Wildlife Agency Agrees To Deadline For Wolf Recovery Plan – Associated Press
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to a deadline to craft a recovery plan for the endangered Mexican gray wolf.
The agency reached a settlement with environmentalists, Utah and Arizona, but it still needs the approval of a federal judge.
Farm bureaus in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah are expected to challenge the settlement, saying it places an unfair burden on the American public when the wolves' historical range includes Mexico.
States and environmental groups say the recovery plan is long overdue for a species that has struggled to gain a foothold in the Southwest.
The most recent annual survey shows at least 97 wolves live in forested lands in southwestern New Mexico and southeast Arizona.
The settlement would require a recovery plan by November 2017.
UNM Police Criticize DA's Handling Of Sexual Assault Cases – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
In the Department of Justice's report on the University of New Mexico's handling of sexual assault on campus, UNM police were critical of how the District Attorney's Office in Bernalillo County handles such cases.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that a footnote in the report, which was released last week, said supervisors in the University of New Mexico Police Department said they were frustrated with how infrequently the district attorney prosecuted sexual assault cases.
UNM police said they felt cases only went to court if the assaults were committed by strangers.
District Attorney Kari Brandenburg says she understands the frustration but that there are many factors in prosecuting sexual crimes.
The Justice Department opened an investigation into UNM in December 2014 after the federal government urged colleges nationwide to improve the way they respond to allegations of sexual assault.
New Bernalillo County Budget Includes Belt-Tightening – The Associated Press
A new operating budget approved by the Bernalillo County Commission includes some belt-tightening.
The spending plan approved unanimously Tuesday night would close a budget shortfall by a variety of measures.
Those include cutting employee travel, requiring some workers to take unpaid days off and reducing funding for some departments by 1 percent.
Employees not represented by a union would have to take six days off without pay. Employees making less than $35,000 a year are excluded.
The budget covers the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The county currently employs about 2,500 people.
Community Celebrates New Hospital On Navajo Nation – The Associated Press
A large crowd gathered Wednesday to dedicate a new hospital that will serve a population of about 20,000 in the Kayenta area.
At nearly 180,000 square feet, it's five times bigger than the current health center that was built in 1959.
The new $150 million hospital is expected to be fully operational this summer. It includes staff quarters, surgical and birthing units, and wellness and physical therapy centers.
It also will house programs under the Navajo Department of Health.
Indian Health Service officials say the services should help improve the health of residents in the area.
Several Navajo families agreed to allow land within their grazing areas to be used to build the hospital.
New Mexico Appoints New Health Department Secretary – The Associated Press
A new Cabinet secretary has been appointed to lead the New Mexico Department of Health after the death of Sec. Retta Ward in March.
Gov. Susana Martinez on Thursday tapped Truth or Consequences native Lynn Gallagher to lead the public health agency.
The Health Department has made recent strides in reducing rates of teen pregnancy and childhood obesity while expanding childhood vaccinations.
Gallagher's resume includes recent stints as deputy health secretary and general counsel for the Long-Term Services Department, after an early career in business and finance in New York and Florida.
Ward died on March 3 at age 62 from an apparent heart problem while driving in Santa Fe.
New Mexico Senator Defends Wilderness Designation – The Associated Press
Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico says state trust lands within two proposed federal wilderness area are isolated from roads and ill-suited for mining.
The U.S. senator responded Thursday to criticism of proposed legislation that would create two new wilderness areas in northern New Mexico within the Rio Grande del Norte Monument.
New Mexico Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn says the federal designations would encompass 1,280 acres of land that might otherwise generate state revenues from timber sales and the mining of pumice and molybdenum. State Trust Lands span some 9 million acres in New Mexico and generate funding for public schools, universities and hospitals.
Dunn says he met unsuccessfully with the state's congressional delegation to discuss swapping the state parcels for federal land elsewhere. Heinrich says he supports such swaps.
Navajo Irrigation Canals Reopen After Mine Spill – The Associated Press & The Daily Times
Flushing of the irrigation canals that serve Navajo farmers in northwestern New Mexico is underway as officials work to deliver water for the first time in months.
The canals that serve tribal chapters along the San Juan River were closed last year in response to the Gold King Mine spill in southern Colorado.
Shiprock irrigation supervisor Marlin Saggboy tells The Daily Times in Farmington that people served by the Hogback and Cudei canals decided to reopen the system after reviewing water and soil test results from mid-April.
He says the Fruitland irrigation canal started operating earlier this month.
During a recent hearing in Arizona, U.S. Sen. John McCain said federal officials knew about the potential for catastrophe and failed to do proper testing before inadvertently triggering the 3 million-gallon spill.
Tens Of Thousands Set To Gather For Nation's Largest Powwow -
By Mary Hudetz, Associated Press
More than 100,000 spectators, artists, and Native American dancers are converging on Albuquerque as part of North America's largest powwow.
The 33rd annual Gathering of Nations begins Thursday with the start of the three-day Miss Indian World pageant, one of the best known competitions of its kind. Powwow festivities get underway at noon Friday at the University of New Mexico basketball arena, better known as The Pit, where spectators also can shop at a Native American artists and traders market.
Some 700 Native American tribes in the United States and First Nations in Canada are represented at the Gathering of Nations, which has become Albuquerque's second-largest annual festival, and brings an estimated $21 million boost to the city's economy each year.
UNM Expressed Frustration With DA’s Office – Albuquerque Journal
As the University of New Mexico grapples with criticism of how it has handled sexual assault and harassment cases officials also expressed frustration with the district attorney’s office.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a footnote in a report by the U.S. Department of Justice describes difficulties with getting prosecutions of sexual assault cases.
UNM Police referred about 20 cases to the DA’s office from February 2009 to February 2016 and at least 11 were dismissed, the Journal reports. UNMPD believed the DA tended not to prosecute unless assaults were committed by strangers.
DA Kari Brandenburg said no one raised these concerns with her office but added that prosecuting sex crimes is difficult. About half of all such cases were dismissed in 2012.
Search Resumes For Missing Treasure Hunter – Associated Press
Authorities have resumed the search for a Colorado man who disappeared while hunting for a $2 million cache of gold, jewels and artifacts in a rugged part of New Mexico.
Officials at Bandelier National Monument confirmed Wednesday that a search-and-rescue mission was underway in an area of the monument off-limits to the public.
Bandelier Superintendent Jason Lott declined to provide details but said authorities are encouraging people to stay out of the area, which covers steep slopes and a mass of loose rocks.
The search was triggered by the discovery of a backpack last weekend. Authorities wouldn't say whether it belonged to Randy Bilyeu of Broomfield, Colorado, who disappeared in January.
Bilyeu's dog and raft were found along the Rio Grande northwest of Santa Fe. Volunteers have been using everything from drones to dogs to scan the area.
Land Commissioner Slams Plan For Two Wilderness Areas – Santa Fe New Mexican
The state’s land commissioner is slamming a move by New Mexico’s Democratic senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich to create two new wilderness areas north of Taos.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Aubrey Dunn said the move means losing revenue that funds schools and hospitals via mineral leases and timber sales on 1,300 acres of state trust lands.
Udall and Heinrich added an amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act that would create the areas within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
A spokeswoman for Heinrich said the state would still have access to the trust lands and a land swap is possible with the Bureau of Land Management. But Dunn said that will require federal legislation.
Lawyer Argues For Criminal Records In Police Shooting Trial – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The attorney for an Albuquerque police officer charged with fatally shooting a mentally ill man is seeking permission to use the man's criminal history during the trial.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that court documents say James Boyd had run-ins with the law going back more than 25 years before he was shot by two officers while camping without a permit in the Sandia foothills.
A judge has previously ruled that only information about Boyd's past that officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez were aware of at the time of the shooting was admissible.
Special prosecutor Randi McGinn says the records would prejudice potential jurors.
Sam Bregman, Sandy's attorney, wants to make details from 14 crimes Boyd has been accused of admissible during the September trial.
Authorities ID Woman Killed In Officer-Involved Shooting – Associated Press
Authorities say the woman killed in Albuquerque after at least one sheriff's deputy opened fire had a stolen loaded gun in a truck she had been driving before she was shot.
Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies identified the woman Wednesday as 24-year-old Jaquelyn Burke, and said she had previously been accused of battery on a law enforcement officer and was being sought for violating her probation.
Authorities say Burke was shot Tuesday at an Albuquerque apartment complex along a busy boulevard as members of a federal law enforcement task force that includes the sheriff's department attempted to execute an arrest warrant.
Sheriff Manuel Gonzales says authorities had attempted to take Burke into custody Tuesday morning at a nearby residence before she eventually fled to the apartment complex in a stolen truck.
Appeal Rejected In Off-Road Vehicles Case On Forest Use – Associated Press
A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal by a motorized off-road vehicles users group that challenged a Forest Service decision reducing the routes available for use in the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico
A trial judge had upheld the agency's action, but the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling Wednesday says the New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance didn't have a legal basis to sue.
The appellate court's ruling dismisses the alliance's appeal and orders the trial court to erase its own ruling and dismiss the lawsuit.
Foundation, Journalist Dismiss Suit Over Records Now Public – Associated Press
The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government and a journalist have dismissed their lawsuit against the state Department of Health now releasing public records with names of licensed medical marijuana producers.
The foundation and freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr sued last July in state District Court, but the case was put on hold soon after because the state agreed to begin taking steps to remove confidentiality provisions.
St. Cyr and the foundation sued after the department denied requests invoking the state Inspection of Public Records Act for names of the licensed cannabis producers.
The department announced in January it would make the records public.
The foundation's announcement of the dismissal quotes plaintiffs' attorney Charles "Kip" Purcell as expressing appreciation for the department's willingness to revamp its original confidentiality rules.