La Cienega Valley Association

Protecting and preserving our acequia culture and agricultural traditions…

 Entries are closed for the 2nd Annual Photo Contest 
Click/Tap Here on October 20 to see Finalists and vote for Community Choice!

Photo Contest Update and LCVA News – July 23, 2014

Win Cash! Enter the LC² Photo Contest! It’s Free! New Grand Prize!

Your chance to win a share of $150 in cash prizes with a special grand prize will be gone in 8 days after the entry deadline of July 31 passes! Get those entries in for the La Cienega and La Cieneguilla (LC²) Photo Contest! Check the contest page at http://lcva-nm.org/lc2-photo-contest/ for the new grand prize.

We’ve received some great photos that are now posted on the Entries tab at the contest page at http://lcva-nm.org/lc2-photo-contest/. But, we know there are a lot more wonderful photos out there to share with our community!

Also, don’t forget that during the rest of July, El Rancho de Las Golondrinas is generously offering free entry to La Cienega and La Cieneguilla resident photographers who want to include photos at Las Golondrinas in their contest entries. At the museum entrance, please show proof of residence (for example, a driver’s license or utility bill) and let them know you’re participating in the LC² photo contest. Please limit use of this offer to one day and be sure to thank Las Golondrinas staff and volunteers for their hospitality. Las Golondrinas is open Wednesday – Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

For the contest rules and the entry form, go to the contest web page at http://lcva-nm.org/lc2-photo-contest/. If you prefer, you can also email up to five entries at a time to [email protected] with the following information as described on the entry form.

Provide the following once per email:
First and Last Name
Street Address, City, State, Zip
Phone
Email

And provide the following for each photo attached to an email:
Photo file name
Photo category
Photo caption
Photo location
Photo month and year
Photo source
Photo alteration

Growth
One of the ongoing challenges in our community is growth combined with the lack of water planning. This combination is an ongoing threat to our limited water supply. In the last few weeks we have witnessed a series of land divisions and lot splits in both La Cienega and La Cieneguilla. The LCVA shares the concern and wants to remind our residents that the aquifer that feeds our springs, ponds, streams and supplies our wells has been impacted by a combination of drought, large water users (City) and the proliferation of private wells.

In response, the LCVA is working with our legislators to find funding to implement the La Cienega Watershed Conditions to enable residents to connect to the county water system as well as amending the subdivision statute to reinstate local development review committees that help protect traditional-historical communities like La Cienega and La Cienguilla.

Change of Dates

There are two changes in LCVA scheduling.

First we are moving the August 4 Board meeting to the following Monday, August 11, 7:00 p.m. at the community center. This is a special legislative meeting that State Representative Stephanie Garcia Richard helped arrange and will include Senator Phil Griego and Representative Jim Trujillo. The focus will be on completing the library, infrastructure needs and other community funding needs. The meeting date was changed to accommodate our legislators’ schedules. Please contact the LCVA if you any items you would like to include in the meeting.

The Board is also considering the moving September community breakfast from September 6 to the 13th to avoid conflicts with the City’s Pet Parade. We will keep you posted but it seems like a smart move.

SF Canyon Ranch CDRC Meeting

The LCVA would like to report that the CDRC approved all three conditions of CDRC Case # Z/V 13-5131, supported by the LCVA in which the developers/owners requested a master plan amendment to separate 6 tracts (845 acres) from the approved master plan for the Santa Fe Canyon Ranch, a variance of the ordinance regarding certain existing water budgets and water conservation requirements and a variance of the ordinance restricting the construction of a swimming pool. Please look for notices for the schedule of when the case will go before the County Commission.

El Rancho de las Golondrinas

Please don’t forget free admission, for all La Cienega and La Cieneguilla residents, to the Museum’s Summer Festival on August 2 and 3. If you have lost your newsletter or never got one just go to the LCVA web site at lcva-nm.org for your free pass.

County Open Space

The County Open Space Maintenance crew would like to inform residents in La Cieneguilla that a new contractor has been hired to complete the work on the fire access road along the river. The work will be performed on July 28. The previous contractor did not share the perspective of the County in the work that needed to be done. LCVA is hopeful the new contractor will have a better understanding of the need to minimize the impact to the area’s arroyos, vegetation and trees. The LCVA has encouraged the County to seed the road with grass to minimize erosion during flood events.

Community Harvest Festival

The LCVA is recruiting volunteers to help plan a community harvest festival in October. Please contact Carl Dickens at [email protected] if you are interested.

Photo Contest and LCVA News – July 15, 2014 LCVA News – July 25, 2014