall's run for U.S. Senate, visit the campaign website.

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive.

Dia de Lobos Rally: 3/14/08 at the KiMo

From the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance:
Just twenty-three wild Mexican Gray Wolves are left in New Mexico today. Ignoring science and bowing to pressure from special interests, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has abandoned its legal obligation to protect, conserve, and recover the Mexican Gray Wolf - the most endangered mammal in North America.  Rather, conflicts (whether real or induced) are routinely resolved by killing or permanently removing wolves, risking the second extinction of this rare, ecologically important carnivore.

Despite the challenges that our lobos, our amigos face, there is something that every New Mexican can do to reverse this course and ensure that the Mexican Gray Wolf lives on forever.

On Friday, March 14th from 7-9 PM at the KiMo Theater in downtown Albuquerque, a coalition of hunters, conservationists and elected officials will host Dia de Los Lobos, a public rally for ensuring the preservation of our Mexican Gray Wolves. This event is free and open to the public. Come join the howl to action and be the difference in saving our lobos in New Mexico. For more information, please call: 505-843-8696.

ACTION ALERT: Urge Gov. Richardson to Veto Damaging Uranium Cleanup Bill

Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), alongside the Southwest Research Information Center (SRIC) and many other environmental justice organizations, fought hard against uranium mining industry-friendly legislation throughout the 2008 New Mexico State Legislative Session, only to see SB487 (Ulibarri) become the final bill to be voted upon during the closing minutes of the session.

If signed in to law, SB487 would create an industry-biased source for cleanup of abandoned uranium mines because it ties cleanup of mining sites to production from new uranium mining and mills -- which many residents of impacted communities oppose. The bill would also absolve companies that created abandoned uranium mines from responsibility, and pre-empt efforts to inventory abandoned uranium mines and their past operators, and develop recommendations for a state Superfund for abandoned uranium mines.

The organizations are now encouraging New Mexicans to contact Governor Bill Richardson (505-476-2200) to veto the legislation in lieu of a critical analysis to understand clean-up needs and the industry's impact on New Mexican communities' health. For more information, please contact Leona Morgan, of ENDAUM at leona.morgan@yahoo.com.

According to a call to action issued by SAGE Council:

SB 487/a is disguised as a uranium cleanup bill, but only invites uranium companies to reopen their mines and add to the already devastating affects to both the environment and the health of the people. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ulibarri, passed the Senate floor just minutes before the session ended. Please call the Governor and ask him to VETO THIS BAD URANIUM BILL!

Groups Sue Los Alamos National Lab for Clean Water Act Violations

From Amigos Bravos:
On February 7th, 2008, Amigos Bravos, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Don Gabino Andrade Community Acequia Association, Embudo Valley Environmental Monitoring Group, New Mexico Acequia Association, Partnership for Earth Spirituality, Río Grande Restoration, SouthWest Organizing Project, Gilbert Sanchez, Kathy Sanchez, and Tewa Women United filed a lawsuit against Los Alamos National Laboratory for violations of the Clean Water Act. To download the full complaint click here.

On May 23, 2006, Amigos Bravos and its partners filed a 60-Day Notice of Intent to Sue the management of Los Alamos National Laboratory for violations of the Clean Water Act.

LANL has a 63 year legacy of toxic and radionuclide discharges and dumping in the canyons below the lab, as well as over 2,000 solid waste dumps on site. Radioactive liquid wastes were unknown on the Pajarito Plateau before Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) began operations in 1943. LANL’s initial management decision was to discharge these untreated wastes into Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons, despite warnings that such discharges would accumulate and lead to highly contaminated conditions in the canyons and, conceivably, in the Río Grande.

Sixty-three years later, LANL is still discharging liquid wastes into canyons below the lab – on December 23rd, 2005, LANL reported that chromium was detected in the regional aquifer supplying Los Alamos County with drinking water and that discharges into Mortandad Canyon were a possible source.

Based on four sampling trips along the Río Grande and in canyons below LANL, third-party analyses of the hydrology of the Pajarito Plateau and LANL’s well-drilling program, NMED sampling and analyses, and recent LANL revelations, LANL Water Watch is focusing on five core issues regarding LANL impacts on water:

• Chromium (the same toxic pollutant as shown in the Erin Brockovitch movie) detected in the Los Alamos regional aquifer;
• PCBs detected in extraordinarily high concentrations in soil samples from LANL and also found in fish in the Río Chama and Río Grande watersheds resulting in the first ever fish advisory for the Río Grande;
• Perchlorate (a toxic pollutant used in explosives) detected in one drinking well by Los Alamos County leading to its closure;
• Area G , where LANL has always and continues to bury low-level radioactive waste in unlined pits, shafts and trenches and which LANL is proposing to expand;
• Environmental Cleanup Budget Cuts proposed for FY07 that would reduce cleanup funding at LANL by 36%, jeopardizing LANL’s Cleanup Consent Order with the New Mexico Environment Department.

Click Here to Download the LANL Discharge Report (4.8 MB pdf)

Don Wiviott Guest Blog: Good Jobs, A Healthier Planet & Freedom from Foreign Oil

This is a guest blog by Don Wiviott, Democratic candidate for Congress in New Mexico's Third District:

It’s time for action.

Gas costs over $3 a gallon and it’s climbing. Home heating prices are up 11% this year and prices continue to climb. The Middle East provides 17% of America’s oil and that percentage is growing. Global warming continues unabated. And, our shaky economy means too many New Mexicans are worried about their jobs.

It’s time to harness our potential both as a country and in northern New Mexico.

When it comes to wind, solar and geo-thermal power, rural New Mexico is to renewable energy what Saudi Arabia is to oil. We have the best scientists at Los Alamos to harness and develop the latest energy technologies. We can create jobs now by encouraging spin-off companies from the Lab and producing local energy through wind, solar, and locally grown crops. And we have hard working people who are looking for stable, good paying jobs with good benefits.

It’s time to be bold.

It’s time to slash welfare for big oil corporations and invest that money in the clean technologies of the future. By reducing big oil’s windfall subsidies, we’ll free up funds that can be used for tax credits and subsidized loans that will allow more New Mexicans to buy clean, environmentally sustainable technology. And some of those funds will also be invested in sustainable energy research, innovative new energy companies and clean energy production right here in New Mexico.

It’s time to lead.

When I talk about using clean energy to create jobs and opportunity, I’m not talking about an abstract, impossible challenge. I’m talking about successful, locally owned business.

I studied the causes and cures for global warming in college. I launched a successful business in Santa Fe that has energy efficiency at its core. And, last year I joined Governor Richardson to push legislation that promotes solar power.

As a businessman, I know that building a prosperous, clean energy economy is possible. I’ve created hundreds of jobs building environmentally sustainable communities. And with your help, I want to bring my fresh perspective and new ideas to Washington – a place that needs bold leadership, not more career politicians.

But I’m not waiting until I get to Washington to lead. As I did earlier this year when I filed a lawsuit to ensure that New Mexicans could have a choice on their primary ballot, right now I’m promoting sustainable energy development by touring the 3rd Congressional District in a van powered by cooking oil from Santa Fe’s Flying Tortilla. At a time when gas is three dollars a gallon, we’ve got a Dodge diesel that can run for virtually free on locally produced energy.

Our green van is cheap to operate and great for the environment. It's proof that even a large New Mexico car or truck can be clean, green and fun to drive. That’s why we’re out spreading the message that with a bold, new investment in the clean technologies of the future, we can both create good paying jobs in New Mexico and make clean, environmentally sustainable technologies available for hard working New Mexico families.

I’ll see you on the campaign trail!

This is a guest blog by NM-03 Democratic Congressional candidate, Don Wiviott. Click to visit his .

If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the page.

NM Senate Finance Retaliates Against Air, Land, Water Protections

This is alarmingly childish and damaging: As reported in today's Albuquerque Journal: "The budget (HB 2) by the Senate Finance Committee ... would cut money and legal staff for two state agencies that have drawn criticism from some legislators for proposed tougher regulations on the oil and gas industry and vehicle emission standards."

Governor Richardson's blog also weighs in on the cuts: "The Senate Finance Committee tucked cuts into its version of the state budget that would essentially punish state agencies that have the audacity to hold oil and gas companies accountable for protecting New Mexico’s environment. The budget cuts look like an effort to retaliate against tough but fair rules and regulations implemented by the Richardson Administration to protect the environment."

Conservation Voters of New Mexico released the following statement today on the clearly retaliatory actions by Senate Finance, which is chaired by Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat:

SANTA FE – Conservation Voters New Mexico and many of its ally environmental organizations are calling for the reinstatement of $500,000 in cuts against important positions in the Environment Department and the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) by the State Senate Finance Committee. The cuts remove four staff attorneys from the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and two staff attorneys from the Environment Department. Those staff positions serve as important resources to agencies such as the Environmental Improvement Board and the Oil Conservation Division, who under the authority of state statue, have been working to strengthen protections against environmental and health threats such as vehicle emission air pollution and ground water contamination throughout New Mexico.

“These agencies have worked diligently to protect the health and well being of New Mexicans -- and as a result they’re being punished by a handful of legislators,” said Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of Conservation Voters New Mexico. “I imagine these legislators have kids and grandkids who depend on clean air and clean water. It’s truly baffling what would motivate them to put the interest of polluters ahead of our childrens’ health and the well-being of the environment that they will inherit.”

With this action, the resources for these six staff attorneys will be diverted to positions within the Attorney General’s Office. “This re-shuffling appears to be in direct retaliation for the environmental and energy agencies doing their job,” adds Buffett. 

Conservation Voters New Mexico is organizing constituents in each of the related legislator’s districts to call upon them to reverse this action and return funding for the six FTEs into House Bill 2. A conference committee of the House and Senate Leadership is expected to take the matter up later this week.

For more information, please contact Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of Conservation Voters New Mexico, at 270-5743.

Tonight: Conservation Voters Legislative Reception

Please join Conservation Voters New Mexico and our special invited guests, Members of the NM State Legislature, for our second annual
Legislative Rollout Reception
Monday, January 21st  5:30 - 7:30 PM
We will be presenting our "Green Gavel" award to confirmed attendee Lt. Governor Diane Denish
Gerald Peters Gallery
1011 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe
$100 suggested donation at the door
($50 by online donation in advance) 
By Invitation Only. RSVPs REQUIRED in advance for entrance to the Gallery. RSVP at 992-8683 or RSVP@cvnm.org

This reception was a huge hit last year with a sellout crowd! Come learn about the environmental community's legislative agenda. Don't miss the best environmental party of the legislative session-- RSVP now! 

Conservation Voters New Mexico works to make the protection of our air, land, water, wildlife, and communities a top priority for elected officials, political candidates, and voters across the state.