Non-Local News Releases

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) has hired Les Owen to serve as its new Deputy Director/Secretary. Owen returns to NMDA – where he previously worked in natural resources policy planning – after serving as the Conservation Services Division Director at the Colorado Department of Agriculture for eight years.

Over the course of his career, Owen has held positions as a 4-H agricultural extension agent and as a research associate in what is now New Mexico State University's Department of Animal and Range Sciences. Owen has dedicated much of his career to effective agricultural land use and range management, energy development, soil and water conservation, wildlife habitat and endangered species conservation, as well as the management of natural resources in support of agriculture through communication, coordination and collaboration with federal, state and local government agencies and organizations.

Owen was raised on his family's ranch near Corona, New Mexico.

May Implement on Wednesday October 30
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – October 28, 2024 – Pending favorable conditions, fire managers on the Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NGs) may implement the previously announced Tablazon prescribed fire (RX) on the Sandia Ranger District on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

Fire crews plan to burn approximately 207 acres, split into several different units in the Tablazon Canyon area, in the Manzanita Mountains. Tablazon is located south of HWY 333, south of Lower Pine trailhead and east of FSRD 462. Map attached. Visitors may be impacted by the Cedro, Bear Scat, Lower Pine, Tablazon and Coyote trails system. Smoke may be visible in the surrounding areas of Tijeras, Edgewood, Moriarty and Albuquerque.

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Higher Education Department is granting student debt relief to more than 500 health professionals working in New Mexico as part of the agency’s Health Professional Loan Repayment Program, further strengthening an important mechanism for health professional recruitment and retention in the state. 

The 524 new awardees for Fiscal Year 2025 will receive student debt relief on the condition of maintaining a three-year commitment to working in high-need communities across the state. The recipients are 150 allied health practitioners, 134 mental health professionals, 132 nurses, 94 medical doctors and 14 dental professionals. 

 Order Number 03-03-02-24-12

Albuquerque, NM, October 28, 2024 – A Temporary Area Closure Order (03-03-02-24-12) has been reissued within the Mt. Taylor Ranger District, Cibola National Forest, McKinley County, New Mexico. The previously announced launch dates in October were postponed by White Sands Missile Range. A launch is tentatively rescheduled for Saturday, November 2 with a backup date of Sunday, November 3 requiring an area closure order within the Mt Taylor Ranger District.

This Order shall be in effect from November 1, 2024, at 2:00 PM, through November 3, 2024, at 4 PM unless rescinded.

October 25, 2024 – Today's objectives on the Capilla Prescribed Fire consisted of mopping and holding exterior fire lines as well as the ignition of small, unburned pockets within the perimeter. Today there was an operation focused on unburned pockets of fuel, which was completed around 1:30 PM. Overall, fire crews focused on securing the fire's perimeter and mop-up. Please note, smoke may continue to be visible as unburned or heavy fuels within the perimeter continue to burn. These heat sources should pose no threat to perimeter lines. Fire crews will continue to be onsite daily to monitor and extinguish hot spots as necessary. Unless there are new developments, this will be the final new release specific to the Capilla Rx.

LAS CRUCES – The New Mexico State Game Commission will hold a meeting at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at the Dr. Karen M. Trujillo Administration Complex Board Room, 505 S. Main St., Ste. 249, Loretto Town Centre, Las Cruces, NM 88001. The full agenda, and other information, will be available on the Department of Game and Fish website.

If you are interested in participating or providing comments, but cannot attend the meeting in person, you are encouraged to pre-register to attend the meeting on the Zoom Webinar platform. For thos who wish only to view the meeting, there will be a live webcast on the Department's website. 

Residents should not wait for FEMA Individual Assistance to clean flooding debris

SANTA FE – The state, local and county governments are providing resources for residents cleaning up after the flooding in Chaves County. Residents can separate their debris and have it picked up at their curb or drop off debris at temporary debris staging sites.

"The impacts from this flooding have been devastating to this community, but the state will be with them to support every step of their recovery," saidDHSEM State Director Ali Rye. "We're working with local and county officials to make sure residents have options that are easy to navigate."

NMDA is holding three virtual workshops in December in preparation for the Feb. 14 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program proposal deadline. Saffron flowers are considered a specialty crop by the United States Department of Agriculture. (Envato Elements stock photo)LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Approximately $500,000 in funding is available to New Mexico producers through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA). NMDA will hold virtual workshops in December in preparation for the grant proposal deadline on Feb. 14, 2025.

Outreach workshops for potential applicants to learn more and to gain a better understanding of the program will be held as follows:

Tuesday, Dec. 3 at Noon
Register in advance for this meeting at:
https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIuf-6rrz4pHNEXrNP-pogj0oMhhGTA43ZG

Thursday, Dec. 5 at 3:30 p.m.
Register in advance for this meeting at:
https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdu-uqTwpGt2xLaA2m0rGG4ikHEd1DOsT

Friday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 a.m.
Register in advance for this meeting at:
https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkcOurqzwjGdauJ8jmDirh0CxdfKR-5Uv3

After registering, individuals will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte said his team at NMDA is here to help producers through the application process.