Outside recreation is returning after a spring spent inside. The Bureau of Land Management announced June 10 that El Malpais National Conservation Area is increasing recreational access and services.

The BLM says it will use a phased approach to increase access to recreational areas on a case-by-case basis.  Staff reopened access to the Narrows Picnic Area facilities and the La Ventana vault toilets June 9.

A return to full operations will continue to be phased in and services may be limited.

Details and updates on operations will continue to be posted at:

blm.gov/alert/nm-covid-19-updates and social media channels.  Updates about BLM operations are available on www.blm.gov.

SILVER CITY — Requesting a dramatic decrease in killings and more releases of captive-born wolves, thousands of New Mexicans and Arizona residents signed onto a June 16 letter calling for a focus on recovering the species, which is among the most endangered mammals in North America.

The letter by the Center for Biological Diversity to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service was supported by New Mexico Sportsmen, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance and the White Mountain Conservation League.

The agency is at work on a court-ordered rewrite of a wolf management rule.

In 2018 a federal court ordered a rewrite of a 2015 management rule that harms the wolves. This fall, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

The men behind Tucumcari Bio-Energy Company are retooling an abandoned ethanol plant in this rural New Mexico town to turn manure from nearby dairies into methane for compressed natural gas vehicle fuel, food-grade carbon dioxide, and sterilized solid and liquid fertilizer.

After several years of foundational work, the startup owns the plant property. It has a business plan, engineering design, and environmental impact statement. It also qualified for $1.8 million in federal funds through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, but company vice president Steve Morgan and president Robert Hockaday haven’t heard when they will receive that money.

“We’ve waited so long,” Hockaday...

Now, more than ever, New Mexicans count on our citizen legislature to fulfill the public trust by approaching the June 18 Special Session with transparency, inclusion, and equity.

On May 8, the New Mexicans for Ethics Coalition, a member organization, and 30 additional organizations aligned to share an open letter to legislators http://nmfirst.org/legislative_updates/special-session-letter to suggest ways to strengthen and sustain a health democracy. Volunteer legislators face unprecedented challenges in the midst of a pandemic which has created both a public health and economic crisis. In order to avoid a public policy crisis, concerned New Mexicans offered the following suggestions...