Trump Administration Ends Public Lands Rule, Putting New Mexico  and National Land Conservation at Risk

ALBUQUERQUE — The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter is calling on New Mexico officials to act against the Trump regime’s latest attack on our environment. On Monday federal officials rescinded the 2024 Public Lands Rule for the Bureau of Land Management.

The rule ensured conservation, wildlife, clean water, cultural resources, and Indigenous Knowledge would be fully considered alongside development across more than 250 million acres of public land. Rescinding the rule strips the agency of critical tools needed to manage land health and respond to growing climate and ecological challenges, while also harming local communities built on recreational tourism who depend on healthy landscapes.

The move is part of the administration’s agenda to weaken protections in order to benefit extractive ...

Albuquerque companies reduce by reusing
The author visited two Albuquerque manufacturing firms: Submaterial, which makes efforts to reuse or recycle their waste byproducts from their interior architectural products, and Soilutions, which takes organic materials that might otherwise end up in a landfill producing methane and turns them into prime topsoil ...
NM Gas proposes LNG plant near monument
If you have hiked Petroglyph National Monument North, you know its rugged beauty and cultural significance. New Mexico Gas Company is proposing a $180 million facility for storing and regasifying liquefied natural gas (LNG) on 25 acres close to these petroglyphs, and just two miles from Ventana Ranch and Double Eagle Airport. The facility poses health and safety risks to surrounding communities and could raise the prices of gas by $3 a month for the next 30 years for ALL gas customers. The LNG proposal comes before the Public Regulation Commission on January 8 ...
Niagara Bottling Request Tabled Indefinitely
The Los Lunas Village Council voted to “table indefinitely” the Niagara Bottling corporation's request to increase their water draw from the Albuquerque Basin aquifer from 285 acre-feet/year (92+ million gallons/yr) to 700 acre-feet/year (228+ million gallons/yr). At a time when New Mexico is in a severe drought and the aquifer is not being recharged with surface water, we need elected officials to be good stewards of our most precious and finite resource: Our water.  ...
Valencia County NROZ ordinance - response
On July 14th, the Valencia County Commission approved the Natural Resources Overlay Zone ordinance (NROZ) with amendments – despite hearing nearly 7 hours of public testimony overwhelmingly opposed to the ordinance, including presentations from several expert witnesses ...
Cycling, one pedal at a time

By Patrick Burton, Central NM Transportation chair

As gas prices continue to rise, the cost savings of biking become more apparent.

In fact, some e-bikes can be purchased for the equivalent of about five trips to the gas station to fill up a pickup truck. Trek, an e-bike company, determined that their manufacturing emissions are offset after using one of its products to replace 430 miles of car travel. Cost and emissions savings add up quickly!

If your regular route isn’t easily bikable, don’t assume that biking won’t work at all. A vicious cycle keeps people from biking: There aren’t enough safe streets for people to ride on, so they drive more, inducing demand for more streets, which don’t have safety features ...

Albuquerque extends free bus fares
The Albuquerque City Council voted 7-2 to keep city public transit free through June 2023. Zero Fares has a profound positive impact on the health and wellbeing of people in Albuquerque ...

Zero Fares

Zero Fares
The Zero Fares Albuquerque program opens doors for more people to use public transit and rely less on their vehicles to commute throughout the city. From a racial and social justice perspective, it provides more fair and equitable access to low income families and individuals to be able to get to their jobs, school, and any other daily activity they may have. It is a win-win situation for all! ...