With election news dominating the headlines, some issues went into the background for a while. One of those seemed to be the San Pedro River.
But this week, the river returned to the spotlight with the announcement that The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department bought more than 120 acres of land in the Palominas area near the river. The nearly $800,000 purchase is aimed at helping to reduce water pumping in the area along the river.
|
|
The purchase shows the positive collaborative efforts that continue in hopes of protecting the river. And the move also should remind us all that conservation efforts need to continue for the future of the San Pedro River.
CHEER: Company cleans up
This week, Apache Nitrogen Inc. of Benson held a celebration that was about 10 years in the making.
The company on Thursday celebrated wetland ponds it created as a response to an Environmental Protection Agency order to deal with a Superfund site and clean up of nearly a half million pounds of nitrates.
The company, which manufactures solid and liquid ammonium nitrate, ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers, nitric acid and aqua ammonia, has created wetlands that are able to naturally clean up groundwater and soil in an area near St. David. It’s a project that had it doubters, even from those within the project. But it was labeled a success by the company and staff members of agencies that were involved. And Apache Nitrogen has been told it has met the requirements of the EPA order.
We congratulate the company on its efforts, so far. It obviously took a long time to get to that point, but the determination has hopefully created a solution that will protect the environment for years to come.
CHEER: Letters to the troops
What does it feel like when you get a Christmas card or holiday greeting in the mail?
Now think about being far from home and in a war zone. Some of you know that firsthand.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. Postal Service returned letters sent to “any soldier” because of requirements by the Pentagon. It’s all in the name of making sure the troops were safe, but it meant the American public couldn’t easily send holiday greetings and show its support for the troops through the mail.
Last year, the Red Cross started an effort to get holiday greetings to the troops. It reportedly was able to get 600,000 cards distributed in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and the military medical center in Germany.
That program is continuing this year, with the Red Cross receiving the help of Pitney Bowes Inc. to scan the letters before sending them on to the troops. And the Red Cross hopes to get a million cards delivered this year.
We applaud this effort. It’s important to let our service members know they are thought of and appreciated while they’re far from home. It’s good cheer in a small package.
We encourage local residents to participate. Through Dec. 10, the public can send their greeting cards, with adequate postage and a return address, to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights MD 20791-5456. To speed delivery, mailers should not send care packages, money or any inserts, including glitter.
