Protests Stall Celebration of Chaco Drilling Buffer

Protest prevents Chaco drilling ban celebration

Members of the Navajo Nation who don’t support a new federal drilling buffer around Chaco Culture National Historic Park, including those who hold nearby land allotments, put a damper on what had been planned as a celebration this weekend. Protesters blocked the roadway to the park Sunday carrying signs that read “Go Home” and “No Trespassing on Allottee Land.” On June 2, US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed a much-praised order prohibiting drilling within a 10-mile buffer around Chaco for 20 years. Yet, not all stakeholders praise the policy. Even though the Biden administration’s withdrawal applies only to federal land, Navajo officials and allotment owners argue their interests will now be landlocked. Navajo President Buu Nygren says the prohibitions violates Navajo sovereignty and issued a statement to The Associated Press earlier in the week noting the weekend event was disrespectful and should be canceled. “The financial and economic losses that are impacting many Navajo families as a result of the secretary’s recent land withdrawal are nothing to celebrate,” Nygren said. “As leaders of the Navajo Nation, we support the Navajo allottees who oppose the withdrawal of these public lands.” Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, appeared in Albuquerque instead of her planned event at the park. “This morning was not ideal..that’s the nicest thing I can say about it,” she said. “To see any road into any of our national parks or our public lands blocked was heartbreaking because our public lands belong to all Americans.”

NM secures $500 million from Walgreens in settlement

Walgreens has agreed to pay New Mexico a $500 million settlement to end litigation filed by the attorney general in 2017 over the pharmacy’s role in opioid addiction, what attorneys from contract firm Baron & Budd say is one of the largest settlements obtained from a single opioid defendant in the country and the largest settlement obtained from a single defendant by the attorney general in New Mexico. The new amount comes in addition to the $274 million in settlements the trial team secured last fall from Albertsons, CVS, Kroger and Walmart, bringing the state’s payouts from the retail pharmacy defendants to $774 million. Settlement cash must be used for substance abuse treatment and prevention programs. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County have already received $958,185 and $765,393, respectively. “Too many lives have been lost or ruined as a result of the opioid crisis. The burden on families, both financially and emotionally is immeasurable,” Dan Alberstone, Baron & Budd co-lead counsel in the trial, said in a news release. “That said, this settlement is a major step in our effort to hold companies like Walgreens accountable for their egregious conduct, and we expect the outcome of this case will not only cause these corporate wrongdoers to change their behavior, but, most importantly, put New Mexico on a path to recovery.”

Flows looking good, but fishing derby canceled

Water flow in the Santa Fe River will keep up with the City of Santa Fe’s promises to allocate 1,000 acre-feet per year to the “living river,” according to an updated plan scheduled for presentation today before the Public Works and Utilities Committee. The Natural Resources Conservation Service forecasted 186% of the 30-year median streamflow yield for what river planners call the 2023-24 Water Year. If flows are predicted to be lower than the average, the city scales back releases. Not the case this year. According to a memo by Santa Fe River and Watershed Manager Zoe Isaacson, releases so far this spring have been on time with the hydrographic plan, and as SFR reported in April, the city released more water from upstream reservoirs than normal this season. But for the second year in a row, the Fishing Derby won’t take place due to “adverse conditions.” “In contrast to last year’s limited water supply, abnormally high runoff restricts the City’s ability to safely dam the river for the event this spring,” Isaacson writes. The city plans a second release pulse for late June through early July, then will maintain baseflows through the duration of irrigation season before tapering down in the fall. Watch Isaacson’s presentation at the 5 pm meeting on the city’s YouTube channel.

Making up for Gold King Mine

A new boat ramp recently completed on the Animas River is the first of many projects intended to restore damage and compensate for recreation losses from the major toxic release at the Gold King Mine site in 2015. Contaminated water in the river ran the color of tangerines for a few days after the disaster. The ramp project is among projects to be funded with a portion of the $1 million recovered from Sunnyside Gold Corporation, Kinross Gold Corporation, and Kinross Gold U.S.A., Inc. for injuries to natural resources resulting from the blowout. The corporations paid $11 million to the State of New Mexico—$10 million for environmental response costs and lost tax revenue, as well and $1 million to the Office of the Natural Resources Trustee. San Juan County Commission Chair Steve Lanier told the Tri-City Record that approval from the ONRT was helpful to regain visitors. “Of course, we wish we didn’t have the mine incident at all but just having to deal with it, you have to look forward and start figuring out ways to make it better,” he said, adding later, “One of the things that we were trying to do is instill confidence back into people that our waterways are OK—that we have recovered from that.” The ONRT recently released a plan for spending the next $10 million on restoration projects in the region, including water, wastewater and irrigation system improvements. For its role in the blowout, the US Environmental Protection Agency agreed to pay New Mexico $32 million and the Navajo Nation $31 million.

Listen up

The topic of gun violence and what state, local and federal officials are doing to address it leads The Line opinion panel on the new episode of New Mexico In Focus on NM-PBS. Former federal prosecutor Joel Meyers; Eric Griego, former state senator; and Dan McKay, staff writer at the Albuquerque Journal kick off the discussion with an update on the case against Solomon Peña and two others now facing federal conspiracy and other charges for allegedly shooting at the homes of Democratic officials.

Denim diamonds

A fashion collaboration between Los Angeles artist Spanto (Seneca/Apache) and one of the nation’s most well-known clothing company celebrates the “various memories that shaped Spanto—growing up Native, growing up in Venice. In most of these experiences, regalia reigned supreme. And that regalia always included Levi’s,” according to an essay in the LA Times Lifestyle section on the collection that dropped Friday. “Spending summers on Native American reservations with his father, learning about his Seneca heritage, the uniform was a pair of Levi’s worn over leather ankle boots, a ribbon shirt, turquoise jewelry and long hair pulled back tightly,” the Times writes. “‘That style is very distinct—the only person who dresses like that is someone who grew up on the rez,’ Spanto says. ‘It’s a very specific thing.’” Gorgeous photographs of the denim jackets and pants come from LA studios and locations such as the White Mountain Apache reservation, on the Navajo Nation and in New Mexico, where they include models from the state such as actor Amber Midthunder; film producer Jhane Myers and her daughter, director and writer Peshawn Bread.

New Mexico blues

Vacationers seeking water for cool the summer sizzle might consider the shade of blue that makes them feel most content. Is it the green/blue outside Miami? Or the royal blue of Denver’s Grand Lake? When it comes to true blue, Santa Rosa’s Blue Hole ranks No. 1 for the nation’s bluest water, as reported by Sixt in its evaluation last month. “According to research, being in close proximity with water can improve our mental state–making us happier, calmer, healthier and more creative,” the website reads, drilling down to the central/eastern New Mexico attraction as “located amid the desert like a great blue gem, this geological wonder is famous for its spring-fed blue water and is considered an iconic roadside attraction on Route 66.” If blue food is more your speed than an endless blue swimming hole, a specialty donut from Whoo’s in Santa Fe made Yelp’s new list of the 25 most unique donuts in the US and Canada for its made-from-scratch lavender blueberry blue corn number. Although the piece incorrectly identifies the store’s location as Albuquerque, it notes, “for that southwestern flair, it is going to be tough to top Whoo’s Donuts.”

Where the air is sweet

The National Weather Service forecasts slightly cooler conditions today: sunny, with a high near 74 and southeast wind 10 to 20 mph becoming west in the afternoon.

Thanks for reading! The (Substitute) Word welcome all advice about avoiding adversarial bear encounters, even if this Twitter thread started by the National Park Service is supposed to be funny.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story has been corrected to indicate which agency developed the plan for regional restoration projects following the Gold King Mine settlement.