SILVER CITY, NM – Those who love the outdoors in the Southwest say the Gila River and surrounding public lands have it all and they want to see Congress adopt a law to protect the Gila River as wild and scenic.
Alicia Edwards, Grant County Commissioner, will attend a conference in Silver City this week to draw attention to the economic, cultural, recreational and agricultural benefits derived from what is called “America’s First Wilderness.” .
“People have been enjoying outdoor recreation in this region long before it was popular to call it ‘outdoor recreation’,” said Edwards. “We have been known for hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, for many years.”
The Gila was inaugurated as America’s first desert in 1924, 40 years before the Wilderness Act. The two days “Rivers of opportunityThe conference at Western New Mexico University will feature speakers from a number of state and federal agencies, conservation groups, academics and tribes.
A study of Southwick and associates estimated a potential increase of at least $ 144 million in recreation spending for visitors with the Wild and Scenic designation.
Tom Allen, economist and co-author of the report, said he describes how much money people spend on outdoor recreation in and around the river.
“And specifically, how many people visit these rivers and what that means in terms of spending, jobs, income, and adding value to the New Mexico economy,” Allen explained.
Beyond the benefits to the economy, Edwards stressed that preservation is a fundamental Western value.
“We are losing so much land and so much of our open space here in the West that I just think designating this area as wild and scenic will be a real message to people about how we need to preserve these areas,” Edwards argued.
Legislation to protect nearly 450 miles of the Gila and San Francisco rivers and their tributaries was introduced in May 2020. Grant County has already passed its own resolution to support the designation, which only Congress can decide. This would not affect existing grazing and livestock operations in the area.
Support for this report was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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ANNAPOLIS, Maryland – With more Latino voters expressing concern over climate change, a new report found that a majority of Latinos in the Chesapeake Bay watershed states strongly support more funding for restoration efforts there and to increase public access to the bay.
Reed Perry, director of external affairs for the Chesapeake Conservancy, one of the report’s co-sponsors, said the poll shows Latinos care deeply about climate change and the environment.
He believes policymakers in Maryland and the entire Bay Area need to listen to Latino voters, as the U.S. census has shown the state is emerging as one of the most diverse in the country.
“The Latino community represents a large and growing population in the region and active when it comes to voting,” said Perry. “So I think this poll is a sign of things to come when it comes to advocating for greater resources and greater protections for the protection of the environment in the region.”
Despite the economic challenges of the pandemic, nearly 95% of Latinos surveyed said lawmakers need to continue funding the protection of land, water and wildlife in the Bay States. And 93% supported funding to ensure low-income people and communities of color have access to parks and natural areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Shanna Edberg, director of conservation programs for the Hispanic Access Foundation, which also supported the study, said the Latin American population is under-represented in policymaking on the east coast, especially in the drafting of environmental laws.
Still, the report showed that Latinos have greater support for climate issues, such as the country’s transition to 100% renewable energy, than other groups.
“There’s this idea that people of color don’t care about the environment, that they have concerns other than conservation and climate change,” Edberg noted. “And this investigation completely puts that idea out of the water.”
The survey also showed that 84% of Latino voters would support the creation of a Chesapeake National Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service. The site would bring together new and existing parks in the Bay Area and help fund its restoration.
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TWIN FALLS, Idaho – An annual report finds poor groundwater quality continues to be a problem for Magic Valley. The Idaho Conservation League analyzed state and federal data and agricultural pollution research in the Eastern Snake Plain aquifer for the third consecutive year.
Josh Johnson, conservation associate at the Idaho Center for the League, said contamination, mainly from dairy operations and the use of fertilizer on farms, remains a concern.
“It’s not a very different conclusion from what we had in the first two groundwater reports, but we essentially have increased confidence in that conclusion now, three years later,” Johnson explained. “All the new data we are getting continues to reinforce the problem of groundwater contamination by nitrogen and phosphorus.”
The Eastern Snake Plain aquifer provides drinking water to 300,000 Idaho residents. The report showed that there is growing evidence that long-term ingestion of nitrate in drinking water affects people’s health, in particular, increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
The report also noted that adverse health effects occur at nitrate levels below the federal limit of ten milligrams per liter. Nearly one in five public water systems in the Magic Valley have average nitrate levels above five milligrams per liter, according to samples collected over the past five years.
Johnson argued that more public awareness is needed on this issue. He likens it to contaminants like zinc and arsenic from mines.
“It’s easier for the public to understand when it’s something very toxic like that,” Johnson admitted. “But in this case, it’s not toxic in the same way, but it still has these health effects.”
Johnson argued that money is also needed to fix this problem. He pointed to Representative Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who is proposing the Columbia Basin Initiative, a radical proposition for the environment in the Northwest. It includes $ 700 million for watershed partnerships in the basin.
“It is proposed to go towards research incentives at our state universities related to manure management, dairies to help with on-farm management and things like manure digesters,” Johnson explained. .
Despite a push earlier in the year, Simpson’s proposal has yet to be included in infrastructure or budget reconciliation bills making their way to Congress.
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HOUSTON – How much would Lone Star State benefit from the Biden administration’s proposals for clean energy and infrastructure? More than most, according to an environmental group that said it relies on legislation to fix problematic power grids and create new jobs.
Analysis finds that Texas, California and New York could be the biggest winners if the Law on investment in infrastructure and employment walks over to President Joe Biden’s office.
Colin Leyden, Texas policy director for Environmental Defense Fund Action, initially said the funding could improve Texas’ power grid, which was shut down last February by winter storm Uri.
“The people who lived in inefficient houses were the ones who suffered the worst of what we saw,” Leyden said. “There is money for that.”
According to Leyden, Texas is ranked second in the country for clean energy jobs, with more than 223,000 jobs. The Environment Defense Action Fund estimates that the continued transition to clean energy could create more than a million additional jobs in Texas over the next 25 years.
The Biden’s proposals have high prices, but they include incentives for wind and solar power, and funding to develop clean cars, trucks and buses.
Leyden stressed that they would also provide resources to improve air quality in communities battling harmful air pollution. He thinks the pandemic has given a glimpse of what it might look like.
“At the start of the shutdown, there were a lot of pictures around perfectly clear blue skies in areas you just didn’t see,” Leyden observed. “It’s actually a set of solutions that can deliver that kind of clean air.”
Leyden added that greater adoption of solar power could further improve air quality and noted that Texas ranked second in the country in 2020 for solar installations.
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