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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.

15th Annual Raffle for the Río

A Win -Win Proposition...The chance to support clean rivers and to win the vacation of a lifetime!

Win either a trip for two and a week's stay at Las Casitas Akumal, steps away from the beach on the Mexican Yucatan, OR a trip for two and a week's stay at the Pisac Inn nestled in the Sacred Valley of the Incas near Machu Picchu in Peru!

Purchase as many chances as you would like to invest in our work...One chance for $25 or five chances for each $100.
To purchase tickets go to our shop site, or call 575-758-3874.
Drawing to be held June 3, 2010

Help Pass the Clean Water Restoration Act in Congress

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 the Clean Water Restoration Act...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

Molycorp Superfund Cleanup -- Action Needed

On January 6, 2010, EPA released a proposed Superfund cleanup plan for the Chevron Mining Inc. (formerly Molycorp) molybdenum mine in Questa, NM. The comment period has been extended to March 22, 2010. Amigos Bravos will be preparing comments on the proposal and will post our concerns on this site soon. Meanwhile, please download a copy of the proposed plan, and the accompanying EPA fact sheet for information on submitting comments. Comments should be sent via e-mail to Mark Purcell <Purcell.Mark@epamail.epa.gov>...Please personalize your comments. For additional information, please listen to this month's Radio Río at http://www.culturalenergy.org/amigos.htm

AT THE NM LEGISLATURE -- The Final Results 2/18/2010

Amigos Bravos is supporting the following legislation:
HB-27 -- Recovery of Damages to Natural Resources (Egolf, Brian F.) -- Did not get out of committee
HB-259 -- Private Action to Enforce Enviro Status (Ben Lujan) -- Failed on House Floor (32-34)
HM-21 -- Santa Fe Drinking Water Safety (Egolf, Brian F.) -- Passed the House (64-1)
SB-186 -- Natural Heritage Conservation Act (Cisneros, Carlos) -- Passed the Senate (27-14), ran out of time in the House

Amigos Bravos is opposing the following legislation
SB-131 -- Make up of the Water Quality Control Commission (Ulibarri, David) -- Stalled in Committee
SB- 241 (Mary Jane Garcia) & HB-213 (Bill ONeil) -- Reorganize agencies by combining ED, EMNRD & ONRT -- Stopped in committee
HB-192 -- Oil & Gas: Rescinding Pit Rules (Taylor, Thomas) -- Not Germane
HJM -41 -- Promoting Nuclear Energy (John Heaton) -- Stopped in committee
HJR-4 -- Nullification of Executive Rules (Nunez, Andy) Constitutional Amendment -- never received a hearing

For copies of the legislation go to: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/BillFinderNumber