DEAR FRIENDS OF NM'S WATERS ~
CONGRATULATIONS ! WE MET THE MATCH !! Thank you !!! The Board of Directors, Staff, and the Developing-into-Something-Good Committee at Amigos Bravos wish to thank everyone who donated to the Amigos Bravos 25th Anniversary Challenge Gift Match. Thanks to you, we met our Challenge Match of raising $25,000 toward the protection and restoration of New Mexico's waters. We are also very happy to announce that on October 10, the Supreme Court ruled that all waters in New Mexico Forest Service Wilderness Areas are protected under the Outstanding National Resource Waters designation, which Amigos Bravos and WELC worked hard to put in place, and which provides the highest level of protection possible under the Clean Water Act.
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In this month's E-Currents, we are delighted for the opportunity to honor volunteer, Gaia Mika, and we are excited to announce the October "Water Matters" Lecture, featuring Dr. Craig Allen of the USGS speaking on the very timely topic of Fires, Floods, & Climate Change in Relation to New Mexico's Forests.
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See also the sidebar announcement regarding the
19th Annual Dia de Rio: A Celebration of the Rio Grande. Dia del Rio includes activities for all ages, from trail work to trash pickup. At the end of the event there will be a drawing, with prizes from REI and other sponsors. The first 80 people to pre-register receive a free t-shirt. You may wish to consider organizing your own clean up the day of the event. Open space will provide trash bags and haul off the collected trash.
See side bar and Scroll down for more information!
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Regarding your voice and climate change, a non-violent civil disobedience protest is planned to take place in Santa Fe and nation-wide within two weeks of expected approval of the proposed Keystone Pipeline by Secretary of State John Kerry. The 1700 mile pipeline is designed to carry tar sands oil, "the dirtiest on the planet," from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, for export to China. The Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies irrigation and drinking water to 8 states, lies in its path. In preparation for the protest, a training in civil disobedience is planned for Sunday, November 3, 9:30am-4pm, with a break for lunch. Training in non-violence will be provided for those willing to be arrested and those who want to support the action. Organizers ask that participants please plan to attend the entire day's training. For more information and to participate in the training, contact Pat D'Andrea at:
riverwoman@earthlink.net.
AMIGOS BRAVOS RECOGNIZES AND OFFERS SINCERE THANKS TO VOLUNTEER, GAIA MIKA
Since moving to New Mexico four years ago, Gaia has been involved in a number of grassroots projects, with special devotion to Amigos Bravos.
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Gaia Mika
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She has done research and field work for the Amigos Bravos Rio Pueblo de Taos Restoration Plan; served as a co-facilitator at the Amigos Bravos Five Year Strategic Planning Retreat (with a focus on our "Developing a Water Ethic and Stewardship for the Future" program);
and, for the past year and a quarter, served as the primary volunteer for the "Water Matters" Lecture series in Santa Fe. She is also ardently engaged in the processes of writing poetry and has been a devoted participant in Write for the Rio!,
an Amigos Bravos poetry writing and performance reading series.
AMIGOS BRAVOS AUGUST "WATER MATTERS" LECTURE FEATURES CRAIG ALLEN ON FIRES, FLOODS, & CLIMATE CHANGE IN RELATION TO NEW MEXICO'S FORESTS
On the evening of Tuesday, October 15, at 5:30pm, at the Santa Fe Community Foundation, the Amigos Bravos "Water Matters" lecture will feature Dr. Craig Allen speaking on the timely subject of Fires, Floods, and Climate Change in Relation to New Mexico's Forests. The lectures are free to our members and the public and feature some of the most knowledgeable and dynamic speakers in the region, including writers, scientists, poets, environmental activists, and scholars.
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Craig Allen in the Gila Wilderness
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Extensive high severity wildfires and drought-induced tree mortality have intensified over the last 2 decades in southwestern US forests and woodlands, on a scale unseen regionally since at least pre-1900. If regional temperatures increase as projected by climate models, the mean levels of "forest drought-stress" will, by the 2050s, exceed that of the most severe droughts in the past 1,000 years. Recent large increases in severe wildlife activity and overall tree mortality in response to early 21 century warmth and drought conditions, along with documented changes in elevational distributions of many plant species, illustrate that Southwestern forest landscapes already are transitioning toward more open and drought-tolerant ecosystems. New research on the responses of trees to climate variability is providing important insights into the powerful roles of drought and heat stress in driving forest productivity and health, the physiological thresholds of tree mortality, and changes in forest disturbances, particularly widespread forest die-off from drought, insects, high-severity fires, post-fire floods and erosion, and increases in
conversion from forests to non-forest vegetation types (shrublands and grasslands). Similar climate-related forest disturbances are observed recently from elsewhere in western North America, as well as in many forests globally. Recent and projected forest changes in Southwest mountain watersheds have major implications for water in New Mexico, as apparent from recent warm drought affects on waters supplies and post-fire floods, erosion, and water quality. Adaptation strategies to enhance forest ecosystem and watershed resilience in the context of ongoing and projected climate trends also will be discussed.
Dr .Craig Allen is a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and is Station Leader
of the Jemez Mountains Field Station based at Bandelier National Monument. He has worked as a place-based ecologist with the U.S. Department of Interior in the Jemez Mts. since 1986. In 2010, Craig was elected "Fellow" of the American Association for the Advancement of Science "for outstanding leadership in the synthesis of global forest responses to climate change, built from worldwide collaboration and a deep understanding of the environmental history of the southwestern United States."
The Santa Fe Community Foundation is located between Old Santa Fe Trail and Acequia Madre, at the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Hanola. For more information, call 575-758-3874.
TO DONATE NOW! :
AMIGOS BRAVOS IS CELEBRATING
25 YEARS OF PROTECTING & RESTORING NEW MEXICO'S WATERS
Please celebrate with us and help to make sure Amigos Bravos remains strong for the
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT OF AMIGOS BRAVOS AND NEW MEXICO'S RIVERS & WATERWAYS!!!
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