NEW MEXICO

Pelosi: US has to do more to help with wildfire recovery

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sept. 26 that the federal government has to do more to help with recovery in the wake of a devastating wildfire that charred several hundred homes and destroyed the livelihoods of many rural New Mexico residents.

The largest fire in the state’s recorded history was sparked earlier this year by two government-planned prescribed burns. It forced the evacuation of thousands of residents from villages throughout the Sangre de Cristo mountain range as it burned through more than 530 square miles of the Rocky Mountain foothills.

The blaze forced the U.S. Forest Service to review its prescribed fire polices before resuming operations. Experts have said the environmental consequences will likely span generations.

Fresh off a weekend of campaigning for Democratic House candidates in New Mexico, Pelosi met with more than a dozen residents affected by the fire.

She hinted that a government spending bill pending in Congress could serve as a “very big start” to make residents whole. She would not put a price tag on the relief package and said it will be a matter of identifying the right sources from which to pull the funding given that everything from agriculture to water quality and small business were affected.

Many residents have voiced frustrations with federal emergency managers as they apply for aid, saying they don’t understand the culture of rural New Mexico.

For the region’s economic hub – the community of Las Vegas, New Mexico – the fire put drinking water supplies in an even more precarious position. Drought and aging infrastructure already were problems, but debris and ash flowing down the Gallinas River forced the city to seek emergency funding to install a temporary treatment system.

Moth outbreak stresses trees in state forests

ALBUQUERQUE – An insect outbreak is believed to be causing conifer stands in some central New Mexico forests to lose their needles, further stressing trees amid an ongoing drought.

Officials with the Cibola National Forest said on Sept. 14 that Douglas fir, white fir and even some ponderosa pine trees are turning brown as the larvae of the tussock moth feeds on the previous year’s needles.

The concern, officials said, is that defoliation weakens the trees, making them vulnerable to subsequent attacks by bark beetles that may kill the tree tops or even entire trees.

The population of Douglas-Fir tussock moths, which are native defoliators, has been increasing in the Sandia and Manzano mountain ranges just east and south of Albuquerque.

Officials also warned that people should avoid touching or handling the insects.

The caterpillars have thousands of tiny hairs covering their bodies. The female moths, egg masses and cocoons also have hairs that can cause tussockosis, an allergic reaction from direct skin contact with the insects themselves or their airborne hairs.

Forest Service entomologist Steven Souder said in a statement that trees that regrow their needles will put out new shoots over the summer that will appear more bronze than gold in the fall.

In older trees or trees stressed by drought, the caterpillar can hasten mortality.

MONTANA

Voters to decide on ‘born alive’ abortion bill

HELENA- A referendum on the Montana ballot in November raises the prospect of criminal charges for health care providers unless they take “all medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve the life” of an infant born alive, including after an attempted abortion.

Supporters of the referendum say the proposed Born-Alive Infant Protection Act is meant to prevent the killing of infants outside the womb after failed abortions. That is already illegal.

Opponents argue the act could rob them of precious time with infants that are born with incurable medical issues if doctors are forced to try and treat them.

Montana law allows for homicide charges if a person purposely, knowingly or negligently causes the death of a premature infant born alive, if the infant is viable.

When presenting the bill in the Montana Senate last year, Sen. Tom McGillvray said the current state law “basically says ‘don’t kill it.’ This bill says ‘save it.’ That’s the difference.”

The difference in interpretation appears to be how to define “medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment” and whether the proposed law would apply in cases where an infant is born with medical issues, such as undeveloped vital organs, that are not compatible with life.

Republican Rep. Matt Regier, the sponsor of the legislation, said on Sept. 22 that the proposed referendum simply means that medical providers can’t intentionally take the life of an “independent, living, breathing infant.”

Penalties for violating the proposed law include up to $50,000 in fines and up to 20 years in prison.

NAVAJO NATION

US awards $73M contract for Navajo-Gallup water project

GALLUP, N.M. – The federal government has awarded a $73 million contract to construct pumping plants as part of an ongoing project to bring drinking water to parts of the Navajo Nation and to residents in northwestern New Mexico.

The Bureau of Reclamation announced on Sept. 23 that an Arizona company earned the contract to build two pumping plants on the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. The plants will be situated near the Navajo community of Sanostee in San Juan County.

They will be part of a network of pipelines and pumping stations that will deliver treated water from the San Juan River.

Biden administration officials touted the contract as a “significant milestone” that is a result of the $1 trillion infrastructure deal passed by Congress last year.

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will use about 280 miles of pipeline, pumping stations, storage tanks and two treatment plants to deliver water to chapters on the Navajo Nation and the city of Gallup. It’s expected to be completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 2027.

The project is a major component of the nation’s water rights settlement agreement on the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico, where officials said over a third of households still haul drinking water to their homes.

UTAH

Student charged for terrorism threat over football game

SALT LAKE CITY – A University of Utah student was arrested and charged with making terrorist threats on Sept. 21 after police said she threatened to detonate a nuclear reactor if the school’s football team failed to win a game on the previous Saturday.

Charging documents filed in Salt Lake City allege the 21-year old student posted threats before Utah’s game against San Diego State University on Sept. 17, warning that she “was going to detonate the nuclear reactor that is located in the University of Utah causing a mass destruction.”

The threats were allegedly posted on YikYak, a social media platform that allows users to post anonymously and which rose to prominence on college campuses a decade ago.

According to the charging documents, the student studied engineering and had knowledge of the university’s nuclear reactor.

The University of Utah is among more than two dozen U.S. universities with nuclear engineering programs that use reactors for faculty and student research.

The university said in a statement on Sept. 22 that the reactor was secured and campus law enforcement had protocols in place to ensure no breaches are made. Officials said the student, who it did not name, admitted to posting the threat and told investigators that it was meant as a joke.

Utah defeated San Diego State in Saturday’s game, 35-7.