Governor issues executive order in response to recent floods in western New Mexico - Gregory R.C. Hasman, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order on Friday allocating $500,000 to support flood response efforts across the western side of the state.
The money will go toward assisting with flood response efforts, which include providing sandbags and National Guard support to places in need, along with “other eligible requests from local, county, or tribal emergency managers,” Danielle Silva, New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) spokesperson, said in a news release.
“The team in the State Emergency Operations Center and the National Guard are well-postured to assist communities across the state in their flood response efforts,” Maj. Gen. Aguilar, interim DHSEM Cabinet secretary, said in a statement. “We appreciate the governor’s swift action in allocating resources and will work diligently to provide the support that local responders need.”
City of Gallup and Zuni Pueblo officials could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
Since July 16, parts of Gallup received 5.24 inches of precipitation, said Michael Anand, National Weather Service of Albuquerque meteorologist.
Last week, rain caused a waterline break and flooding in Gallup and the Zuni Pueblo, which prompted the pueblo to declare an emergency and issue evacuation notices. As of Friday, American Red Cross New Mexico was assisting people in the pueblo.
Another flood watch was put into effect on Sunday in the Gallup area, which, along with “very unstable atmospheric conditions,” caused Sunday’s Route 66 Rides Balloon Mass Ascension to be canceled, according to a Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce social media post.
Chances of rain are expected to continue through the week, Anand said.
Silva issued a few reminders for people who may experience flooding: Stay out of the flood waters, pay attention to emergency alerts, get to higher ground if located in a flood prone area and “Turn around. Don’t drown.”
New Mexico Democratic lieutenant governor candidates tout experience, vision in final plea - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Four candidates vying to become the New Mexico Democratic Party’s lieutenant governor nominee made their closing arguments Saturday to the party’s State Central Committee, which is tasked with electing a candidate to run alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland.
The Saturday meeting marked the culmination of a roughly month-long campaign since Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who previously won the Democratic party’s nomination in the June primary election, dropped out June 18 due to health reasons.
The SCC met virtually for about 20 minutes Saturday to hear from each of four candidates seeking to replace Toulouse Oliver and join Haaland on the ticket ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
The roughly 500 SCC members will now cast votes, using a ranked-choice voting system, until 5 p.m. Wednesday. The Democratic Party of New Mexico expects to announce a winner Thursday.
The candidates — Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, state Sen. Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque), Geoffrey Luehring and Toni Pinedo — each spoke for roughly four minutes in their final appeals to the SCC before voting began.
Garcia Richard, who spoke as more than a dozen supporters stood behind her, touted her experience fighting for public lands across eight years as land commissioner, as well as her collaboration with Haaland when Haaland was federal Interior Secretary under former U.S. President Joe Biden. Haaland has endorsed Garcia Richard to be her lieutenant governor.
“We’ve worked together for years,” Garcia Richard told the SCC. “Deb trusts me to do this job, and I can promise you there will be no daylight between the governor and lieutenant governor.”
Pope, who is New Mexico’s first-ever Black state senator, lost to Toulouse Oliver in the primary. He described himself as an anti-establishment Democrat whose political success resulted from a commitment to working-class voters and hard work, not “powerful connections.”
“I know there’s been an endorsement in this race, but this vote belongs to you,” Pope told the SCC. “No endorsement can cast your vote. No political leader can replace your conscience. Only you can decide what kind of leadership our party will put before the people of New Mexico.”
Luehring, of Albuquerque, said his non-political background would make him well-suited to join Haaland on the ticket. New Mexicans don’t need another politician as lieutenant governor, he said, but instead need a “ground-level force” that would implement Haaland’s “high-level vision.”
“Secretary Haaland has more than enough political experience for everyone running. We don’t need another politician sitting beside her, doing the same thing,” he said.
Luehring wore a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of pop icon Britney Spears and the phrase “Gimme More,” the title of one her 2007 hits. He later explained that the shirt was a “subtle hint that we should expect more from our government.”
Pinedo, the final candidate to speak, is an Indigenous advocate from Gallup. She said she decided to jump into the race out of concern for homeless youth across the state and hopes whomever the SCC elects makes finding housing and resources for troubled young people a priority.
“You better pick the right one,” she said. “And you better pick the one that’s gonna actually work for everybody, not because that’s your name on a poster.”
Sandia Pueblo pushes to take control of Sandia Mountain forests, raising alarm from outdoor adventurer seekers - Jesse Jones, The Paper
Hikers, climbers and neighbors who use trails on Sandia Mountain’s west face could see their access change under a land transfer proposal the Sandoval County Commission endorsed last month.
Now, a newly formed coalition of residents is urging lawmakers to reject the transfer, saying it could end decades of guaranteed public access to the wilderness.
County commissioners voted unanimously June 24 to support transferring management of the 9,890-acre T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area from the U.S. Forest Service to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where the land would be held in trust for the Pueblo of Sandia.
Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano said Forest Service budget and staffing shortages have contributed to poor trail and road conditions, increased trash and vandalism and growing concerns about overuse.
He told commissioners the Cibola National Forest does not have dedicated law enforcement rangers and relies on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers who are assigned to multiple projects.
Paisano said the Pueblo has a 26-member state-certified police force and a new fire station equipped for wildland firefighting that would help manage the area.
“You have my council’s commitment that managing the Sandia Mountains, because it is so precious to us will be a top priority, and we will do whatever we can in order to continue to protect it, to preserve it,” Paisano said.
He said the Pueblo already manages more than 16,000 acres of forest land in the Carson National Forest area and would continue public access to existing trails, roads and utilities if the transfer moves forward.
He also framed the transfer as a way to streamline local coordination, calling it “taking out the middleman” so the Pueblo and county can collaborate directly. “Let us work on the issues and the projects directly,” he said.
Opponents, including several residents, spoke against the transfer during public comment during Wednesday’s Sandoval County Commission meeting, saying it would severely limit public recreation on the mountain.
Courtney Bryan, spokesperson for the Coalition to #SaveTheSandiaWilderness, told commissioners that while supporters have described the transfer as a way to reduce crime and protect sacred sites, its impact would go much further.
“Should this act actually pass through Congress, it will grant the pueblo full governing authority over the land,” Bryan said. “It will eliminate 99% of public access to the proposed 10,000 acres on the west face of the Sandias.” Bryan told The Paper.
The transfer could also disrupt a $2 billion local tourism economy that depends on the mountain as a “big-ticket attraction.”
She said the proposed transfer includes the area surrounding the Sandia Peak Tram, and according to Bryan, the mountain draws more than 2 million recreational visitors each year.
Both sides agree the roughly 10,000 acres on the mountain’s west face are important to the region’s outdoor recreation and cultural history.
The dispute centers on what protections would remain if the land moves from federal management to tribal trust status and how much access the public would keep.
The Pueblo has said it would maintain established trail corridors, while the coalition argued, in a letter the group sent supporters, that a corridor system would limit access to the surrounding wilderness.
The Pueblo is seeking congressional sponsors for the transfer legislation. Paisano told commissioners in June that he is asking Rep. Melanie Stansbury to carry the bill in the House and Sen. Martin Heinrich, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to introduce it in the Senate.
Stansbury told The Paper. the Forest Service “under the current Administration has failed to uphold its responsibilities to co-manage federal lands in the Sandia Mountains.”
She said federal staffing cuts and threatened office closures have left the agency unable “to maintain roads and facilities, to prevent vandalism, and to respond to and consult with the Pueblos and affected communities and neighborhood associations.”
Stansbury said it is “imperative that the federal government uphold its federal trust responsibilities to our Pueblos” and that communities “work together to collaborate, find common solutions, and protect our sacred and public lands.”
Asked whether she would sponsor the transfer legislation, Stansbury’s office did not say yes or no.
“It is imperative that the federal government come to the table and uphold its federal trust responsibilities to our Pueblos and that our communities work together to collaborate, find common solutions, and protect our sacred and public lands,” her office said. “That is the current discussion at hand.”
Heinrich’s office had not responded to requests for comment.
Water hauling is the new chore no rancher asked for - By Brittany Peterson, Associated Press
As water shot into an open stock tank atop a high country mesa, a trickle soaked the dusty earth below. Scott Snyder rose from the shade to fasten a hose and stop the spillage.
"It's just so much work. I hate dropping any of it," said Snyder, who operates Mex and Sons Ranch near Montrose, Colorado, with his family.
It took eight trips in three vehicles over nine hours in sweltering heat before the 800 cow-calf pairs finally had enough water to make it through to the next day — maybe two.
Hauling water across rugged landscapes has become a daily chore for many ranchers in the U.S. Rockies. They historically relied on snowmelt to sustain stock ponds, springs and creeks for livestock to drink throughout the summer, but this year's snowpack was the worst on record in the Upper Colorado River Basin, which includes Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Human-caused climate change made the snow drought about 14 times more likely, a new study confirms.
Coping with the impacts of minimal snow and a so far lackluster monsoon season is requiring more time, money and stress from producers who are already struggling to maintain family legacies and meet America's demand for beef.
Finding water is a common challenge
Snyder and his brother Monte are adapting. Like many other ranchers, they shrunk their herd, bought hay to supplement what little they could grow, shuttled cows farther to reach grazable land, and are constantly monitoring whether wildfires are blowing their way. And now, they are hauling drinking water.
"If Mother Nature doesn't want to help out here, we're probably in a lot of trouble," Snyder said.
Still, the Snyders count themselves lucky. A nearby landowner charges them to refill their 6,500-gallon (24,600-liter) water tanker from a reservoir. Late last week, he pulled up alongside another truck carrying a 3,000-gallon (11,360 liter) tank to water sheep.
Mark Ragsdale's phone rings off the hook with neighbors asking the same question: Where can I find water?
During the day, he works as the state's water commissioner for Norwood, where his cousin Snyder ranches. But morning, afternoon and evening, he is also hauling water to his small herd of 45 cow-calf pairs. He counts his luck that his solar-powered well is still producing and his herd is nearby.
His Dodge Ram's tires churned through a muddy depression on a dirt road on a recent morning water run — a welcome sign of the first monsoonal rain that arrived the night before.
"It's gonna take 10 years of above-normal (precipitation) to get back to what I consider normal," Ragsdale said.
The good news about this drought
The good news is that this year's snow drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin was so severe, the odds of a repeat this bad in the near future is low, said Adrienne Marshall, assistant professor of geology at the Colorado School of Mines and lead author on the study. Still, multiple years of lesser droughts can compound, and the odds of an extreme snow drought grow each year as greenhouse gas emissions, the main driver of climate change, continue to rise, she explained.
The record-setting low snow, after years of drought, prompted the Brays to expand their water truck fleet this year. Lance Bray, who owns 500 head with his brother Zandon, bought a flatbed truck with more than 300,000 miles (482,800 kilometers) on it to haul a 2,600-gallon (9,842-liter) water tank. It's now their third flatbed dedicated for the chore.
Ranchers can apply for reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover above-normal costs to transport water and feed due to drought, but there's no getting back their time.
Drought takes a toll on ranchers
"I'm gonna fight like hell this year so I can turn around and fight like hell next year," Zandon Bray said. He and his brother restarted the cattle operation two years after the 2018 drought season prompted their dad to sell the herd.
They love ranching and are trying to operate more sustainably, running fewer head than their father did when grass was more plentiful and nutritious. But the emotional toll grows heavier as each year passes without meaningful moisture.
"Sometimes it's by 10 o'clock in the morning or by the end of the day, you're just like, man, I can't do this anymore," Zandon Bray said.
The weight of water tanks on Stanford Salazar's trailer caused a tire blowout that obliterated the rim. He was already running late to his day job at the Jicarilla Apache planning office in northern New Mexico.
It has been five years since hauling stock water became a daily chore for Salazar. Few of his 14 ponds hold any water these days.
"With the changing of weather, we're not getting big winters. We used to get 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) of snow in winter. Now we're lucky to get a foot," Salazar said.
In central Utah, Jeff Christensen is drilling two 500-foot (152-meter) deep wells he hopes will reduce his hauling chores. But first they need to reach the water table, which is lower now without as much snowmelt to refill it.
"I think they're dang close to 20 grand a well now. So if we don't hit water, we're in trouble," he said.
Half the cost is being covered with a grant from Utah's Grazing Improvement Program, which invests millions annually to create more sustainable, productive ranches.
"I spend the majority of my time on water," Christensen said. "I'm either hauling it, cussing the lack of it, or trying to find more of it."
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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
National Democratic committee recommends New Mexico move up on the calendar for presidential primary - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee on Friday voted to catapult New Mexico’s 2028 presidential primary election to fourth in the country.
New Mexico Democratic leaders, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, had previously campaigned to have New Mexico go first in the next presidential election cycle. Currently, New Mexico holds primary elections for both major parties on the first Tuesday in June.
Lujan Grisham in May told DNC leaders that the state has “everything to offer” for the national party, citing its status as a border state with a majority-minority population, a range of sovereign Native American nations and a working-class populace that has “more in common with red states than blue.”
In a statement Friday, Lujan Frisham said she appreciated the DNC committee members taking her pitch seriously.
“For years, I’ve said the same thing: you cannot show up for Hispanic voters in November after Democrats have already picked a nominee. You have to engage with them from the start. Today, national Democrats agreed,” she wrote. “New Mexico is the most Hispanic state in America, and we’re the only border state in this early window. Now, candidates who want to be taken seriously on immigration and the border are going to have to come to New Mexico and earn it.”
She cited recent policy achievements, such as universal childcare and tuition-free college, as models for the rest of the nation.
“Making New Mexico an early primary state will help put our state on the national stage, increase investment in our communities, expand our tourism economy and give New Mexicans a stronger voice in shaping the policies of our nation,” Lujan Grisham said.
While the committee didn’t put New Mexico at the top of the order, it did vote to move New Mexico’s presidential primary election to Feb. 15, 2028, placing it fourth behind South Carolina on Jan. 22, Nevada on Feb. 1 and New Hampshire on Feb. 8.
The DNC is expected to vote on the current proposal at its August meeting in Austin.
In a statement, Democratic Party of New Mexico Chair Sara Attleson said she was “thrilled” by the recommendation and said the state has proven itself as the “blueprint for implementing the policies that define our party’s values.”
“We believe that New Mexico deserves to be a player on the national political stage and our voters deserve to have their voices heard,” she said. “Although months ago, many would have counted New Mexico out, Democrats from across the state pulled together to make our case and help us convince the Rules and Bylaws Committee. From our party volunteers and caucuses, state legislative leaders, our federal congressional delegation, the All Pueblo Council of Governors, and of course, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, this was truly a team effort from a broad coalition.”
KRQE will end its CBS affiliation, switching to full-time Fox programming - Keelin Fisher, Albuquerque Journal
A shakeup between two broadcasting giants is bringing an end to KRQE-TV’s 72-year run as a CBS affiliate.
The local station, owned by Nexstar Media Group, will become a full-time Fox affiliate — a brand it has been with since 2017.
KRQE will remain on channel 13, with no changes to its channel position, ownership or personnel, and will add new programming to replace the former CBS time slots, KRQE General Manager Jeff Miller confirmed to the Journal.
The shakeup will also see Hearst-owned KOAT-TV launch a separate digital channel — a secondary broadcast stream carried alongside its main signal — to distribute CBS programming, a Hearst spokesperson said. KOAT will remain on channel 7 and continue carrying ABC programming.
The moves will happen in early August.
“The heart of the issue is that the CBS network was looking to achieve significant increases in rights fees paid by KRQE for their network programming,” he said, adding that CBS’s programming performance “does not resemble or support the increases they expected KRQE to pay for those rights.”
The change will only affect the CBS network programming, not shows like “Jeopardy” or any local KRQE newscasts. Miller said the station feels secure about its future, although it is still coming together. In the meantime, the station will focus on its existing strengths.
“We intend to play to our strengths, which has always been the stellar KRQE news team and the local content they produce, which has built this station's legacy,” he said.
KOAT executives could not be reached for comment.
The deal comes after Nexstar and Paramount, which owns CBS, confirmed they renewed their agreement to continue carrying CBS programming on many but not all of Nexstar’s stations, a spokesperson told The Desk, an independent news website covering broadcast media.
Albuquerque is one of four television markets losing CBS programming, along with stations in Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; and the combined market of Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina, according to Radio and Television Business Report, an independent trade publication covering the broadcasting industry.
“CBS has an unwavering commitment to our audience,” a Paramount spokesperson wrote in an email. “We are excited to continue to deliver our leading sports, news and entertainment programming to viewers across the country.”
In May, Nexstar pulled its affiliates out of the CBS Newspath service, which provides member stations with video packages, live footage and other content on national and international stories, according to media reports. That move occurred roughly a month after Nexstar pulled its NBC stations out of NBC NewsChannel, a program similar to Newspath.
Elephant Butte State Park hits lowest water level since 1971 as lake drops to 1.7% capacity KOAT-TV
In Southern New Mexico, Elephant Butte Reservoir has dropped to its lowest level since 1971.
KOAT-TV reports state officials are reporting the lake is at just under 2% of its capacity.
The ongoing drought is due to a lack of water from the middle and upper stretches of the Rio Grande, along with rising heat and the opening of the Elephant Butte Dam.
Irrigation season in the Lower Rio Grande valley is scheduled to end this Tuesday, July 28.
Following that date, the Elephant Butte Dam will close and locals are hoping the lake will begin to refill.
The record low was set in June of 1954.
