NEW MEXICO

Wandering wolf confined to encourage pups

SANTA FE — An exceptionally restless female Mexican gray wolf nicknamed Asha will be held in captivity with a potential mate through another breeding season in hopes of aiding the recovery of the species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said on July 25.

Asha captivated the public imagination after she was found wandering far beyond the boundaries established along the Arizona-New Mexico border for managing the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. She has twice been captured north of Interstate 40, most recently in December 2023 near Coyote, New Mexico, and the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson Aislinn Maestas said the wolf, known to wildlife biologists as F2754, has shown signs of bonding and breeding activity with a captive-born male, though so far without producing pups. The hope is that the pair may be released with pups, depending on the outcome of a February-May 2025 breeding period.

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Prior to her capture last year, Asha ventured into the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. At the time, nearly two dozen environmental groups sent a letter to state and federal officials saying that the wolf’s movements were evidence that the recovery boundaries are insufficient to meet the needs of the expanding population.

Ranchers in New Mexico and Arizona who have long complained that wolves are responsible for dozens of livestock deaths every year are concerned about any expansion of the wolves’ range.

Battered by wildfires, village faces flooding

RUIDOSO — A southern New Mexico village that was ravaged by wildfires in June and then battered off-and-on by flooding across burn scars was cleaning up on July 22 from another round of flash flooding in which a dozen people had to be rescued and many more were displaced from their homes.

Video posted on social media showed rivers of water flowing down streets and forcing the closure of several roads in the village, about 150 miles southeast of Albuquerque

About 45 people who had been displaced from their homes spent the night in a state-funded temporary shelter, said Danielle Silva, director of communications for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injury from any of the flooding incidents in the village of 8,000. But Ruidoso city spokesperson Kerry Gladden said about 200 homes have been destroyed by flooding since the June wildfires damaged or destroyed an estimated 1,400 structures.

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The mountain resort village, which sees its population triple in the summer when tourists flock there to escape the heat, suffered a major economic blow on July 22 when the popular Ruidoso Downs horse track announced flood damage was forcing all races to be moved to Albuquerque for the rest of the summer.

The wildfires that broke out in late June in the Sacramento Mountains west of Ruidoso, about 115 miles northeast of Las Cruces, killed two people and burned more than 12 square miles in the community.

Of the 19 fast-flood emergencies since June 19 on the South Fork Fire and Salt Fire burn scar areas, Ruidoso has been included in 13 of them.

NEBRASKA

Felons’ voting rights restoration blocked

OMAHA — Thousands of Nebraskans with felony convictions could be denied the right to vote under an opinion from the state attorney general released July 17 that says a law passed earlier this year restoring the voting rights of people convicted of felonies violates the Nebraska Constitution.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in the opinion that the law to immediately restore the voting rights of people who’ve finished serving their felony convictions violates the state constitution’s separation of powers. Only the state Board of Pardons can restore the voting rights of people with felony convictions through a pardon, he said.

Pardons are exceedingly rare to come by in Nebraska, which requires those convicted of felonies to wait 10 years after their terms to even file an application for a pardon.

Hilgers’ opinion was issued two days before the new voting rights restoration law was to take effect. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska said the opinion and efforts to block those with felony convictions from registering to vote could keep 7,000 Nebraska residents from voting in November.

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The opinion was sought by Republican Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen. Hilgers, also a Republican and a former speaker of the legislature, had been critical of the most recently passed law, as has Republican Gov. Jim Pillen and some Republican lawmakers in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. Evnen, Hilgers and Pillen make up the three-member Board of Pardons.

Based on the opinion, Evnen issued a statement on July 17 saying he had begun directing county election offices to stop registering people convicted of felonies who have not been pardoned by the Nebraska Board of Pardons.

“They are trying to do whatever they can to block people from voting,” Nebraska Democratic Party Executive Director Precious McKesson said in a Facebook post.

The Nebraska Voting Rights Restoration Coalition berated the opinion and Evnen’s order to stop registering those convicted of felonies and said it’s “considering all options for immediate relief.”

SOUTH DAKOTA

Pentagon to review Wounded Knee medals

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department will review the Medals of Honor that were given to 20 U.S. soldiers for their actions in the 1890 battle at Wounded Knee to make sure their conduct merits such an honorable award.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the review by a special panel of experts after consultation with the White House and the Department of the Interior. Congress recommended such a review in the 2022 defense bill, reflecting a push by some lawmakers to rescind the awards for those who participated in the massacre on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near Wounded Knee Creek.

An estimated 250 Native Americans, including women and children, were killed in the fight and at least another 100 were wounded.

Medals of Honor were given to 20 soldiers from the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and their awards cite a range of actions including bravery, efforts to rescue fellow troops and actions to “dislodge Sioux Indians” who were concealed in a ravine.

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Native American groups, advocates, state lawmakers from South Dakota and a number of members of Congress have called for officials to revoke the awards. Congress apologized in 1990 to the descendants of those killed at Wounded Knee but did not revoke the medals.

In a memo signed last week, Austin said the panel will review each award “to ensure no soldier was recognized for conduct that did not merit recognition” and if their conduct demonstrated any disqualifying actions. Those could include rape or murder of a prisoner or attacking a non-combatant or someone who had surrendered.

The panel must provide a written report no later than Oct. 15, recommending that each award be either revoked or retained.

MONTANA

Berry-picking man kills grizzly bear

BILLINGS — A 72-year-old man picking huckleberries in Montana shot and killed a grizzly bear after it attacked in a surprise encounter and injured him badly enough that he had to be hospitalized, authorities said.

The man was alone on national forest land when the adult female charged him on July 18. He suffered significant injuries before killing the bear with a handgun, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials said.

The bear was likely reacting defensively to protect cubs, agency spokesperson Dillon Tabish said.

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Wildlife workers set out game cameras in the area to try to confirm the presence of any cubs. If cubs are found, it’s uncertain if they would be captured because it is difficult to find facilities qualified to take them, he said.

“Depending on the age, we might leave them in the wild because they have a better chance of survival, rather than have to euthanize them,” Tabish said.

The attack happened on the Flathead National Forest about 2 miles north of Columbia Falls, a northwestern Montana city of about 5,500 people, according to the state wildlife agency.

The victim’s name and further details on his condition were not released.

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