Ephemera

Sandia wants to change how a stretch of Tijeras Arroyo is classified

No AI, no edits. Just a duck and a rainbow.

On Tuesday night, I was at the Rio Grande in Albuquerque. The river’s flowing, but low. And I sat in the riverbed alongside the water, surrounded by curls and cracks of dried mud and the prints of herons, ducks, and other birds, as well as tracks of gray foxes, coyotes, raccoons, small rodents, and beavers.

I haven’t seen any sandhill cranes yet, though I heard some a few days ago. But there are a whole lot of ducks back in the valley. (And me? I love watching ducks. In part because I never get lulled into thinking flying is effortless.)

As it started to rain, drops speckled the dried mud, and I ducked beneath a cavern of intertwined Russian olive and New Mexico olive. (Not great cover, mind you, but good enough to keep the camera dry beneath my shirt.)

And then, this happened:

Speaking of the ephemeral, on Dec. 9, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission will hold a public hearing to add Tijeras Arroyo, from the Four Hills Bridge to the Rio Grande, to the list of ephemeral waters. This request is coming from National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., the operators of Sandia Laboratories.

Currently, that stretch of Tijeras Arroyo is classified as intermittent. Sandia wants the classification changed to ephemeral, which would change how that stretch of the arroyo — which passes the lab and Kirtland Air Force Base and then empties into the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, near the Pueblo of Isleta — can be protected from pollution.

You can read more on the state’s website: https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/tijeras-arroyo-uaa/

In the news:

• Bandelier sees trespassing as fears over vandalism on public lands rise amid shutdown (Cormac Dodd, Santa Fe New Mexican)

• Shutdown causes ‘confusion’ across the Forest Service (Kylie Mohr, High Country News)

• Shutdown closes Cliff Dwellings, forest permits (Juno Ogle, Silver City Daily Press)Climate groups unfurl anti-Exxon banners at Roundhouse (Danielle Prokop, Source NM)

• A Top Trump Interior Official Once Pushed To Privatize Wildlife (Roque Planas and Chris D’Angelo, Public Domain)

• Breaking: Arrest Made In Connection To The Palisades Fire In California. DOJ Gives Major Update. (The Hotshot Wakeup)

• Political Whiplash Is Terrible for Wolves’ Future. But More Is Coming. (Jake Bolster and Kiley Price, Inside Climate News)

• Groups seek sanctions against private equity firm in proposed New Mexico Gas merger (Nicholas Gilmore, Santa Fe New Mexican)

• Anti-Exxon protestors removed from Balloon Fiesta after daring visitors to drink fake ‘produced water’ (New Mexico Political Report)

• DHS orders expedited construction on New Mexico border wall (Danielle Prokop, Source NM)

• New Mexico legislative leaders preview plan to boost land grant and acequia funding (Clara Bates, Santa Fe New Mexican)

• Barbed wire fences dot the West. There’s a growing movement to take them down — for wildlife (Rachel Cohen, KUNC)

• Why Leaving the Leaves Is Better for Your Yard (Margaret Roach, The New York Times)

• New report calls for policy changes with Colorado River ‘on the cusp of failure’ (Alex Hager, KUNC)

• Colorado River users are at a crossroads as two looming decisions hang over the West’s future (Ali Longwell, The Aspen Times)

• Trump administration makes shifts in Colorado River leadership (Alan Haley, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

• Just a reminder that Colorado River news is New Mexico news. According to the Upper Colorado River Commission: “This year, in New Mexico, the San Juan Chama project received 31% of their normal Colorado River water supply.”

For the Book Nerds:

Currently reading: Lone Wolf: Walking the Line Between Civilization and Wildness by Adam Weymouth

Can’t wait to read: Syntax of the River: The Pattern Which Connects by Barry Lopez and Julia Martin

New Mexico Rivers Rising

Soon, I’ll be launching a new project, New Mexico Rivers Rising, about New Mexico’s rivers, streams, and wetlands — and environmental flows, or instream water rights. I can’t wait to share more with you.

One more thing about water…

Water Bodies: Love Letters to the Most Abundant Substance on Earth just won a New Mexico Book Award. As part of a recent event, I created a Reader’s Guide for the anthology, which you can download off my website. And a huge thanks to all the beloved writers in that collection:

Thanks for reading. If you’d like a Water Bodies bookmark (full of writing prompts!) drop me a message with your mailing address.

Love, Laura