|
In This Issue
Executive Director, Brian Shields
~ ~ ~
Upcoming Events
July 15
Amigos Bravos
"Water Matters"
Lecture
The Challenge in New Mexico's Water Future: Agriculture, Food Security, and Climate Change
Speaker:
Miguel Santistevan
5:30pm, Tuesday
Santa Fe Community Foundation
~ ~ ~
 | |
side canyon of the
Rio Chama
|
~ ~ ~
Are you a member
of Amigos Bravos?
 |
The fabulous Little Globe
Rivers Run Thru Us Team !
|
~ ~ ~
 | |
Fawn Romero speaking about why she supports Amigos Bravos
|
~ ~ ~
The Southwest Rural Policy Network
is comprised
of fourteen organizations from Arizona,
New Mexico and Colorado, each working on
a variety of social issues that affect the people
and communities of the rural Southwest.
Amigos Bravos has been a member
of the Network for 5 years.
To learn more, please visit;
southwestruralpolicynetwork.org
We value your feedback
regarding all aspects of our work!
Would you like to support
the preservation of the cultural
and
ecological richness
of New Mexico's waters?
~ ~ ~
 | |
Canoeing on the Rio Chama
|
Join our efforts today
by becoming a member
or making a contribution
toAmigos Bravos
~ ~ ~
 | |
Kayaking on Rio Grande, photo by Paul Bauer
|
~ ~ ~
 | |
Rio Grande through Orilla Verde, in June
|
Please consider taking a moment to
and help grow the community
that truly cares about water!
|
|
DEAR FRIENDS OF NM'S WATERS ~
To everyone who contributed to the Raffle for the Rio! by purchasing tickets, we thank you!
The Annual Amigos Bravos Raffle for the Rio!
is our only community fundraiser and we depend on it to raise funds to support water emergencies as they arise. The lucky winners of the 2014 Raffle for the Rio! are Bill and Kit Owen. Congratulations to Bill and Kit !
 | |
Raffle for the Rio Party, Hosted by Stacy Quinn and Wes Patterson
|
MANY THANKS TO WES PATTERSON AND STACY QUINN FOR HOSTING THE 2014 RAFFLE FOR THE RIO PARTY !
Wes Patterson (rgt) speaking at the 2014 Raffle  for the Rio! party,
hosted by Patterson and Stacy Quinn (left).
~ ~ ~
For over two years, Amigos Bravos has hosted the
"Water Matters" Lecture Series in Santa Fe.
The final lecture in the series will take place on Tuesday, July 15th, at the Santa Fe Community Foundation and will feature Miguel Santistevan speaking about
"The Challenge of New Mexico's Water Future: Agriculture, Food Security, and Climate Change." The Lecture Series has featured an exciting roster of speakers from around the region, with a special focus on New Mexico. We offer our thanks to everyone who has attended the lectures and joined in the discussion about water in our state. We hope to see you on Tuesday, the 15th, at 5:30pm!
This month's E-Currents also includes news of the closure of the nearly century-old Molycorp/Chevron mine in Questa, NM. Scroll down for more information.
Happy Summer !
~ ~ ~
 | |
Rio San Francisco
|
AMIGOS BRAVOS FINAL
"WATER MATTERS" LECTURE:
MIGUEL SANTISTEVAN
THE CHALLENGE OF NEW MEXICO'S WATER FUTURE: AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change poses a serious challenge to water availability in New Mexico. The importance of water in sanitation, energy, and food production will become increasingly apparent as supplies become unpredictable and scarce. To make matters worse, dwindling water supplies that do exist are, at this point, often contaminated with non-point sources of pollution, while policies around adjudication of water are in process, but are not likely to be forward-thinking enough to address the magnitude of the problems. Fortunately, New Mexicans have a long-standing relationship with drought and have developed methods of resiliency via the agricultural systems and techniques of native cultures and the acequias (communally-managed, gravity-fed irrigation systems). Modern innovations in water acquisition, remediation, and youth involvement, also offer promise. Santistevan will discuss these scenarios and offer time-honored as well as innovative possibilities for a sustainable future.
 | |
Miguel Santistevan
|
A passionate speaker, as well as a PhD candidate in Biology, Miguel Santistevan is recognized by many as representing the "future of acequias" in northern New Mexico. His research interests
are in the traditional acequia-irrigated and dry land agricultural systems of the Upper Rio Grande and Sangre de Cristo mountains and he serves as Executive Director for a youth-in-agriculture, research, and seed library program through Agriculture Implementation, Research, and Education, a non-profit organization he co-founded (www.growfarmers.org). Santistevan is Chairman of the Acequia Sur de Río de Don Fernando de Taos for the 2014 and 2015 growing
seasons and he maintains a conservation farm (Sol Feliz) with his wife and daughter, where the public is invited to participate in educational presentations, tours, and hands-on workshops (www.solfelizfarm.org).
The Santa Fe Community Foundation is located between Old Santa Fe Trail and Acequia Madre, at the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Halona. For more information, call 575-758-3874.
 | |
Molycorp/Chevron Molybdenum Mine
|
MOLYCORP/CHEVRON MINE CLOSES PERMANENTLY
The nearly century-old molybdenum mine in Questa, New Mexico, announced closure on June 2, 2014. The decision was an economic one, according to David Partridge, president and CEO of the mine. In a Taos News "Your Turn" column, Brian Shields, Executive Director of Amigos Bravos: Because Water Matters, stated, "Amigos Bravos has been preparing for this day since the early 1990s when we gathered a team of experts to ensure that Molycorp (now Chevron) would put together the reclamation, remediation, and cleanup plans necessary to protect public health and the environment once the mine closed. That work culminated in state permits that establish criteria for closure of the mine facilities. The criteria mandate that Chevron Mining reclaim the mine site so that it is once again a self-sustaining ecosystem for wildlife and forestry. The criteria also require creation of a ground water remediation plan that will provide water treatment in perpetuity. Now our work continues as more detailed plans are being considered under the Superfund-mandated reclamation of 360 million tons of acid-generating waste rock sitting next to or near the Red River."
 | |
Brian Shields, Amigos Bravos Executive Director
|
Shields also stated, "News of the Chevron Questa Mine closing is devastating for the miners and their families. Sixty days of severance pay in the current Taos County economy is not enough time to transition into new work opportunities. There will be hard times ahead for many of the miners, but new post-mining opportunities based on a reclamation economy will become available over time. . . Chevron can help Questa prepare for a post-mining economy by training and certifying workers in reclamation skills and helping to establish a community plant nursery and composting operation to provide plants and soil-enhancing materials that will be used for re-vegetating the tailing sites and mine facilities. Moving into a post-mining economy will ultimately be revitalizing for the Red River and the health of the people and animals using those waters. Although a certain amount of continued pollution is unavoidable (we just don't have the technology to stop it), closure and reclamation will reduce future water contamination and will allow the river to regenerate faster - this in turn will form the basis for a post-mining economy based on a healthy environment. For all of this to happen, Chevron must be fully committed to both a world class reclamation effort and to the long-term well-being of Questa." ~ ~ ~
AMIGOS BRAVOS IS CELEBRATING
26 YEARS OF PROTECTING & RESTORING NEW MEXICO'S WATERS
Please celebrate with us and help to make sure Amigos Bravos remains strong for the
DONATE NOW!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT OF AMIGOS BRAVOS AND NEW MEXICO'S RIVERS & WATERWAYS!!! |
|
|
|
|
