Alaina Mencinger

3 weeks ago | santafenewmexican.com | Alaina Mencinger

Russell Droke, the mayordomo of Pacheco Community Ditch in Taos, is engaged in an "ongoing water allocation dispute."It's not with an acequia parciante or a Texan — rather, Droke is talking about beavers, drawn to the area of by the lush Rio Fernando. Droke has respect for the 45-pound rodents, which he said have helped create habitats for migratory birds in the riparian area, raise the water table and slow the flow of water.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Alaina Mencinger

The Rio Grande has changed, said former secretary of the interior and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland. "It doesn't run as high," Haaland said at the 2025 Next Generation Water Summit, hosted at the state Capitol. "The water runs slower and in late August, it's a trickle of the river that it once was."Her keynote speech kicked off the two-day conference, which addresses topics like water conservation in homebuilding, water reuse and smart meters.

3 weeks ago | govtech.com | Alaina Mencinger

Frenzen, co-chair of the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed Coalition’s communications committee, is gearing up to install the wildfire detection camera at the top of Tesuque Peak — as soon as the lingering snow permits. It’s no ordinary camera: The pan-tilt-zoom camera from ALERTWest, which manages a network of such cameras, has powerful magnification and can see in infrared. It will be scanning the area for plumes of smoke. It can see 25 miles in the daylight and 50 miles at night.

3 weeks ago | santafenewmexican.com | Alaina Mencinger

Fifty years ago, a familiar conflict was playing out south of Silver City. State and federal regulators were trying to implement stricter controls on sulfur dioxide pollution from a Hurley smelter. Besides being associated with several human health risks, sulfur dioxide can contribute to acid rain. But some area residents protested stricter limits, concerned that further regulations on the smelter — which the company claimed could force closure — would result in economic hardship in the region.

3 weeks ago | santafenewmexican.com | Alaina Mencinger

As the Department of Energy plans to tighten its belt, one of its agencies is looking to cut loose. A brief on requested funding for the upcoming fiscal year shows proposed cuts to several programs, including renewable energy and other research. But, if the request is fulfilled, the National Nuclear Security Administration is on track to see a big spending boost.