TalkoftheTown: A tiny minnow leads the fight to restore the Rio Grande

A small fish's fight in the Rio Grande

A silly question, perhaps, but when it comes to the Rio Grande, the answer may be yes.

After decades of drought and mismanagement, Burqueños have grown accustomed to seeing large stretches of the Rio reduced to a trickle or even drained completely dry. But thanks to a handful of rare New Mexican wildlife species, the Rio Grande could flow once again in future years.

Like so much to do with the West’s water, it took legal action to move key federal agencies in a way that would benefit both people and wildlife. Two years ago, WildEarth Guardians, a Santa Fe-based conservation group, brought a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation to keep more water in the river on behalf of the Rio Grande silvery minnow. This native fish is in deep trouble, because fish need water, and the Rio Grande is running dry.

After several years of wrangling, an agreement was finalized, sending the federal water and wildlife agencies back to the drawing board to develop new measures in the Middle Valley to protect endangered fish and wildlife. In the meantime, farmers willing to stop irrigating a small portion of Middle Valley farmland will continue to get paid to keep more water in the river.

It’s a win-win.

It may surprise many, but the Rio Grande once hosted an incredible abundance of native trout, sturgeon — an ancient plated fish that’s been around since the dinosaurs — and dozens of other native fish species. Many of those larger fish have already gone extinct, and today this once-mighty river struggles to support even a small minnow. When an ancient river can no longer support a four-inch fish, it’s an alarm bell to everyone that the Rio Grande and its ecosystem are in crisis.

This aquatic “canary in a coal mine” is a warning for all of us who need water to survive, which definitely includes Burqueños. Like a game of Jenga, we can’t expect to keep pulling species out of New Mexico’s unique web of life without it all eventually tumbling down.

With fish and wildlife desperate for flowing water and New Mexico struggling to meet its downstream delivery obligations to Texas, keeping more water running in the Rio is good for everyone.

It really shouldn’t take lawsuits like this to keep the Rio Grande wet. Instead, we need bold leadership to transform our water management in a collective, equitable, and transparent manner so New Mexicans can work together to live and thrive in a future with less water.

With the obvious effects of climate change bearing down on New Mexico now, we can no longer pretend inaction is a strategy. Let our leaders know that we cannot kill the Rio and expect to thrive.

Restoration of a living, flowing Rio Grande is the key to a healthy and sustainable future for all of us, and perhaps a tiny minnow can help show us the way.

DANIEL TIMMONS

Santa Fe

Enriching lives through time, talent and resources

As the holiday season approaches, many of us are consumed with shopping and holiday preparations, but the true spirit of the season lies in giving. Philanthropy — whether through our time, expertise, or financial resources — has the power to transform both the giver and the receiver. As Anne Frank wisely said, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” Winston Churchill echoed this sentiment in, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Giving is an investment that pays long-term dividends. When we share our time, whether by volunteering, mentoring, or simply being present for someone, we create lasting connections that enrich our own lives.

Offering our professional expertise, perhaps by volunteering for a nonprofit or helping others develop skills, can have a profound and life-changing impact. Financial contributions, whether large or small, help address immediate needs and support long-term initiatives that improve lives.

These gifts of time, talent and treasure not only change others’ lives, but they also bring us a sense of fulfillment and purpose.

In retirement, I have tried to live my life in these ways. Serving on the board of trustees of the UNM Foundation, whose work benefits all residents of our state, is one of the ways I am volunteering. In addition, I am spending time mentoring local nonprofits, for-profit businesses and individuals.

I know that doing this work helps me feel more connected to my community and gives me deep joy and satisfaction. Through philanthropy, we cultivate a culture of compassion, strengthen social ties and contribute to the resilience of our communities.

This holiday season let’s remember that the best gifts we can offer are not just things, but our time, expertise and resources. As we reflect on the year past, let us embrace the true spirit of the holidays by investing in others and, in doing so, enriching our own lives in ways money can’t buy. Imagine the future you could help create by helping others.

JOHN MOCKOVCIAK

Arroyo Seco

A father's motto could benefit the U.S.

When I was a kid, my father always used to tell me, "Your outgo shouldn't exceed your income."

While I see the government continuously spending more than it takes in, some programs seem particularly frivolous.

Looking at the hiring strategies for the governor's statewide Office of Housing, I see spending on management salaries and hiring personnel before personnel needs are even determined.

When I worked for AMD and other Silicon Valley semiconductor companies, we never hired anybody until there was a pressing need for defined projects and other defined work needs. We couldn't afford to hire willy-nilly for some future unspecified need. We had plans in place for what people would be doing, and also not doing. We couldn't afford to do everything and had to choose. On at least two occasions products I designed and brought to production were canceled because of changes in marketplace priority. Deciding what to do and how to do it first are essential to efficient dollar use.

Where is the specific plan for the governor's office of housing? Or is this just an attempt to improve her optics on the homelessness problem? While I applaud any effort to avoid needing a homeless poop map like the one for San Francisco, I'd like to see a more defined plan for a much smaller problem here before we spend more money on it.

MARK BOHRER

Albuquerque

Let this be the year of greater gun laws

On Nov. 17 "CBS Sunday Morning" presented "'Portrait of a person who's not there': Documenting the bedrooms of school shooting victims." How can one watch the CBS piece and not identify with the heartache and pain of the families that have lost a child in a school shooting? On the other hand, how does one come away from watching this, and identify with the gun industry and say they have a right to make money and sale guns?

1,453 school shootings occurred from 1997 to 2022. School administrators have implemented strategies to combat gun violence, like increasing security, locking doors, metal detectors and other measures, to make it harder for potential shooters to enter the school grounds. There is the “zero tolerance” firearm policies, and active shooter drills.

These are fine steps to keep our children safe, but members of Congress need to also act. Only they can pass laws that address access to guns, especially by minors. Only they can ban military assault style weapons, used in most school shootings.

Why won’t members of Congress ban assault weapons and enact greater gun laws? Are the lives of our children less important than whatever drives the members of Congress not to act?

Let this be the year members of congress finally act and ban assault weapons and enact greater gun laws.

VALARI TAYLOR

Rio Rancho