LLA students enjoy a presentation at the PEEC planetarium. Photo by Martha Katko
LLA students learn about mulch and recycling at the Eco Station. Photo by Terra Hite.
PEEC executive director Jillian Rubio, far right, mingles with LLA students during a lunch break. Photo by Terra Hite.
Los Alamos Fire Department Captain Van Leimer speaks about Fire Mitigation and Defensible Space. Photo by Terra Hite
BY TERRA HITE
Leadership Los Alamos
Los Alamos Leadership met for its environmental session on Friday April 19th, the final session
before this year’s cohort of participants graduate. The day’s session began with student
speeches on various topics from appreciating modern art to influential bosses. This was
followed by several informative presentations from the Valles Caldera National Preserve
(VCNP) and the Los Alamos Fire Department, a tour of the Pajarito Environmental Education
Center (PEEC) museum and planetarium, a tour of the Los Alamos County Eco Station, and the
day ending with an information fair.
Jorge Silva-Bañuelos, the superintendent of Valles Caldera National Preserve, gave a
fascinating presentation about the history of the Caldera, both geologically and the political
history of how it went from being indigenously occupied, to a Spanish land grant, to becoming a national preserve. He shared about what the caldera has gone through with recent fires and the incredible work being done to clear “the dog hair thicket trees” to leave a more sustainable
amount of trees that can flourish and are less at risk of fire. Other goals he shared of VCPN are
listening to and partnering with indigenous voices and working on making the caldera more
open and welcoming for visitors to learn from and enjoy.
Bob Parmenter, the Division Chief of Science and Resource Stewardship, who is also with
VCNP, then spoke on the impact of climate change on the caldera. They are doing wonderful
work to care for, support, and protect both flora and fauna as the climate changes. Parmenter
shared graphs detailing the recent decrease of precipitation and simultaneous rapid increase of
temperature in the Jemez mountains. He also shared projections into the next few hundred
years of how the rise in heat may fluctuate and, though we won’t be around to witness it, there
are trees that will live to see these changes. He then spoke on how VCNP has a large mammal
monitoring project which tracks the movement of wildlife including elk and mountain lions. One mountain lion was tracked up to southern Colorado and then returned back toward our area.
Captain Van Leimer, of the Los Alamos Fire Department then spoke on fire mitigation and the
efforts the fire department has made in the county to provide defensible space. The fire
department is also available to do assessments of defensible space of personal property.
The class then went to the PEEC to visit the museum and get a demonstration of the
planetarium. There they gathered under the ponderosas and shared a vibrant salad bar picnic
lunch with most food sourced from organic and or local farms primarily via the Los Alamos
Co+Op.
Armando Gabaldon, Division Manager of the Los Alamos County Environmental Services then gave a tour of the Eco Station. As the wind rose, the class learned about all of the services offered by the Eco Station and the efforts to keep as much as possible out of the landfill. Community members can drop off many items to be recycled such as used oil, batteries, and electronics. There is also a free section where items can find a second home.
The day ended with an information fair at LANL which included representatives from Atomic City Transit, Bee City, LANL Sustainability & Net Zero Initiatives, Los Alamos County Recycle
Game, Los Alamos County Sustainability Team & Net Zero Initiative, Los Alamos County
Utilities Clean Energy Programs, Los Alamos County Water Production, and N3B
Environmental Cleanup & Stewardship at LANL.
Leadership Los Alamos is a non-profit organization whose mission is to identify current and
emerging leaders in Los Alamos and surrounding communities, to enhance their leadership
skills and deepen their knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing the community.
Each class learns about a variety of topics like community organizations, cultural and history,
youth, education, local government, economic development, and environmental issues. For
more information go to: Leadership Los Alamos – An educational organization dedicated to the
future of Los Alamos
- Captain Van Leimer, LAFD speaks about Fire Mitigation and Defensible Space. Photo