Rio Grande Chapter

On March 21, President Biden announced the designation of Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada and Castner Range in Texas as the country’s newest national monuments. The designation provides permanent protection for roughly 514,000 acres of Nevada and Texas landscapes ...

March 25-April 1, the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (Esto’k Gna) is holding a youth-led, week-long run and walk from the Permian Basin to the Rio Grande Valley to bring awareness to the harmful, exploitative and unjust impacts of extractive industries on their sacred lands. The event, titled Bridge to the Ancestors, will start with an opening ceremony on March 24th at Monahans Sandhills State Park in Monahans, TX. Over the next 10 days, tribal members will visit eight communities, culminating ...

SB53 bans the storage or disposal of high-level nuclear waste in New Mexico under most circumstances. It passed the House on March 17, the last full day of the session, and was signed by the governor the same night! Congratulations and thank you to everyone who called your representatives and senators to encourage passage of this important law! ...

For immediate release: March 7, 2023 In response to passage of House Taxation and Revenue’s passage of HB547 on Monday, the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter’s Camilla Feibelman issued the following statement:  The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter is grateful to Chair Lente and the House Taxation and Revenue Committee for including three critical climate-related House tax bills that will save New Mexicans money and improve our air, water and climate.   HB412 helps New Mexico families purchase electric vehicles, which ...

The New Mexico ICO program will be hiking on Saturday, April 1, 2023 with Santa Fe Youth Shelters. We plan on hiking at Cerrillos Hill State Park. We’re meeting at 8:45 and leaving at 9:00 a.m., and we should be back no later than 3:00. Those interested should contact Raymond N. Greenwell at matrng@hofstra.edu ...

For immediate release: Feb. 23, 2023 Advisory: Climate Justice Day rally moved outside Roundhouse today to accommodate COVID concerns Today, New Mexico environmental and community groups will join legislators to call attention to important legislation protecting our climate and opening doors to thriving communities. Because of an apparent increase in COVID cases at the Roundhouse, the 1 p.m. rally will now be held outside, and some tables will be staged outside, but those who feel comfortable going inside will also ...

Diane has lived in New Mexico since 2007 – when she received orders to Kirtland AFB. She served 25 years as a medical service corps officer, beginning in the Navy and finishing in the Air Force. When she retired in 2010, Diane turned her attention to outdoor activities and to volunteering. She enjoys hiking, camping, skiing and long walks with her husband and dogs in the Bosque. She had her first taste of rafting with a 24 day trip on ...

Derrick Toledo, from the Pueblo of Jemez, is a congressional staffer for Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández currently based out of Santa Fe. He previously served as a tribal official in Jemez and now works closely alongside the tribes in natural resource protection, language immersion, and energy policy. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he studied Multimedia Journalism and Marketing Management and is currently in a masters program at Arizona State University studying Political Psychology ...

The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter issued the following statement in response to an economic report issued by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, which failed to include the industry’s well-documented economic costs and harms to New Mexicans’ health, water, and air quality. The Sierra Club is also supplying science-based facts to give the public a more complete understanding of oil and gas impacts in our state ...

By Luis Guerrero, Rio Grande Chapter legislative and political organizer This year is a “long” 60-day New Mexico legislative session starting Jan. 17, and there will be many exciting opportunities for Sierra Club members to provide input and participate (sometimes late into the night!) in the process. Below are a few of the bills we will be advocating for or against in this legislative session: CLIMATE & ENERGY Climate Solutions and Just Transition  This legislation will put into law aspects ...