YouTube Video of SFC/SCC Press Conference on NM Water Issues
The Chair of the Senate Conservation Committee, Senator Peter Wirth, and the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator John Arthur Smith, held a press conference this morning at the Roundhouse on water issues and current related legislation.
Watch the video on YouTube and at 19 min:14 sec you can hear
Senator John Arthur Smith’s answer to a question about his Gila pipeline capital outlay request.
Response to Senate Finance Committee and Senate Conservation Committee Press Conference on Water Legislation
Silver City, NM – The Chair of the Senate Conservation Committee, Senator Peter Wirth, and the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator John Arthur Smith, held a press conference this morning at the Roundhouse on water issues and current related legislation that include controversial proposals like piping Gila River water across the Continental Divide to Las Cruces and perhaps even on to Texas.
“Water issues pose significant challenges for the state of New Mexico,” stated Gila Conservation Coalition Chairman, M.H. “Dutch” Salmon. “However, we can’t sacrifice healthy rivers that contribute to New Mexico’s significant outdoor recreation economy (47,000 jobs and $3.8 billion annually) for speculative growth that would destroy places that New Mexicans love.”
“In the case of the Gila, New Mexico’s last free flowing river, there are responsible, cost-effective non-diversion alternatives that secure southwest New Mexico’s water future. We can have jobs and healthy rivers here on the Gila River,” said Salmon.
“Piping Gila River water to the Rio Grande or even on to Texas as proposed by Senator John Arthur Smith in his $25 million capital outlay request is the latest example in ongoing attempts statewide to raid water from rural areas to quench the insatiable thirst of unsustainable urban growth and inefficient agriculture. Draining the Gila River to keep Texas happy just adds insult to injury,” Salmon added. “Moreover, these large-scale water transfers from rural to urban areas don’t serve or mitigate urban growth, they create it.”
The Gila River is the last major free-flowing river in New Mexico. Riparian ecosystems comprise less than 1% of New Mexico’s arid landscape, and the Gila’s natural cycle of flows supports outstanding examples of southwest riparian forest, more than 300 species of birds, cold-water sport fisheries, intact native fish communities and a remarkable abundance of wildlife. The Gila provides significant economic value to the region with superb opportunities for outdoor recreation, nature-based specialty travel and wilderness experience.
The Gila is under threat from a proposal to divert 14,000 acre-feet per year of water, enough to satisfy the needs of a city the size of Las Cruces.
More information:
Background on Senator John Arthur Smith’s $25 million capital outlay can be found at www.gilaconservation.org
$8 general admission; $5 GCC members; $15 admission + GCC membership; Students FREE
The Gila Conservation Coalition presents the 3rd Annual Wild & Scenic Film Fest On-Tour in Silver City. Come see an incredible selection of short environmental films featuring the best in filmmaking, cinematography and storytelling.
Free raffle with great prizes from our local and national partners!
Check out the trailers from our featured films:
Chasing Water, an award-winning film about dewatering the once-mighty Colorado.
Co-produced by Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP), Upper Gila Watershed Alliance (UGWA) and NM Wilderness Alliance (NMWA), Earth Matters is a weekly, hour-long radio program that addresses critical environmental issues at the local, national and international level. This effort expands our outreach efforts to a larger audience and gives longer life to our programming. We’re proud to be the first full length, locally produced and regularly scheduled program on Gila/Mimbres Community Radio. The show broadcasts on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am and 8 pm via webstream or anytime via podcast.
Week of 11/7/12 – Martha Cooper of The Nature Conservancy on the Gila River, restoration and AWSA
Week of 12/18/12 – Citizen Science with Sharman Apt Russell, Claire Catlett and Silver City Watershed Keepers
Week of 12/25/12 – Big Environmental Stories of 2012 with Allyson Siwik of Gila Resources Information Project, Donna Stevens of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, and Kim McCreery of New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
Week of 1/1/13– Upcoming Conservation Issues for 2013 with Allyson, Donna and Kim
Renew Your GCC Membership or Become a Member for $25 and Receive MF Dondelinger’s New Book Modern Icons
Thanks to the generosity of Mary Frances Dondelinger, we are pleased to offer a special gift to new or renewing members of the Gila Conservation Coalition. Become a member of GCC or renew your membership for $25 and receive a copy of Modern Icons: The Sacrifice of Endangered Species of the American Southwest.
You can also renew your membership/become a member by mail by sending a check for $25 to the Gila Conservation Coalition, 305A North Cooper St., Silver City, NM 88061 or on-line via GCC’s secure donation page.
Your membership in the Gila Conservation Coalition will bring you:
Opportunities to get involved in local con-servation efforts through volunteering, grassroots organizing, advocacy, educational field trips and events, and service learning;
Quarterly e-mail issues of River Currents, GCC’s electronic newsletter;
Periodic action alerts and updates on important Gila River protection efforts;
Special invitations to GCC events;
Discounts on GCC activities and promotional items.
From the Book Jacket:
MF Dondelinger’s jewel of a book features images of once-familiar Southwest species rendered in exquisite detail. Short entries accompany each painting, describing the plant or animal, its habitat, and the cause of it’s endangerment.
Dondelinger’s work always surprises. She juxtaposes the ancient art of egg tempera iconography onto the most disposable of backdrops, the humble paper plate. The plate-as-canvas serves as a symbol of twenty-first century throwaway culture, just as the creatures she so painstakingly depicts (using precious materials like 23 carat gold, egg tempera and rabbit skin glue) have become expedient in our fast moving culture. In Modern Icons, readers will gain a new view of what is-or is no longer-to be found in our own back yards.
MF Dondelinger apprenticed in Italy with an orthodox iconographer. She applies the traditional materials and theories of this sacred art form to contemporary themes. She divides her time between Arizona and New Mexico.
This book is sponsored by ARTSPIRE, a program of New York Foundation for the Arts, Gallery One Visual Arts Center, Margaret W. Reed Foundation and amazing individual supporters.
Threatened and Endangered: Perspectives on Biodiversity Loss in the Southwest
A Panel Discussion with Botanist Dr. Jack Carter, Artist Mary Frances Dondelinger, and Conservation Advocate Michael Robinson
November 13, 7pm Silco Theater, 311 N. Bullard St. Silver City
Admission: FREE
The impact of humanity on the earth’s diverse flora and fauna has been significant. Scientists estimate that 5 – 20% of species in many groups of organisms have already gone extinct, and we may be losing up to 140,000 species per year. Some of the most vulnerable species in the current global extinction crisis occur in the desert Southwest. Habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation of water resources and non-native species introduction threaten the continued existence of a variety of desert plant and animal species. This panel discussion will explore a variety of perspectives on biodiversity loss in the American Southwest. Panelists include botanist Dr. Jack Carter, professor emeritus at Colorado College and author of several books and articles, including the recently -revised Trees and Shrubs of New Mexico; artist Mary Frances Dondelinger, author of the new book Modern Icons: The Sacrifice of Endangered Species of the American Southwest; and Center for Biological Diversity conservation advocate Michael Robinson, author of the book, Predatory Bureaucracy.
Thanks to Mary Frances Dondelinger, we are pleased to offer a special gift to new or renewing members of the Gila Conservation Coalition. Become a member of GCC or renew your membership for $25 and receive a copy of Modern Icons. Dondelinger will be on hand to sign books.
You can also renew your membership/become a member by mail by sending a check for $25 to the Gila Conservation Coalition, 305A North Cooper St., Silver City, NM 88061 or on-line via GCC’s secure donation page.
This event is organized in conjunction with Gila-Mimbres Community Radio. The discussion will be audiotaped and will air as part of GMCR’s Earth Matters, a weekly radio program collaboratively produced by Gila Resources Information Project, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Upper Gila Watershed Alliance.
OPENING: Sacred Sacrifices
Exquisitely painted images of endangered species of the Southwest.
by MF Dondelinger
Tuesday, November 13
5-7 pm @ Leyba & Ingalls Arts, 315 N. Bullard St., Silver City
The 8th annual Gila River Festival The Wild River Speaks drew 1000 participants to a variety of field trips, workshops, presentations, a three-minute film fest, kayaking, horseback riding and more throughout the four-day event. We want to thank all of our sponsors, presenters, and volunteers whose commitment and dedication to celebration of the Gila River make this event one of the premier nature festivals in the Southwest.
Through a collaboration with Gila-Mimbres Community Radio and Kyle Johnson, we will be making available via podcast and video several of the presentations from the festival, including keynote speaker Craig Childs and The Great Conversation with Pat Toomay, Sharman Apt Russell, Michael Casaus and Joe Saenz. Stay tuned for more information as these become available.
And mark your calendars for the 9th annual Gila River Festival September 19 – 22, 2013.
Interstate Stream Commission Initiates Detailed Studies of AWSA Projects
Bureau of Reclamation to Assess Costs and Benefits of Alternatives
At their June meeting, the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) approved a work plan for Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA) planning that outlines $3.9M in studies for FY2013 – 2014. The work, to be done by ISC-approved contractors, will develop detailed engineering design and cost information, and evaluate environmental impacts for the 16 Tier 2 projects approved by the commission in February. These studies are intended to inform the state’s 2014 decision on whether or not to use Gila River water under the AWSA.
The AWSA is a congressionally approved water bill that provides $66M in non-reimbursable expenditures that may be used to meet water supply demands in the Southwest Planning Region of New Mexico (Catron, Luna, Hidalgo and Grant counties) either through the construction of a New Mexico Unit of the Central Arizona Project that would increase water used from the Gila River by up to 14,000 acre-feet per year, or through non-diversion water projects. New Mexico will receive a guaranteed $6.6 million a year for ten years, beginning in 2012 that can be used for any water project that meets a water supply demand. New Mexico may also receive an additional $34 to $62 million if it chooses to construct a New Mexico Unit. New Mexico must notify the Secretary of the Interior by December 2014 if it will use Gila River water or not.
Stakeholders in southwestern New Mexico have been meeting since 2007 to develop AWSA project proposals to cost effectively balance water supply and demand in the region while protecting the Gila River. Their successful collaborative efforts resulted in more than 70 projects submitted to the ISC in November 2010 for consideration. The vast majority of projects were for “non-diversion” alternatives that ranged from municipal and agricultural conservation to development of regional infrastructure for water supply delivery, water reuse and storage, to watershed restoration. Only three of the projects were “diversion” proposals to withdraw water from the Gila for consumptive use.
Stakeholders worked hard to find areas of agreement, while at the same time coming forward with questions and concerns. In general, non-diversion alternatives were supported by stakeholders. A long list of concerns were identified with diversion projects.
With the transition to the Martinez administration in 2011, the ISC ceased to support the formal stakeholders’ group and initiated a new process. More than 40 Tier 1 projects were submitted for evaluation by a “secret” evaluation panel made up of state agency representatives; the ISC refused to make public the names of the proposal reviewers. Twenty-one projects made it through the first phase and were evaluated in Tier 2 according to 9 criteria, such as cost, technical feasibility and public support. The ISC approved the final set of 16 projects in February 2012 that would be analyzed during the current assessment phase leading up to the ISC’s 2014 decision on whether or not to divert water from the Gila River. The list included three diversion projects and 13 non-diversion alternatives. Since that time, the City of Deming has withdrawn its diversion proposal citing high costs and the desire to not compete with the other 2 diversion proponents, Hidalgo County and the Gila Basin Irrigation Commission.
The Gila Conservation Coalition’s proposal for municipal conservation received the top score from the evaluation panel and was approved by the ISC for further study in the assessment phase. The City of Deming and Stream Dynamics also submitted proposals for municipal conservation and rainwater harvesting respectively. The commission signed off on an expenditure of $100K for evaluation of municipal conservation measures, including rainwater harvesting. The Town of Silver City and the City of Deming are currently working on water audits to identify opportunities for conservation. Once audit data is analyzed, demonstration projects will be implemented to help determine the amount of water that could be saved if water conservation measures were funded under the AWSA. Unfortunately, the dollars allocated for this effort are not sufficient to adequately assess the potential for water savings across the entire region, and GCC has been pushing for more resources to be committed to evaluating this cost-effective means for extending the life of our water supplies.
The ISC has allocated $1.45M to analysis of the Grant County Water Commission Regional Water Supply Project that includes evaluation of construction of infrastructure to regionalize the water distribution system between Silver City and the Mining District, as well as a reservoir project north of Santa Clara and a wastewater reuse project in Bayard. This project would meet the future water needs of 26,000 people in Silver City and the Mining District for a fraction of the cost of expensive, large-scale Gila River diversion projects.
The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) has been asked by the ISC to conduct an appraisal level cost-benefit analysis of all of the AWSA alternatives. Reclamation’s Economics and Resource Planning Team will “examine the incremental changes in benefits and costs to agriculture, municipal and industrial supply, water quality, recreation, and fish and wildlife uses between the proposed alternatives and the current conditions.” The group will also evaluate regional economic impacts through economic modeling. BOR’s Water Conveyance Group will conduct analyses of a range of diversion/storage/conveyance alternatives. Alternatives include diversion of 5000 – 14,000 acre-feet per year from one of three different diversion locations and storage in a single storage facility (generally identified as “top, middle, or lower Cliff-Gila Valley”) in smaller ponds throughout the Cliff-Gila Valley, or aquifer storage and recovery anywhere in the Cliff-Gila Valley. No conveyance alternatives to end water users have been identified and ISC staff refuses to answer where this water is ultimately going.
Given that the ISC has stated that the end water users must pay the water supplied by any of these projects above and beyond the AWSA subsidy, ISC staff says that it will have its own contractors assessing ability of water users to pay for water supplied from a diversion project. This is a fundamental question that has been asked for years and is a key factor in the decision to move forward with a diversion project given that the AWSA subsidy is estimated to cover only 40% of the construction costs.
The revised schedule approved by the ISC in June calls for the commission to make a preliminary decision on a project(s) by August 31, 2014 and a final decision by November 14, 2014.
The Gila Conservation Coalition and The Nature Conservancy serve as the conservation representatives to the ISC’s Stakeholder Input Group that provides input on scopes of work, contractor reports, workplans, and other deliverables of the AWSA planning process. GCC will continue to advocate for a fair and objective analysis of both diversion and non-diversion alternatives. Public meetings related to the AWSA process are held quarterly. The next public meeting has not been scheduled yet.
Michael Berman’s Book Gila: Radical Visions/ The Enduring Silence is now available for sale!
Guggenheim Fellow landscape photographer Michael Berman’s newest book of photography,Gila: Radical Visions / The Enduring Silence is now available for sale through GCC partner, Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP). Call (575-538-8078), email (grip@gilaresources.info) or stop by the GRIP office at 305A North Cooper St. to get your copy. Books are available for $50 (retail price) and proceeds will benefit GRIP’s work to protect our land, air and water in southwestern New Mexico.
Berman’s black-and white photographs of the Gila Wilderness offer a wordless exploration into this complex and subtle landscape. For more than thirty years, he has explored the vast Gila, fascinated by the land and how people use and value it. He has wandered deep into the forest with his large-format camera, searching for the untrammeled and solitary ecosystems, allowing the Gila to reveal itself. The untouched specialness of the Gila is captured in Berman’s photographs and explored in fifteen essays by noted writers, natural historians, and environmentalists.
A former Guggenheim fellow and 2012 recipient of the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts,Berman’s works have been exhibited throughout the country and are in numerous public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Amon Carter Museum. He lives in the Mimbres Valley, bordering the Gila Wilderness.
Essayists in Gila: Radical Visions / The Enduring Silence include Charles Bowden, Dave Foreman, Sharman Apt Russell, Philip Connors, Patrick Toomay, M.H. “Dutch’ Salmon, Victor Masayesva, Alejandro Muñoz, Martha Schumann Cooper, Mary Katherine Ray, Rex Johnson, Jorge Garcia, John Horning, Guy McPherson, and Mary Ann Redding.
ACTION ALERT: Tell the ISC you want a free-flowing Gila River!
The Gila River is vital to our economy in Southwest New Mexico.
A costly, unnecessary dam and pipeline would forever change the Gila River’s unique ecology, compromising the economic, environmental and recreational benefits the Gila provides, and put a financial burden on local water users.
Support an affordable, long-term water supply that benefits local economies by contacting the Interstate Stream Commission TODAY!
Tell the ISC that you support responsible, cost-effective non-diversion alternatives that secure our water future at low cost and keep the Gila River flowing.
