Political

June 5, 2009 - The Sierra Club and its tribal partners won a hard-fought victory when 541 square miles of New Mexico’s Mount Taylor, held sacred to many southwestern tribes, were listed on the state’s Register of Cultural Properties. The designation will trigger an automatic consultation with the tribes for any new development proposals in the area.

Nov 2009 - Santa Fe has this year experienced the near miraculous: the restoration of flow to the Santa Fe River through downtown. Over a hundred years ago, the de-watering of the river began with upstream dams, and since the 1950s only occasional flow has occurred. Our endorsement of current Mayor Coss and several councilors supportive of river restoration has led to this change.

10/27/09 - One more big action towards step-function growth in renewable energy growth in NM. The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners passed the ordinance to create a Renewable Energy Financing District for Santa Fe County. This allows residents to finance solar, geothermal, and wind projects through their property taxes.

During Clean Water Week, February 22-28, four New Mexicans traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the Clean Water Week ’09 Lobby Day, sponsored by the Clean Water Network.

The Santa Fe Regional Planning Authority (RPA) has recently created an Energy Task Force (ETF). The charter of this task force is to recommend specific energy projects for the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County. These projects will address reduction of CO2, reduce energy usage, save money, provide economic development and can be implemented within 1-2 years.

December 9, 2008 - the Santa Fe County Commission voted to adopt a new oil and gas ordinance. The ordinance was the culmination of a nearly two-year-long battle in which thousands of local residents rallied to protect the fragile Galisteo Basin from highly speculative hydrocarbon exploration.