Big burn plan proposed in Santa Fe National Forest with concerns from some locals - By Megan Gleason, Source New Mexico
The U.S. Forest Service wants to burn tens of thousands of acres over the next decade in the Santa Fe National Forest to decrease the severity of future wildfires. Prescribed burns have escaped there in the past, and the forest sits close to where some of New Mexico’s most massive wildfires occurred.
One of those, the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire was caused by the National Forest Service in 2022. Due to new safety rules around prescribed burns, the federal agency says they have more clear guidelines, and insist they don’t want a repeat of the past.
Not everyone has as much faith in them.
Under the Santa Fe Mountains Landscape Resiliency Project, the U.S. Forest Service would burn 38,000 acres, thin 18,000 acres and conduct riparian restoration in 680 acres over the next 10 years. Maintenance burning would keep going every five to 10 years.
Matthew Hurteau is a fire ecologist and University of New Mexico professor with expertise on the Santa Fe watershed. He said this project is necessary to keep the Santa Fe National Forest healthy and prevent out-of-control wildfires, especially amid climate change.
“The atmosphere is getting warmer and drier, and so it basically acts as a giant sponge sucking water out of the ecosystem,” he said. “And the less water you have stored in the ecosystem, the more flammable that becomes.”
Other environmental advocates don’t feel the same.
Sarah Hyden lives on the edge of Santa Fe National Forest and has helped lead a coalition of environmental advocacy groups and scientists in objecting to the project. She has also organized meetings so the Forest Service can hear public concerns about their plans, many of which revolve around potential dangers that could emerge.
She said the project’s excessive burning and thinning measures could have catastrophic consequences, both for the environment and the health of the people living near the forest.
“Fire isn’t a bad thing. It’s a natural part of forest ecology,” she said. “But when you get so much and you burn out communities and people’s homes and disrupt their lives and their acequias, it’s really damaging.”
Hyden said she’s worried about the potential of this large federal forest service project leading to escaped burns. That’s how the U.S. Forest Service started the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon that grew out of control and burned more than 341,000 acres.
“They don’t seem to be learning from the past, and they don’t seem to be willing to,” Hyden said.
NEW BURN RULES
The Forest Service started releasing plans about the project around 2019, before the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, which temporarily put it on pause. Upon resuming last year, Hyden said the federal agency isn’t learning from their errors.
Jacob Key, U.S. Forest Service fireshed coordinator, said the federal government has taken steps to learn from the mistake and wants to prevent another record setting fire in New Mexico.
The Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon fire caused a halt on all U.S. Forest Service prescribed burns around the country for 90 days. Then, the Forest Service released a review of its burn practices and revised some of the standards.
Key said some of the significant changes require burn authorizations to be approved within a 24-hour period, monitoring fires more regularly and having contingency resources closer to project areas to handle fires getting out of control.
The burn plans for the Santa Fe National Forest project would have to take those new requirements into account. Each burn project would get its own plan. It’s unclear how many more prescribed burns are necessary under the plan, Key said.
“There’s a big understanding that we need to do more, and these are the steps that we’re trying to take to do more,” he said.
Hyden said the Forest Service still needs more personnel, equipment and funding to get things done correctly. She’s concerned about their lack of capacity to change, even under the new requirements.
“There’s nothing genuine that has been significantly improved, just a new set of procedures,” she said. “And that’s not like that’s nothing, but it’s not nearly enough.”
A WARMING GLOBE
Hurteau said one of the reasons the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire got so bad was because there’s a history of the U.S. Forest Service not allowing prescribed burns that can lead mitigation efforts that prevent larger fires from getting out of control.
“I think it’s absolutely delusional to think we can live in a world in the southwest without wildfire,” Hurteau said.
Unlike the opinion from local residents like Hyden, Hurteau said not enacting this project amid climate change will lead to more disastrous wildfires. He said the project actually doesn’t go far enough and should include more thinning and burning to treat the forest.
“I think that most people don’t understand how much more risk we’re going to face in these landscapes with additional warming in the atmosphere,” Hurteau said. “And we’re committed to it. It’s happening. Even if we shut off fossil fuel combustion globally tomorrow, we’re going to continue to warm.”
Extreme weather conditions were major factors in the intensity of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. The U.S. Forest Service lit the prescribed burns that led to the fires combining in high winds and low humidities.
In the last five decades, wildfire season in western states has increased by over two months in length, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
There have been multiple opportunities for the public to object to the Santa Fe project, though the objection periods have since closed. The most recent objection period ended in January. Dozens have already questioned how this will make the forest healthier.
Lisa Markovchick is the southwestern ecologist and conservation advocate at WildEarth Guardians. She joined Hyden to submit an in-depth objection to the project.
Markovchick said the Forest Service needs to consider more alternative methods, including those that’ll help the environment maintain moisture, hold carbon and provide shade. Markovchick said to have cooler, wetter environments, there are “more ways to do that than just yanking out trees.”
She said another issue with this plan is that it’s conditions-based, which means specific treatment plans and areas won’t be determined until the Forest Service knows the current on-the-ground conditions.
Markovchick and Hyden requested an extra research step in their objection — an environmental impact statement. Others asked for this, too, including the Santa Fe County Commission.
An impact statement would show the consequences the project would have that significantly affect the human environment — which Forest Service officials have said the plan doesn’t have.
Key said it’s unlikely an environmental impact statement will be done. He said officials at the various federal agency branches agree that the Forest Service analyzed everything correctly.
The regional Forest Service office is reviewing concerns until April 10 and could change project details later based on the findings. Key said the Forest Service hopes to get the OK in May to get the project going.
US infrastructure splurge extends to remote New Mexico farms
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new $40 million round of grants to extend high-speed internet to extremely remote farms, homes and businesses in New Mexico, including counties where the population density is less than one person per square mile.
administration officials are traveling to more than 20 states this week to buttress the president's message on investments and economic growth before an expected reelection campaign, amid a tug-of-war on federal budget priorities with House Republicans. Biden on Monday traveled to suburban Minneapolis on Monday to tour a clean energy technology manufacturer.
Democratic leaders in New Mexico welcomed his agriculture secretary Monday in Albuquerque for the announcement, and celebrated public spending on high-speed internet in remote New Mexico communities. Vilsack and members of the state's congressional delegation say the funds will help farms find efficiencies through precision mapping of topography, nutrients and moisture. Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, said fast rural internet and array federal infrastructure spending will help those growers bring commodities to market and compete.
The grants to expand fiberoptic cable networks in New Mexico stem from the $1 billion infrastructure law signed by Biden in 2021, and the related "Reconnect" program that aims to fill in gaps where internet service is slow or nonexistent. The spending will help two rural telephone companies and a cooperative extend high-speed internet service to extremely remote ranch and farm lands, in counties such as Catron, Harding and DeBaca that have fewer than one person per square mile on average.
"When you look at the number of farms and ranches and businesses and homes that are covered, it's not huge. And someone said, 'Is that a wise investment of our federal dollars?'" said U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, who represents a sprawling rural district that traverses northern and eastern New Mexico. "And I said absolutely. Absolutely because you need the connectivity no matter what your zip code is."
As fiberoptic cables are extended, some households will be eligible for subsidies that can ensure high-speed access for as little as $30 a month, Leger Fernandez said.
A $14 million grant to the Peñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative is designed to extend high-speed internet to 550 people, including 48 farms in Chaves, Eddy, Otero and Lincoln counties. The goal is to help small and medium-sized farms attain the same profitability as large food producers.
"Those 48 farms now have the opportunity to take full advantage of this new transformational future we are building," Vilsack said. "Those 550 people count as much as any people living in New York City or Los Angeles or Denver or any major community in this country."
Masking will no longer be required in NM hospitals on April 16 - By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Face masks will become optional for patients, visitors and health care workers at New Mexico’s four major hospital systems starting on April 16.
Masks will no longer be required in Lovelace Health System, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the University of New Mexico Health System, and Christus St. Vincent, the hospital systems said in a joint news release published on Friday.
The announcement came shortly after a meeting of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Medical Advisory Team, and on the same day that the state’s public health order expired.
The health systems are waiting until April 16 to lift their mask mandates “to ensure that there is additional time to protect team members, patients and their families during the current respiratory illness season.”
Patients and visitors to all four hospital systems will be asked to don a mask if they have symptoms of a respiratory condition.
Parts of hospitals designed for “particularly vulnerable populations” should continue universal masking, the joint news release states. Universal masking is when everyone in a given space wears a mask, as opposed to one-way masking, where people choose whether to wear one.
“We’re asking people to use their best judgment in understanding their own risk, and the risk to others around them,” said Dr. Steve McLaughlin, chief medical officer for the University of New Mexico Hospital.
Health care workers “are supported and encouraged to continue masking,” the joint news release states.
UNM Hospital staff will continue to wear masks at all times in operating rooms, McLaughlin said, or in situations where a patient may have an infectious disease or may be at risk for contracting one.
UNM Health and Health Sciences Center leaders will determine if future changes need to be made based on a color-coded system created by McLaughlin and the UNM Hospital epidemiologist, according to an email sent to all UNM employees on March 30 and obtained by Source New Mexico.
The system has three levels: “extreme risk,” where masking would be required in UNM Hospital buildings; “seasonal/surge,” where masking would be “strongly” encouraged in clinical buildings; and “endemic,” where masking is optional.
Christus St. Vincent’s policy is for health care workers to not work if they have symptoms, Gonzales said. All of their workers have either received the COVID vaccine or have been exempted, he said.
“COVID is not gone, it’s not going to go away,” McLaughlin said. “It’s going to be with us forever probably, along with things like influenza and RSV, but the numbers are down to a much more manageable level.”
Dr. Jason Mitchell, chief medical and clinical transformation officer for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, said they will continue to closely monitor data to inform their approach in the future.
“At this time, we have reached a point where the pandemic has receded enough that we can return to many pre-pandemic behaviors,” Mitchell said.
Over 250 people in the U.S. are dying from COVID each day, according to state and local health agencies; official counts are widely acknowledged to be underestimates.
More than 34,000 people have died of COVID in the U.S. since the beginning of the year, through March 30, according to Johns Hopkins University. At least 1.1 million people have died from COVID in the U.S. so far.
The hospitals say face mask requirements for patients and visitors “may be re-instituted” if community transmission rates for COVID, RSV, influenza, measles or other contagious viruses “significantly increases.”
Dr. David Gonzales, chief medical officer for Christus St. Vincent, said so long as the spread of COVID is high, masks will still be required in all “patient care areas” at Christus, including hallways used by patients and visitors.
McLaughlin said the local rate of COVID spread will now be part of what UNM Hospital doctors will consider when deciding whether to test a patient for COVID. Before, they tested every patient for COVID infection.
“We will absolutely be following how these changes, across all four health systems, are impacting things like transmission rates,” McLaughlin said.
COVID continues to be present in the UNM Hospital, McLaughlin said, but the number of infected patients being admitted into the hospital “is significantly lower than any time in the last year.”
UNM is tracking hospital-acquired COVID infections among providers and staff at the request of OSHA, McLaughlin said, but it is not generally available to the public.
More severe weather forecast for battered South, Midwest - By Sean Murphy Associated Press Writer
While residents across parts of the South and Midwest pummeled by deadly storms and wildfires sifted through the wreckage of their homes Monday, forecasters warned of more severe weather and fire danger in the days ahead across much of the same region.
The fierce storms that spawned tornadoes in 11 states killed at least 32 people as the system that began Friday plodded through Arkansas and traveled northeast through the South and into the Midwest and Northeast.
Here's a look at the severe storms over the weekend and what's expected in the days ahead:
WILDFIRE DANGER REMAINS HIGH
On the western side of the storm lines that developed Friday were extremely dry conditions in Oklahoma that combined with high winds to fuel several large wildfires that forced interstate closures and sent residents fleeing from their homes.
More than 40 homes were destroyed across Oklahoma, including 30 in an area near the town of Guthrie, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City, where firefighters had urged residents to evacuate.
With their eyes burning and the heat of the flames circling them, Jessica Garinger and her family ran around their 10-acre (4-hectare) property with hoses Friday to save their family home built by Garinger's great-grandfather in Guthrie.
"The wind was so terrible it was just like a blowtorch, and once we would get certain areas put out it would just reignite," she said.
While neighbors evacuated, Garinger said her father, Jim, did not want to leave behind his cherished home, so she and her sister raced to help him. With the help of firefighters, they fought the flames until about 2 a.m., leaving with blisters, scrapes and small burns. Several of the homes nearby burned down.
"It's a miracle that we were able to save the property," Garinger said.
The threat of fire danger remains high Tuesday across portions of far western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, northeast New Mexico and far southeastern Colorado, with low humidity, dry vegetation and wind gusts expected up to 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
MORE SEVERE WEATHER FORECAST
Forecasters say more severe weather is forecast for Tuesday afternoon and evening across parts of Arkansas, Missouri into southeastern Iowa and west central Illinois.
"That could initially start as isolated supercells with all hazards possible — tornadoes, wind and hail — and then over time typically they form into a line (of thunderstorms) and continue moving eastward," said Ryan Bunker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
The same conditions that fueled last week's storms — an area of low pressure combined with strong southerly winds — will make conditions ideal for another round of severe weather Tuesday into early morning Wednesday, Bunker said.
Those conditions, which typically include dry air from the west going up over the Rockies and crashing into warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, are what make the U.S. so prone to tornadoes and other severe storms.
DEADLY STORMS BEGAN IN ARKANSAS
Arkansas was among the first states hit by the severe weather Friday when a tornado dropped from the sky and tore through the state's capital, Little Rock, destroying homes and businesses, splintering trees and tossing vehicles. At least five people were killed in Arkansas, including four deaths in the rural community of Wynne, about 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee.
Tennessee recorded at least 15 deaths, including nine fatalities in McNairy County, east of Memphis, said Patrick Sheehan, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
Elsewhere, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker traveled Sunday to Belvidere to visit the Apollo Theatre, which partially collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert, resulting in at least one death. The governor said 48 others were treated in hospitals, with five in critical condition.
National Weather Service survey teams that earlier confirmed the presence of tornados in New Jersey and Delaware over the weekend said Monday that a tornado also touched down in Pennsylvania. The tornados were generated as a line of severe thunderstorms crossed the region Saturday night. Forecasters said one EF-1 tornado with peak wind speeds of 95 to 105 mph touched down in Wrightstown and traveled almost 4 miles Newtown in Bucks County.
Four other storms were confirmed in New Jersey and one in Delaware, where a person was found dead in a heavily damaged home. The Delaware Emergency Management Agency said it was the first tornado-related death in the state in 40 years.
Nationwide, there were more than 800 severe weather reports over the weekend, including reports of hail, high winds and tornadoes, Bunker said.
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Associated Press reporters around the country contributed to this report, including Beatrice Dupuy in New York, Ron Todt in Philadelphia, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, Kimberlee Kruesi in Adamsville, Tennessee, Harm Venhuizen in Belvidere, Illinois, and Corey Williams in Detroit.
New Mexico court vacates convictions against ex-tax chief — Associated Press
The New Mexico Court of Appeals vacated on Friday two felony convictions for embezzlement against a former secretary of the state Taxation and Revenue Department because a yearslong prosecution extended beyond the statute of limitations.
The court's order on a 2-1 split decision knocks out two convictions against ex-taxation secretary Demesia Padilla on charges of embezzlement and computer access with the intent to defraud and embezzle.
The appeal hinged on whether time was effectively paused on the statute of limitations during a change of court venue that delayed resolution of the case. Attorneys for Padilla say a final indictment was filed after a five-year cutoff date starting with the commission of the allegedly criminal conduct.
Padilla served from 2011-2016 as an appointee of then-Gov. Susana Martinez. Other public corruption charges against Padilla were dismissed previously as being too vague.
Under the vacated convictions, Padilla would have confronted a sentence of five years of supervised probation, 200 hours of community service and a $25,000 order to provide restitution to embezzlement victims.
Padilla resigned her Cabinet post in December 2016 after state investigators searched the tax agency for tax documents connected with Padilla and her husband. She was charged about 18 months later.
Albuquerque, state do property swap to solve land use issues — Associated Press
The city of Albuquerque has announced a property swap with the state in hope of solving land use issues. The city is giving a lot on Menaul Boulevard to the state in exchange for two properties and will provide a larger, more-accessible space for Solid Waste operations.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Saturday that the deal is a win-win for both parties.
"Number one, it does mean that we are going to get the access and the land we need to have a sort of anchor point for the Rail Trail," Keller told Albuquerque TV station KOB.
State Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla said the property swap is for roughly equal valued land.
And since the swap is a joint resolution, it only has to pass the state Senate and House and doesn't need approval from the governor, according to Padilla.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the state gets the Menaul site for a public safety headquarters to replace the central New Mexico offices — including the State Police office in Albuquerque — and provide a modernized location for law enforcement training and operations.
City officials said providers may still apply for safe outdoor spaces at other locations in Albuquerque.
They said the Pan American site is better for the transfer station, allowing easier access for large city vehicles and presents an ideal place for Solid Waste Department operations.
Padilla could not immediately provide an estimated cost of the public safety headquarters, which he said is still in the planning phase. But he said the money to build it will come from recent budget surpluses.
Grass fire near small New Mexico community mostly contained — Associated Press
Residents in the small community of Echo Ridge were told to evacuate Sunday due to a grass fire south of Moriarty in central New Mexico.
Torrance County Sheriff's officials said the fire was mostly contained by afternoon, but a size estimate wasn't immediately available.
The cause of the grass fire was unclear.
Echo Ridge is southeast of the small town of Moriarty which has only a couple thousand people.
Authorities said Echo Ridge residents were told to go to a shelter set up at the Moriarty Civic Center as a precaution.
Get it while it's hot: New Mexico boosts chile production — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
New Mexico produced more than 53,000 tons of its most famous crop during the last growing season, meaning more chile peppers found their way into salsas and onto dinner plates than the previous year.
State and federal agriculture officials rolled out the latest numbers this week as New Mexico's governor signed legislation that established the sweet smell of green chile roasting in the fall as the state's official aroma.
New Mexico's love affair with the hot peppers runs deep. Chile is one of the official state vegetables, it's on license plates and it forms the basis of the state's official question: "Red or Green?"
The state in 2014 even adopted its own trademark and certification program to protect the reputation and integrity of its signature crop, much like Idaho has capitalized on potatoes, Maine has its lobsters and Florida has its fresh fruits and juices.
The numbers released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture show that more than 90% of the chile produced in 2022 was of the green variety.
The value of the crop was estimated at more than $46 million, about $1 million more than in 2021. Chile used for processing — for salsas, sauces and spices, for example — account for most of that value while fresh chile brought in about $4.4 million.
While production was up, the land used for planting was actually less than in 2021. That's because farmers are seeing higher yields from their crops due to irrigation and cultivation improvements, said Travis Day, executive director of the New Mexico Chile Association.
He said the latest figures are exciting news for the industry, which has faced its share of market and labor challenges in recent years.
"Our members are finally seeing normality after the COVID pandemic and labor, while still an issue, is slowly getting better," he said.
Day also pointed out that more farmers outside southern New Mexico's chile-growing belt are having success with peppers. About three-fifths of last year's production came from counties other than Sierra, Doña Ana and Luna counties.
Doña Ana County is home to Hatch, a village at the edge of the Rio Grande that has come to be known as the "Chile Capital of the World." Researchers at New Mexico State University have long said that soil conditions, warmer temperatures, the right amount of water and a longer growing season in the region result in a unique flavor.
Farmers are expecting a strong season this year — as long as the weather cooperates.
Forecasts calling for more moisture could help increase the availability of irrigation supplies, but Day warned that standing water in fields increases the potential for wilt and root rot diseases that could affect the harvest in late July and early August.
New Mexico Supreme Court blocks local abortion ordinances — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court blocked local anti-abortion ordinances Friday pending the outcome of a case centered on constitutional rights to equal protection and due process.
The ruling granted a request by Democratic state Attorney General Raúl Torrez and follows the state's recent adoption of a new abortion rights bill signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham just weeks ago that overrides any local ordinances aimed at limiting access to abortion procedures and medications.
The state already had one of the country's most liberal abortion access laws, but two counties and three cities in eastern New Mexico recently adopted restrictions that reflect deep-seated opposition to offering the procedure. Torrez's petition and the legislation that was passed during the recent 60-day legislative session aim to override those ordinances and prevent other counties from adopting abortion restrictions.
The goal is for New Mexico to remain a safe haven for women seeking abortions, Torrez said in a statement Friday.
The legislation and the petition "will make it clear that everyone in the state of New Mexico has a protected, constitutional right to make their own healthcare decisions," he said. "Given the attacks we are seeing in Texas and across the country, I am proud to stand with our Legislature and the governor to continue this fight."
Democratic governors in 20 states this year launched a network intended to strengthen abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision nixing a woman's constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The decision shifted regulatory powers over the procedure to state governments.
In 2021, the Democratic-led New Mexico Legislature repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access to abortion even after the federal court rolled back guarantees. The governor also signed a series of executive orders that, among other things, barred state cooperation with other states that might interfere with abortion access.
The changes over the past two years have prompted more providers to relocate to New Mexico and bring patients with them.
Mississippi's only abortion clinic relocated to southern New Mexico. Tele-health provider Choix, based in San Francisco, became licensed last year to operate in New Mexico.
One of the largest abortion providers that had operated in Texas opened a new clinic in New Mexico's largest city last week. Officials with Whole Woman's Health said more than a dozen patients walked through the doors of the Albuquerque clinic in the first week, all of them from Texas. For some, it required a road trip that spanned about 900 miles (1,448 kilometers).
"And everybody who cared for the patients was also from Texas. It was remarkably meaningful for the staff. It was Texans serving Texans," said Whole Woman's Health President and CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller. "It was just an emotional day for everybody."
Whole Woman's Health started a fundraising effort last summer to help with the costs of moving equipment and supplies from Texas to New Mexico and for the purchase of a building to serve as its new home.
New Mexico's governor also has pledged to spend $10 million to build a new abortion clinic in the southern part of the state near El Paso, Texas.
In its order, the New Mexico Supreme Court outlined a schedule for the ongoing case over the ordinances in the cities of Hobbs, Clovis and Eunice, and in Lea and Roosevelt counties. It said briefs due in April should address what, if any, effect the new abortion rights law will have on the case.
In an earlier brief filed with the court, a coalition of anti-abortion organizations argued that the attorney general bypassed ordinary litigation procedures by filing the emergency petition in hopes of having the court declare a new constitutional right without the benefit of a lower court taking up the issue.
Erin Hawley, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the groups, suggested Friday that it would be "a massive error from the New Mexico Supreme Court if it was to create a so-called 'right' to abortion out of thin air." She also took issue with the legislation barring local ordinances that limit access.
"State legislatures should be affirming that life is a human right and ensuring that women and families facing unplanned pregnancies have real support," Hawley said.
Towering Monument Valley buttes display sunset spectacle — Associated Press
A sunset spectacle featuring two mitten-shaped rock formations played out this week at Monument Valley on the Navajo Nation along the Arizona and Utah border.
Twice a year, in late March and mid-September, spectators, photographers and videographers get a visual treat. As the sun sinks, the West Mitten Butte's shadow crawls across the desert valley floor before climbing up the side of the East Mitten Butte.
The spectacle draws people from around the world to Monument Valley Tribal Park, which already is popular with tourists.
TV and movie critic Keith Phipps once described Monument Valley as having "defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West."
It is a frequent filming location, including a number of Westerns by the late American film director John Ford, as well as the 1994 Oscar-winning film "Forest Gump." In the movie, the character played by Tom Hanks is seen running on the road to Monument Valley, the park's impressive landscape in the background.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy to join Las Cruces rally for Herrell — Associated Press
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will visit New Mexico next month at what will likely be an announcement by former U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell to campaign for her old seat.
The Roswell Daily Record reported Friday that McCarthy will attend a rally April 10 for Herrell at the Heritage Farm & Ranch Museum in Las Cruces.
"I'm inviting you to join Speaker Kevin McCarthy and me in Las Cruces as we launch a new campaign to restore our values and flip this district," Herrell wrote on her campaign Facebook page this week.
Paul Smith, a spokesperson for Herrell, confirmed to the newspaper a campaign announcement will take place but offered no other details.
The Republican from Alamogordo, who represented the 2nd Congressional District since 2021, lost re-election last year to Democrat Gabe Vasquez by 1,350 votes.
She filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission just two weeks after the loss. The filing would permit her to raise funds in the 2024 election cycle.
A representative for Vasquez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the newspaper.
The 2nd Congressional District includes the state's eastern border with Texas to its western border with Arizona and from southern Albuquerque down to communities along the U.S.-Mexican border.
