In this issue…

_{Water News}
The San Pedro: Recharge or discharge?
_{Local News}
The return of cheap groceries
A special election
Third time’s a charm?
The Brazilian lab leak
The big wolf finale

The San Pedro: Recharge or discharge?

Last week, our county supervisors had a work session to discuss the budgets for various flood and water projects across the county. District 3 Supervisor Frank Antenori had some colorful perspectives which he shared candidly with everyone in the room. He thinks the county is mismanaging money on recharge projects for the San Pedro River.

“They should all immediately be getting phased out,” Antenori said.

There’s been a decades-long legal battle to make sure the San Pedro is a protected waterway, which means limiting how much adjacent groundwater gets drawn down, because, as District 1 Supervisor Tom Crosby pointed out, “the River is the water table.”

When groundwater levels decline for any reason, like over-pumping, nearby surface waters decline as well. Rainfall can still enter a stream bed, but much of it will just saturate into the ground if that soil is not already saturated with water.

Those who fight to keep the San Pedro flowing have been putting pressure on Fort Huachuca, the large military base in the area, to curb their water use. The Center for Biological Diversity says the Fort is the single largest user of San Pedro water and they’ve been pumping so much that the groundwater which normally flows into the river is now flowing backwards toward the Fort.

At the work session, Antenori said “the Fort does not need the SPRNCA (San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area) to survive.” When county staff explained that the riparian area is protected by federal court rulings, Antenori suggested that the Fort needs to “run it up the chain of command and get the national security declaration that they’re an essential national security asset and no one’s allowed to touch them.”

And what does Antenori think about the efforts to protect the San Pedro?

“This is that SPRNCA crybaby crowd and I, I'm, I'm, I am, I am, I'm, I'm I'm, I am getting more and more convinced every day that we need to get rid of that thing and shut that down,” he passionately stuttered.

The recharge projects for the San Pedro would route problematic urban and suburban flood water into recharge basins that would help to offset the local water use. But Antenori wants to see the flood control budget go to the Willcox basin instead, for recharge projects along the Chiricahua mountains, where overpumping is famously causing rapid declines of water tables, wells to go dry, and earth fissures to open up across the land.

“Even though it will not solve the issue by any means, it will slow the bleeding down. The patient (the aquifer) is still going to die eventually, but are they going to die in a week or are they going to die in two years — that’s the question,” he said.

While I support recharge efforts in the Willcox Basin (as well as for the San Pedro), I was personally disappointed to hear from the supervisor who represents the Willcox Basin that we should just expect the aquifers to die. He’s not the only one who feels this way, but it’s a minority opinion, even among those who are against regulations like the new Willcox AMA.

You can watch the meeting below:

Local News

Damaged goods: For those who do their grocery shopping in Douglas and miss the cheaper prices found at Food City and the 99 Cents Only Store after they were outcompeted by Walmart, some good news: a new grocery store called Dented Discounts is opening to fill that role, selling products with cosmetic damage to their packaging. The place is operated by the Douglas Arc which supports community inclusion to local people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and it’s right next to the 2nd Time Around thrift store in the old Food City plaza. The newly opened store isn’t yet providing produce or accepting EBT. Current store hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the address is 1320 San Antonio Ave.

Special election: If you live in Congressional District 7, you can vote in the July 7th primaries for a new U.S. Representative after the death of Raul Grijalva who served the area since 2003. The Tucson Sentinel has a rundown of the candidates running for the position and the schedule for upcoming debates.

Wild horse friends: You may remember the BLM auction of wild horses and donkeys I reported on earlier this year. Horse trainer Linda Arnold at the rescue explains to the Herald/Review what it’s like to help these wild animals become comfortable around humans.

The vacancy has been filled: Cochise County Elections Director Lisa Marra resigned in 2023 after being sued by county supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd when she refused to comply with their demands to hand-count ballots in the 2022 elections, which she and state court believed was illegal. She was replaced by Bob Bartlesby who soon quit, telling Cochise Regional News, "This is a toxic environment. I have to think about my health and stress." Another director was then hired and also quit for “personal reasons.” But maybe the third time’s the charm. The supervisors just confirmed the appointment of Melissa Avant as the new Elections Director. We’ll see how long she lasts.

The Brazilian lab leak: In the video below, Cochise County’s “Killer Bee Guy,” who helps locals remove bee hives, tells the origin story of the africanized bees which have taken over the Americas, and mentions that the bees killed three people in the county last year.

The big wolf finale: Community advocacy for and against the protection of Mexican Grey Wolves came to a head on May 12 at a special Board of Supervisors meeting open for public comment. The meeting lasted two and a half hours with a diversity of opinions on the matter.

Former District 3 county supervisor candidates Jacob Kartchner and Sonia Gasho, who are both ranchers, spoke to the need for the public to pay more to ranchers for the economic losses that the wolves cause. Other ranchers said the wolves should be delisted as a protected endangered species.

Some advocates for the wolves spoke to the importance of the protection program and the beneficial impact the wolves have on controlling local prey populations which can overeat the native vegetation and cause problems for the watersheds. Local opt-out builders Zach and Ethan spoke at the meeting, which you can hear in the video below.

Supervisor Antenori said “I’m not asking that we re-wipeout the wolves — there is a balance to be struck there” but that there needs to be “a more aggressive regulation of this problem” of wolves predating on cattle, and he suggested a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the ranchers.

Supervisor Crosby said the word “sustainability” is a code-word for “reduce human population,” that he was unswayed by the “supernatural impression” that wildlife holds any sanctity, and that he is unwilling to make “sacrifices to the wolf idol.”

Supervisor Kathleen Gomez spoke to her background working on environmental issues in Washington D.C. as well as her respect for the agricultural legacy of Cochise County. “What we have to do is bring these two sides together,” she said, admonishing that Cochise County “cannot bear the burden” of the current wolf program but also said that the wolves help maintain a balance in the local ecosystem.

Our mascot, Cochēz, running for cover from killer bees.

There’s always something interesting going on in these high deserts, ain’t it?

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