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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

It's June: Dive Into National Rivers Month

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Wednesday, June 10, 2020   

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- There are five major rivers in New Mexico, and with June designated National Rivers Month, now is the time to appreciate them for the habitat, drinking water and recreation they provide.

The San Juan, Pecos, Rio Grande, Canadian and Gila are New Mexico's major rivers. From panfish trout to bass and catfish, said Jeff Arterburn, president of the Gila-Rio Grande Trout Unlimited chapter, there's no end to the variety of fish -- or the variety of the rivers themselves.

"Here in the Gila region," he said, "the rivers flow from high mountain peaks down through rugged canyons, and eventually become desert streams."

If you don't know much about U.S. rivers, the longest is the Missouri in the Midwest at 2,500 miles. The widest is the Mississippi River, which measures 11 miles across at one point in Minnesota. Rivers, wetlands and riparian areas comprise only 1% of the New Mexico landscape, but are essential in renewing the state's water supply.

Last month, a bill to protect portions of two remote rivers and their tributaries in southwest New Mexico was introduced in Congress by Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, both D-N.M. It would designate more than 440 miles of the Gila and San Francisco as Wild and Scenic Rivers, in an area home to a wide range of big-game species. If approved, Arterburn said, it could help bring more economic activity to that portion of the state through recreation.

"As far as the state of New Mexico, we have very few river miles that are dedicated as Wild and Scenic," he said, "and this is a really important step for that recognition of the Gila and San Francisco watersheds."

In northwest New Mexico, it's estimated the Colorado River system, which supplies water to cities, farms, utilities and tribes, contributes $60 billion in annual economic activity to the state. The Clean Water Act, enacted in 1972, began the process of keeping untold amounts of pollution out of rivers, but it's legislation the Trump administration has sought to curtail.

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Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


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