You are currently browsing the monthly archive for September 2008.
Governor Richardson today proposed that the property owned by the NM Game Commission be moved to the Parks Deprtment and be turned into Pecos State Park.
This is something that the conservation community including the Upper Pecos Watershed Association (UPWA) has wanted to see happen for a while. This is the first step that must be taken to deal with th camping complex in the Pecos canyon. For years, the canyon has been plagued by overuse, trash, and habitat degradation due to unchecked camping in the canyon.
Trout Unlimited has participated in Clean-ups in the Canyon twice a year for the last several years, and every time we do this, volunteers pull tons of garbage out of the river and off the riverbanks. Hopefully this will help stem the tide of garbage in the canyon.
This year’s fall clean-up in conjunction with Dia del Rio will happen on October 11th. If you are interested in participating, we will meet at the office of the UPWA at 9:30 AM. The office is located a couple blocks south of the main intersection in Pecos, and is easy to find.
It appears that the algal bloom known as Didymo (Didymospenia geminate), also known as “rock snot” has been confirmed in the Pecos River. This is not a good thing, as there is no known solution to the problem. There are also anecdotal reports of it in the streams in the Jemez Mountains.
More on this situation as information becomes available.
UPDATE: A letter from NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau to TU regarding the Pecos can be found here.
The Truchas Chapter of TU (Santa Fe) was awarded the Silver Trout Award as one of the top chapters in the country at the Trout Unlimited Annual Meeting currently taking place at Snowbird Resort in Utah.
The chapter was recognized for it’s efforts to restore the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, including projects on the RIo Costilla and Alamitos Creek. Also noted was the chapter’s efforts to raise money for cutthroat restoration through the Rio Grande Cutthroat Restoration Fund. This fund was established to raise funds that can be used for some aspects of projects that are not covered by grants.
The chapter is currently running grants of $300,000 for the Rio Costilla, and $50,000 for a barrier on Alamitos Creek.
Kevin Reilly (NMTU NLC Rep), Arnold Atkins (Truchas Chapter President) and William Schudlich (NMTU Council Chairman) accept the SIlver Trout award on behalf of the Truchas Chapter
From the Salt Lake City Tribune today.
“Federal officials say they don’t need to put the Bonneville cutthroat trout on the endangered or threatened species list, and that pleases Utah members of Trout Unlimited who have worked for decades to bring back the fish once thought extinct.”
I hoping to catch a few of these myself early next week around Strawberry Reservoir.
The Albuquerque Journal ran an article this past weekend (may need a subscription) about the adoption, by the NM Game Commission, of the recommendations put forth by the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development.
TU has played a large role in both forming and pushing this initiative. With the record number of oil and gas leases that have been issued over the last several year, we feel it imperative that concerns over the impacts of energy development on our fish and wildlife be given a fair hearing. We are not opposed to energy development, but we want it done responsibly.
From the Article:
Chris Hunt of Trout Unlimited’s Public Lands Initiative said Friday…“We as sportsmen understand the need for domestic energy production, especially in the short term while we work on bigger picture solutions to this problem. That said, there has to be some reasonable middle ground,” he said. “… There’s got to be some give and take, and unfortunately, all of the sportsmen in the West are giving and we’re not getting anything in return.”
We feel it is important to get the state fish and wildlife agencies involved in protecting the very assets that define their existence. New Mexico became the first state to adopt these recommendations.
William Schudlich
gregmcreynolds
kevinvreilly
