Non-Local News Releases

Effective Monday July 21st

Termination of Stage 1 Fire Restriction Order Number: 03-03-00-25-12

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – July 21, 2025 – The Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NGs) has lifted Stage 1 Fire Restrictions effective Monday July 21, 2025, on the Mountainair and Sandia Ranger Districts.

This decision follows careful monitoring of fuel moisture, weather patterns, and fire activity.

Forest visitors are reminded that the fire season is not over, and fire prevention remains a shared responsibility. While the monsoon rains will bring relief, fire managers ask the public to always practice fire safety with anything that can spark a fire. Leaving your campfire unattended is illegal year-round. Campfires must be dead out – cold to the touch – before you walk away.

The U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) administers a competitive grant program for small water storage and groundwater storage projects, authorized by Section 40903 of the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (2021), Public Law 117-58.

Reclamation administers the Small Surface and Groundwater Storage Program (Small Storage Program) to enhance water storage opportunities for future generations in support of the Departments priorities.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Reclamation supports stakeholder efforts to stretch scarce water supplies and avoid conflicts over water in the 17 western states, Alaska, and Hawaii. Reclamation invites sponsors of small surface water and groundwater storage projects to request cost-shared funding for the planning, design, and/or construction of those projects

Link to information on nocost cybersecurity awareness and resources webinar

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Cybersecurity-Awareness-and-Resources-Webinar.html?soid=1102402771457&aid=M0NnKXKX22M 

LAS CRUCES, NM - Doña Ana County District Attorney Fernando R. Macias announces that Isaiah Joseph Rea has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Steven Sanchez. The sentence was handed down yesterday by District Court Judge Douglas R. Driggers, who also presided over the trial.

Rea was convicted on May 21, 2025, for the April 29, 2024, shooting that claimed the life of Sanchez. In addition to the murder conviction, the jury found Rea guilty of a firearm enhancement, which led to the total sentence to 20 years — the maximum allowed under New Mexico law for the charges.

Record number of tribal entities received grants for FY26

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Tourism Department (NMTD) is awarding $3.8 million in grant funding to 45 entities through the Cooperative Marketing Grant Program for fiscal year 2026.

NMTD will again be instituting a 2-to-1 funding match for FY26, meaning the financial commitment from NMTD is double what grant partners are contributing for the fiscal year. As a result of the department's 2-to-1 commitment, the total advertising investment for this program in FY26 will be $5.7 million.

"Continuing to administer this program with 2-to-1 matching funds, we're able to enter another year with expanded resources at a time where tourism promotion remains incredibly important," said Acting Tourism Secretary Lancing Adams. "I'm especially grateful to see the increased participation from tribal partners this year."

SOUTHWEST CATCH OF THE WEEK

Bill Evans Lake: Eric Ockerhausen caught two catfish using Joe’s Flies and a Panther Martin spinner on July 9. “I was trolling spinners behind my kayak and the channel catfish hit them,” he said. “I have read about catfish taking lures, but I had never had it happen to me.”

SOUTHWEST FISHING REPORT

Investments support rural jobs, forest health, wildfire mitigation and energy independence

(Washington, D.C., July 17, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the U.S. Forest Service is awarding $80 million in Wood Innovation Grants to spur wood products manufacturing, expand active forest management, and accelerate energy innovation across America's timber-producing communities.

"The United States is blessed with a bounty of natural resources that we must properly manage to sustain our future economy and boost rural communities. Proper forest use and management lowers our reliance on foreign products and is inherently aligned with President Trump's America First agenda," said Secretary Rollins. "We're investing in innovation that ensures a steady, sustainable supply of American wood that not only supports jobs and fuels economies, it protects the people and communities we serve, as well as the forest resources they depend on to survive and thrive."

SANTA FE — Navitas Global, an advanced ethanol production facility in Portales, has been awarded LEDA assistance to add jobs and expand operations through a program administered by the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD).

Navitas specializes in converting whey derivatives, a sugar-rich byproduct of dairy processing, into advanced biofuels and high-protein animal feed. 

Ethanol, a renewable biofuel made from plants, is gaining attention as a green alternative to fossil fuels. Climate solutions and green and sustainable energy are top priorities for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, whose administration noted it as a target industry for sustainable economic growth.