U.S. Forest Service

A newly released report shows widespread livestock grazing is destroying streamside habitats in New Mexico and Arizona.

As the Southwest heads into peak fire season, the Trump Administration’s cuts to federal agencies are set to hit some local recreational economies hard – especially as conditions ripen for wildfire.

Recent polling shows that Western voters – both Democrat and Republican – overwhelmingly approve of these agencies and the work they do.

A week ago, on orders from the Trump administration, federal officials began firing thousands of employees at agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Forest Service, which is part of USDA. Searchlight spoke to three New Mexicans who were fired.

The Indios Fire, which has been burning in the Santa Fe National Forest since May 19, is not expected to grow any larger, according to fire officials. As the fire dies down along with the complexity of the situation, command of the firefighting effort changed hands Monday from a regional team to a local one.

The U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are at the center of a lawsuit put forward by several conservation groups accusing the federal government of failing to protect endangered species on the Valles Caldera Preserve.

Kim Wright, a retired nurse, volunteers with the Cimarron Watershed Alliance. A year ago she learned that the federal government was awarding more than $8 million to the alliance to help nine northern New Mexico communities better defend themselves against wildfire. Those communities are still awaiting signs of on-the-ground wildfire preparedness as fire season fast approaches.

As we’re approaching Easter weekend, officials are advising all families considering a trip to our state and national parks to be careful about what they bring with them.

Old growth forests are a natural and crucial resource for mitigating the ongoing effects of climate change because they provide clean drinking water and absorb carbon from our atmosphere.

As New Mexicans are preparing for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays, a public comment period for a proposed electrical transmission line in Northern New Mexico is gathering heat from environmentalists, who claim the 30-day deadline is too short.