Earth Matters

ISC decision to move ahead with Gila River diversion project Earth Matters co-producer Allyson Siwik of Gila Resources Information Project / Gila Conservation Coalition is joined by Todd Schulke, co- founder and senior staff with the Center for Biological Diversity and a partner in the Gila Conservation Coalition to discuss the November 24 vote by the Interstate Stream Commission to move forward with a Gila River diversion project under the Arizona Water Settlements […]

On this edition of Earth Matters, Donna Stevens talks with Madeleine Carey, Gila Campaign Fellow with WildEarth Guardians in Santa Fe. They discuss an important issue impacting our national forests: cattle grazing and voluntary grazing buyouts. Listen to the show to learn more about the history and impacts of cattle grazing in the West and on our public lands. Find out how conservationists are working for the proverbial win-win scenario of voluntary […]

Plants and People with Kelly Kindscher Earth Matters co-producer Allyson Siwik discusses plants and people with Kelly Kindscher, plant ecologist, ethnobotanist, professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Kansas and senior scientist with the Kansas Biological Survey. We, as humans, are dependent upon plants for our existence. Plants provide us with food, raw materials for shelter and clothing, and chemical compounds for medicinal and other uses. Plant communities are an […]

On October 6, the NM state legislature's Interim Water and Natural Resources Committee met at Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM.  One of the items on their agenda was the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA). At the end of this year, New Mexico must notify the Secretary of the Interior if it will move forward with a Gila River division project under the AWSA.  The Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) will […]

Why does wilderness call to us? Perhaps the need for wildness is hard-wired in each of us, whether we heed the call or not. If anyone would know, it's New Mexico native son, writer and conservationist Dave Foreman. Foreman returns to the Gila River Festival this year to speak about the intrinsic value of wilderness, America’s first wilderness river, and the history of the Gila Wilderness Area. For decades, Foreman […]

How much water is really available to New Mexico under the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA)? How much water can a Gila River diversion project really provide after accounting for evaporation and seepage? What does the NM Interstate Stream Commission's secret model tell us about the agency's plans to develop Gila River water? In this special Gila River Festival presentation, Norm Gaume, former Interstate Stream Commission director and chief critic […]

This week on Earth Matters, co-host Nathan Newcomer interviews Claire Catlett of GRIP / Gila Resources Information Project and Donna Stevens, Executive Director of UGWA / Upper Gila Watershed Alliance. Both have primary roles in the organization and presentation of the 10th Annual Gila River Festival: Celebrating America’s First Wilderness River This 10th annual festival coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the Federal Wilderness Act and the 90th Anniversary of […]

This week on Earth Matters, co-host Donna Stevens interviews ornithologist and naturalist Mike Fugagli.  They discuss the ecology and various habitats of the Cliff/Gila Valley, its bird diversity, and how a Gila River diversion could impact the river, riparian habitat, plant communities and bird diversity. Earth Matters airs Tuesday & Thursday at 10am and 8pm Or listen to the podcast via the link below at your convenience Earth Matters / […]

This installment of Earth Matters is a rebroadcast of Allyson Siwik's interview of Michael Berman – noted landscape photographer, Guggenheim Fellow  and self-described radical environmentalist.  Michael has several books of his work as a photographer and is an active supporter of environmental issues - particularly in the Southwest - having served on a number of boards for environmental organizations. Michael will be featured in this year's Gila River Festival scheduled […]