skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, April 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Louisiana teachers' union concerned about educators' future; Supreme Court hears arguments in Trump immunity case; court issues restraining order against fracking waste-storage facility; landmark NE agreement takes a proactive approach to CO2 pipeline risks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Speaker Johnson accuses demonstrating students of getting support from Hamas. TikTok says it'll challenge the ban. And the Supreme Court dives into the gray area between abortion and pregnancy healthcare, and into former President Trump's broad immunity claims.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken, and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

It's June: Dive Into National Rivers Month

play audio
Play

Wednesday, June 10, 2020   

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- There are five major rivers in New Mexico, and with June designated National Rivers Month, now is the time to appreciate them for the habitat, drinking water and recreation they provide.

The San Juan, Pecos, Rio Grande, Canadian and Gila are New Mexico's major rivers. From panfish trout to bass and catfish, said Jeff Arterburn, president of the Gila-Rio Grande Trout Unlimited chapter, there's no end to the variety of fish -- or the variety of the rivers themselves.

"Here in the Gila region," he said, "the rivers flow from high mountain peaks down through rugged canyons, and eventually become desert streams."

If you don't know much about U.S. rivers, the longest is the Missouri in the Midwest at 2,500 miles. The widest is the Mississippi River, which measures 11 miles across at one point in Minnesota. Rivers, wetlands and riparian areas comprise only 1% of the New Mexico landscape, but are essential in renewing the state's water supply.

Last month, a bill to protect portions of two remote rivers and their tributaries in southwest New Mexico was introduced in Congress by Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, both D-N.M. It would designate more than 440 miles of the Gila and San Francisco as Wild and Scenic Rivers, in an area home to a wide range of big-game species. If approved, Arterburn said, it could help bring more economic activity to that portion of the state through recreation.

"As far as the state of New Mexico, we have very few river miles that are dedicated as Wild and Scenic," he said, "and this is a really important step for that recognition of the Gila and San Francisco watersheds."

In northwest New Mexico, it's estimated the Colorado River system, which supplies water to cities, farms, utilities and tribes, contributes $60 billion in annual economic activity to the state. The Clean Water Act, enacted in 1972, began the process of keeping untold amounts of pollution out of rivers, but it's legislation the Trump administration has sought to curtail.

---

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The United Nations experts also expressed concern over a Chemours application to expand PFAS production in North Carolina. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

United Nations experts are raising concerns about chemical giants DuPont and Chemours, saying they've violated human rights in North Carolina…


Social Issues

play sound

The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in …

Environment

play sound

Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss …


Legislation to curtail the union membership rights of about 50,000 public school educators in Lousiana has the backing of some business and national conservative groups. (wavebreak3/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Leaders of a teachers' union in Louisiana are voicing concerns about a package of bills they say would have the effect of dissolving labor unions in t…

Health and Wellness

play sound

The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific …

A flooded site at the Austin Master Services toxic-waste storage facility in Martin's Ferry, Ohio. (Jill Hunkler)

Environment

play sound

Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …

Social Issues

play sound

Orange County's Supreme Court reversed a decision letting the city of Newburgh implement state tenant protections. The city declared a housing …

Health and Wellness

play sound

The Missouri Legislature has approved a law to stop its Medicaid program, known as MO HealthNet, from paying Planned Parenthood for medical services …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021