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2010 Taos River and Trail Cleanup -- Help Keep Our Rivers Clean!

A big thank you to the many volunteers who came out on Saturday, June 12, 2010 --
Participating organizations include Amigos Bravos, Centinel Bank Taos, Water Sentinels—Ríos de Taos, and Rocky Mountain Youth Corp.

River Otters Reintroduced to NM

Click to Play — Requires Apple's Quicktime Player

Video Credit — Valerie Williams, Taos BLM Wildlife Biologist
River Otter Press Release

A native New Mexican, once found in streams and rivers throughout the state, has returned home after a 60–year absence. Over the past two years, twenty-three river otters have been released in the waters of the Río Pueblo De Taos on Taos Pueblo land. The most recent release of three otters occured on December 30, 2009.

The wild otters were captured and transported from Washington by USDA Wildlife Services and Taos Pueblo as part of a larger otter reintroduction program organized by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Taos Pueblo, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the New Mexico Friends of River Otters (of which Amigos Bravos is an active member).

Court Rules in Our Favor
Cleanup Tab For Mines and Other Hazardous Sites Should Not Fall To Public

(In closing 25–year loophole, court protects public from hazardous waste sites and could save taxpayers billions.
San Francisco, CA) – A federal court has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must close a loophole that has made it easy for mining companies, coal ash dumps, and a host of other polluting industries to skip out on costly cleanups by declaring bankruptcy. The case concerned EPA's failure to issue "financial assurances" standards that ensure that polluting industries will always remain financially able to clean up dangerous spills and other contaminated sites. Amigos Bravos was represented by EarthJustice.

Sally Wisely Joins the Board of Directors

Sally Wisely recently completed thirty-two years of working for the Bureau of Land Management. She was the State Director in Colorado from 2005 to 2009, the State Director in Utah from 1999 to 2005, the Associate State Director in Alaska from 1994-1999, the Area Manager in Durango from 1987 to 1994. Prior to that Wisely served as Chief of Public Affairs for the New Mexico State Office. Wisely has a Masters from University of New Mexico in Recreational Planning. After graduating she taught elementary school and P.E. for pre-school to high school kids on the Navajo Reservation and she taught adult education courses at Laguna-Acoma. A native of Atchison, Kansas (birthplace of Amelia Earhart), Wisely is an avid river-runner, tennis player, bicyclist, cross-country skier and telemarker. She also sings and plays guitar and banjo. We welcome Sally as the newest member of the Amigos Bravos Board of Directors.

15th Annual Raffle for the Río...And the winnwer is...

Drawing was held live on KTAO 101.9 FM, June 10, 2010 ... AND THE WINNER IS TICKET #799 -- BONNIE COOPER OF RANCHOS DE TAOS, NM....CONGRATULATIONS BONNIE!

From the Board of Directors and Staff, we thank all of our tremendous supporters for having made the raffle a huge success.

If you were not able to purchase a raffle ticket, but would like to support our work click here.

NM Proposes New Regulations for Large Dairy Feedlots

The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission has concluded a multi-day public hearing regarding new proposed regulations for large industrial-scale dairy facilities. Unlike the image portrayed by the dairy industry – of small farms with cows peacefully grazing on green grass – New Mexico is dominated by large-scale industrial dairies, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). New Mexico has the highest number of animals per facility of any state in the country. Each day, New Mexico’s dairies generate 5.6 million gallons of manure. This waste is seeping from manure lagoons into the ground and contaminating groundwater. According to NM Environment Department data, two-thirds of the dairies in the State have violated water quality standards for nitrates. The Commission is expected to deliberate and adopt new dairy rules sometime this fall. For a full docket of documents submitted by the New Mexico Environment Department, the dairy industry, and a coalition of civic groups, including Amigos Bravos please go to: www.nmenv.state.nm.us/OOTS/HearingOfficer/DairyRegs/NMED-WQCC-DairyPleadingLog.htm. You can also send a personalized e-mail by clicking here. For more information click here, or call our office at 575-758-3874.

Help Pass America's Commitment to Clean Water Act in Congress

In time for Earth Day 2010, Congressman James Oberstar introduced "America's Commitment to Clean Water Act" (H.R. 5088). For a copy of the Bill click here. This is the companion Bill to Senator Russ Feingold's Clean Water Restoration Act, Senate Bill 787.

Due to recent Supreme Court decisions, 94% of New Mexico's rivers, streams, and lakes are at risk from unrestricted toxic dumping. Please contact your Congressional Delegation and ask them to pass House Bill 5088 and Senate Bill 787...for more information see fact sheet, and New York Times article Toxic Waters (3/1/10)

Join Us in 2010

Founded in 1988, Amigos Bravos is a well-established nationally recognized state-wide river conservation organization guided by social justice principles and dedicated to preserving and restoring the ecological and cultural integrity of New Mexico’s rivers and watersheds. While rooted in science and the law, our work is inspired by the values and traditional knowledge of New Mexico’s diverse Hispanic and Native American land-based populations, with whom we work.

For the latest news on our efforts, please read about our projects, see our publications, and tune in to Radio Río, a monthly radio program dedicated to promoting stewardship and activism by building awareness and poviding the listener with the means to further river protection and to respond to water quality concerns impacting their communities.

Help preserve the legend! Join Amigos Bravos! Keep the ríos grand! Questions, comments, suggestions? Contact us: bravos@amigosbravos.org