Earth Matters

 Earth Matters co-producer Allyson Siwik speaks with Claire Catlett, Joanie Connors, Andrew Dahl-Bredine and Azaima Anderson about the Gila Conservation Coalition's  4th Wild & Scenic Film Festival and Gila River CD/DVD release party scheduled for Saturday June 7 at 6:30 pm at the Buckhorn Opera House. Andrew and Azaima perform live in the GMCR studio their Gila River songs featured on the music CD and film DVD compilation entitled “Wild […]

Norm Gaume, former Interstate Stream Commission Director and one of the foremost critics of the Gila River diversion project, joins Earth Matters co-producer Allyson Siwik  in the Gila / Mimbres Community Radio studio for a discussion of the ISC's Gila River diversion proposal... and its fatal flaws. Norm has had a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years.  He is a retired licensed professional water engineer with a BS in […]

This week’s edition of Earth Matters features a presentation by Dr Dan Shilling on viewing Civic Tourism as a Public Good, Valuing It as a Public Responsibility, and Practicing It as a Public Art. Dan spoke on April 11, 2014 at WNMU at the invitation of Western Institute for Lifelong Learning and the Southwest New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, and was recorded by Earth Matters. According to Dr. Shilling, […]

This week’s edition of Earth Matters, Nathan Newcomer interviews Kurt Menke, owner and operator of Bird's Eye View GIS.  They discuss GIS mapping and conservation, wildlife corridors & the Tijeras Canyon Safe Passage Coalition, amongst other issues related to mapping and conservation efforts throughout not only New Mexico, but also the rest of the Rocky Mountain West. A former archeologist, Kurt Menke is a Certified GIS Professional (GISP) and has worked in the GIS field […]

This week on Earth Matters, host Allyson Siwik speaks with Don Hancock, Director of the Nuclear Waste Safety Program at the Albuquerque-based Southwest Research and Information Center about troubling developments at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) On February 5 a salt haul truck caught fire underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a deep geological repository for permanent disposal of transuranic waste left over from research and production […]

In this week’s edition of Earth Matters, Donna Stevens interviews Shelby Hallmark of the Grant County Trails Group and Silver City Greenway to Continental Divide Trail Linkage Project, Teresa Martinez, director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, and Bob Wilson, founder and longtime board member of the Gila Conservation Education Center. The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) traverses more than 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico. It's significant for geographic, historic, physical, and […]

This week's edition of Earth Matters, Nathan Newcomer interviews local author and Gila National Forest wilderness lookout, Philip Connors. They discuss Mr. Connors' recent novel, Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout, while also exploring the role of fire in large wilderness areas, amongst swapping wildlife encounters and the like... Living in the arid southwest, the topic of fire in our national forests and wilderness areas often tends to be […]

This week’s edition of Earth Matters, Allyson Siwik interviews Executive Director Cissy McAndrew and board member Lynda Aiman-Smith of the Southwest New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce.  We all want economic prosperity here in Grant Co and southwest New Mexico, but in order to be sustainable over the long term, economic development shouldn’t come at the expense of the environment or the health and well being of our community.  The sustainable approach to economic development […]

Welcome to Earth Matters and our continuing coverage of the New Mexico Legislature with particular attention to the water and environmental issues and bills that have been introduced. Perhaps the most significant bill in this even yeared short session is SB 89 introduced by Senator Peter Wirth of Santa Fe with Silver City's Senator Howie Morales among its cosponsors.  SB 89 proposed that $82 million be appropriated for non-diversion projects.  […]