INSIDE THIS

ISSUE:

LANL NRDA

Public Comment

Period

The Ecological

Health of

Scared Area

Kids Planet

MISSION STATEMENT The mission of DECP is to preserve and protect the natural environment and the cultural resources of the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, to assess risks to human health and welfare, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and protect the health and welfare of the Tribal community.

Pueblo de San Ildefonso Environmental & Cultural Preservation

San Ildefonso is on the Trustee Council for the LANL Natural Re-

source Damage Assessment (NRDA). This effort gives the Pueblo a

voice in the restoration of Tribal Resources damaged by releases of

hazardous substances from LANL. Under NRDA regulations,

“restoration” may take many forms, including, but not limited to,

monetary compensation.

Our major effort this year is a Draft “Damage Assessment Plan”,

which evaluates the impacts of releases of hazardous substances

on natural resources and the services provided by those resources.

In other words, this Plan will try to figure out what hazardous sub-

stances have been released from LANL, and what effects any of

these substances have had on the natural resources (e.g. plants,

animals, soils, waters, etc) of the Tribe. Note that this is different

from the ongoing “remediation” activities at LANL, which address

human health.

An important aspect of NRDA is public participation. Perhaps the

most powerful tool available to Tribal Members is the opportunity to

read and comment on this plan. The easiest way to do this is to

download the plan at www.lanlnrda.org. The public comment pe-

riod for the Draft Damage Assessment Plan began November 14,

2013. Comments must be submitted in writing by January 13,

2014 at 5:00 p.m. either via e-mail to lanlnrda@gmail.com or

via mail to:

LANL NRDA PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Michael Chacon, Technical Reviewer/QA Manager

New Mexico Office of Natural Resources Trustee

4910-A Alameda Blvd. NE

Albuquerque, NM 87113

Continued on next page...

View the DECP

Newsletter

online at

sanipueblo.org

DECP NEWS—Fall 2013 Page 2

The Ecological Health of

Sacred Area Michael Chacon, Technical Reviewer/QA

Manager

Yes, it is a difficult time of year to find time to read large documents written with very technical

language, but these activities may affect the natural resources of San Ildefonso in the future.

Because of this DECP staff has invested much time and effort working to protect the interests of

San Ildefonso on the Trustee Council. Also, another public meeting will he held when this Draft

document is finalized, and that meeting date will be advertised the Bulletin, and Tribal Mem-

bers are encouraged to attend.

LANL NRDA PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Continued

Who are the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Trustees?

The LANL Trustee Council is composed of the Trustees identified below. The Trustees hold trustee-

ship for a range of natural resources potentially affected by releases from LANL. They are work-

ing cooperatively to conduct a natural resource damage assessment and restoration (NRDAR)

process of natural resources in and around LANL. DOE is the potentially responsible party (PRP)

and a Trustee.

Lately concern has been raised about the ecological health of Sacred Area, because of the

presence of Chromium in the groundwater under Sacred Area. Let us remember that this Chro-

mium is hundreds of feet UNDERGROUND. It is not impacting the surface at all. Certainly Sacred

Area is not in optimal health. Various factors are contributing to this. Please note that all these

factors are regional and even global.

Bark Beetles

Forests across western North America have been ravaged for more than a decade by

mountain pine beetles and other bark beetles in the continent’s most extensive such

attacks on record. Aided by intense drought and warm winter temperatures, bark bee-

tles have affected some 46 million acres of forest in the western United States, and mil-

lions more across Canada, over the last 13 years. Within those zones, beetle-killed trees

have spanned as many as 10 million acres1.

In 2002 - 2004, several years of drought and high tree densities (many more trees per

acre than is healthy for the forest) combined to allow pine bark beetle populations to

reach outbreak level, killing millions of piñon and ponderosa pine trees in Arizona and

New Mexico. Large areas of mortality, especially around the cities of Santa Fe and

Flagstaff generated much public concern as many trees died.

DECP NEWS—Fall 2013 Page 3

These insects are native to the piñon-juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forests of the South-

west, normally attacking only a small number of diseased or weakened trees. A healthy tree is

typically able to defend against a bark beetle attack by pushing the beetles out with sap. The

drought has left many trees with little ability to defend against bark beetle attacks. Additionally,

the high tree densities of southwestern forests have contributed to weaker trees due to competi-

tion for water and resources. The last major outbreak of these bark beetles in the southwest oc-

curred during the 1950’s drought2.

1 https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/opinion/9366/bark-beetle-blues 2 http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r3/forest-grasslandhealth/insects-diseases/?cid=STELPRDB5228457 3 Tony Heller; (Santa Fe New Mexican, 8/13/13) is currently living in northern Colorado. He grew up in Los Alamos and worked as a geologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory for

several years. One of his hobbies is studying climate history. 4 2012 State of the Climate Report

Keep in mind, this is one year’s data. If you study climate data for any time period longer than this,

the reality of climate change is irrefutable.

To summarize, Sacred Area, and all lands of the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, have been affected by

these influences. Chromium in water hundreds of feet underground is not causing the real or per-

ceived ecological health problems. Of course, Chromium in water is not a good thing, but DECP is

working with The Dept. of Energy (DOE) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to protect, and

when necessary clean up, the precious natural resources of the Pueblo de San Ildefonso.

Drought We are currently in a severe drought, which has had an adverse impact on the trees, and all plant

and animal life in Sacred Area, New Mexico, and the Southwest. The bad news is that what we

now think of as drought may actually be normal, based on historical patterns:

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), New Mexico

was in near continuous drought from 1946 to 1972, and that drought was more intense than

the current four-year drought.

From 1900 to 1912, New Mexico was in near-continuous severe drought.

According to NOAA, the period from 1978 to 1996 was the wettest in New Mexico history.

Climate Change

Climate change is happening, and on a global scale, so it is combining with severe drought and

bark beetles to have a negative effect on the health of Sacred Area. If you have any doubts re-

garding climate change, study these facts from NOAA for the year 2012:

Global average ocean surface temperature was higher than the 1981–2010 average and

has been for at least a decade.

Surface temperatures for 2012 were 8th to 9th warmest since records began in mid‐to late

1800s.

There were record warm permafrost temperatures in the Alaskan Arctic and Canadian Archi-

pelago alongside ongoing warming and increasing Active Layer Thickness.

Preliminary data suggests that 2012 will be the 22nd consecutive year of negative glacier

mass balance.

Surface temperatures in the Arctic are increasing at a rate about two times faster than the

rest of the world.

Global mean carbon dioxide (CO2) reached 392.6 parts per million (ppm), a 2.1 ppm in-

crease from 2011.

Global mean methane (CH4) reached 1808.5 parts per billion (ppb), a 5.1 ppb increase since

2011.

Raymond Martinez

Interim Director

Michael Chacon

Technical Reviewer/

QA Manager

Erin Martinez

Administrative Assistant

Noah Kaniatobe

GPS\GIS Technician

Eric Archuleta

Database Manager

Ken Wilhem

Water Quality Program

Manager

Alexander King

Water Quality Technician

Bryan Montoya Cultural Resources Advisor/

WIPP Coordinator

Pueblo de San Ildefonso

02 Tunyo Po

Santa Fe, NM 87506

Phone:

(505) 455-2273

Fax:

(505) 455-1120

DECP STAFF

DECP NEWS—Fall 2013 Page 4

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