PEEC Hosts Two Hands‐On Girl Scout Programs In May: Bug Bonanza! And Garden Explorers
PEEC News:
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is excited to offer two hands‐on Girl Scout programs this May, designed to connect scouts with the natural world through exploration, creativity, and outdoor learning.
Brownie Girl Scouts are invited to earn their Bug Badge on Saturday, May 2, and Junior Girl Scouts can earn their Gardener Badge on Saturday, May 9.
Brownie Girl Scouts: Bug Bonanza! Saturday, May 2
PEEC will welcome Brownie Girl Scouts for Bug Bonanza! from 1–2:30 p.m., Saturday, May 2 at the Los Alamos Nature Center. This interactive program invites scouts to explore Read More
‘Fire, Forests, And The Future Of The Jemez’ With Thomas W. Swetnam April 22
PEEC Earth Day Festival Tomorrow At Nature Center
BLM Seeks Input For August 2026 Sale Of Oil And Gas Leases In New Mexico, Oklahoma, And Texas
BLM News:
SANTA FE — The Bureau of Land Management today opened a 30-day public comment period to receive public input on plans to include 32 oil and gas parcels totaling 21,181 acres in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas in an August 2026 sale. The comment period ends May 15, 2026.
The BLM completed scoping on these parcels in March 2026 and is now seeking public comment on the parcels and related environmental analysis. The BLM will use input from the public to help complete its review of each parcel.
Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources. Before development Read More
Daily Postcard: A Cloudy Sky Above Valle Grande
Daily Postcard: A cloudy sky recently above Valle Grande. Photo by Irene at Valles Caldera National Preserve. The sky is an integral part of the landscape at the Valles Caldera, whether by day or by night. As part of Art in the Park Day at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, the community is invited to join Santa Fe-based artist Patsy Welch to learn how to paint the clouds above Valles Caldera in watercolors. Cloud painting is a fun and low-stress activity anyone can do. This one-hour program is geared toward children and families. Spots are limited; registration required. Learn more and register here: Read More
State Fire Restrictions In Effect Across Game Commission Lands Managed By New Mexico Department Of Wildlife
New Mexico State Forester Laura McCarthy
NMDGF News:
SANTA FE — State fire restrictions are in effect across New Mexico, including on all State Game Commission lands managed by the New Mexico Department of Wildlife.
On Monday, April 6, the Department issued fire restrictions on all State Game Commission lands, including the Department’s Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). This comes after New Mexico state forester Laura McCarthy announced a ban on smoking, fireworks, campfires, grills and stoves and prescribed burns on all non-municipal, non-federal and non-Tribal lands statewide. Read More
Wildlife Law Violation Checkpoints Begin Throughout State
NMDGF News:
SANTA FE — The Department of Wildlife is conducting checkpoints throughout the state this hunting and fishing season to collect biological data and to detect wildlife law violations.
As a result, the public may encounter minor delays. Department officers may be assisted by other law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Police or county sheriff’s offices.
Please report any wildlife crime or suspected crime that you may observe while enjoying New Mexico’s great outdoors. To report a wildlife crime, please Read More
Environmental Improvement Board Grants Authority To Regulate PFAS-Laden Firefighting Foam
NMED News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico has become the first state in the nation to classify aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) as hazardous waste under new state rules, a unanimous decision by the state Environmental Improvement Board this week that gives the New Mexico Environment Department direct authority to require cleanup from polluters.
AFFF—a firefighting foam widely used in military installations and airports—can often leach into soil and drinking water sources, leading to health effects like cancer.
Under the new rules, NMED now has authority to regulate discarded AFFF as hazardous Read More
Overwhelming Opposition From Public To Latest Fracking Waste Proposal
WILDEARTH GUARDIANS News:
SANTA FE — New Mexicans delivered a clear message to the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission again: “Do not allow oil and gas waste into our water.”
After more than four hours of public testimony, an overwhelming majority of public comments —roughly 90% or more—opposed the newest industry-backed proposal to allow reuse and potential discharge of “treated” oil and gas waste known as “produced water.” The commission did not reach a decision and delayed any vote on whether to hold a hearing on the rule until its next meeting.
Los Alamos County Residents Select Tagline ‘Give A Shift’ For Climate Action Outreach Campaign
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County residents have selected the official tagline “Give a Shift” for the County’s upcoming climate action outreach campaign. With this tagline, the campaign will explore how shifting the choices you make can protect the environment, improve your family’s health, reduce costs, and continue a strong sense of community.
Daily Postcard: Rock Cairns Spotted In White Rock
Daily Postcard: Rock Cairns spotted on Wednesday on Piedra Loop in White Rock. These rock piles are often used to mark hiking routes in parks. The rock cairns at certain national parks are carefully maintained by park staff to keep hikers on the correct path. Visitors should leave them as they find them. Source: National Park Service. Photo by Shari Mills Read More
Public Meeting: Citizen Advisory Committee To Meet April 28
NMW News:
LAS VEGAS — The New Mexico Department of Wildlife will hold a public meeting with the Public Land User (Habitat) Stamp Program Citizen Advisory Committee April 28 at New Mexico Highlands University.
Habitat restoration project opportunities that have been jointly developed by the Bureau of Land Management, United States Forest Service and the Department will be presented. Members of the public are invited to attend this hybrid public meeting. An agenda will be posted on the Public Land User (Habitat) Stamp Program website prior to the meeting.
- 9 a.m., Tuesday, April 28, 2026 — Las
PEEC’s May Climate Café Series: Forest Bathing May 5
PEEC News:
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) invites the community to Climate Café: Forest Bathing from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. MT, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at the Los Alamos Nature Center. This free, facilitator‐guided gathering is part of PEEC’s bi‐monthly Climate Café series, which will continue again in July.
Climate Café is a welcoming space designed to help people reflect on their emotional responses to a changing climate. May’s gathering will feature a gentle forest bathing experience led by Beth Sanchez, certified guide and PEEC staff member. Participants will be invited Read More
Forest Service Announces $248M In Rural Schools Payments To Support Counties, Schools, & Wildfire Preparedness
SFNF News:
WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. Forest Service Tuesday announced it will be issuing $248 million in Secure Rural Schools payments for 2025, delivering critical funding to eligible states and counties with National Forest System lands. These payments help sustain public schools, maintain local roads, strengthen wildfire preparedness, and support other essential services in rural communities.
“Secure Rural Schools payments reflect our strong partnership with the counties and communities that surround national forests,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said. “These funds Read More
Daily Postcard: Sphinx Moth Sips Lilac Nectar
Daily Postcard: Sphinx moth sips nectar from lilacs Tuesday in White Rock. Photo by Katy Korkos Read More
Experience New Mexico’s Landscapes Like Never Before At Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium
The community is invited to watch a special film program that reveals the state’s dramatic landscapes from a pilot’s-eye view, April 25, in the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) invites the community to take to the skies without ever leaving their seat! From 11 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 25, the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium will host New Mexico from the Air, a special film program that reveals the state’s dramatic landscapes from a pilot’s-eye view.
This unique planetarium experience showcases sweeping Read More
Commissioner Garcia Richard, Department Of Defense, N.M. Land Conservancy Partner On 2nd Largest Land Conservation Agreement In State History
STATE News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has announced that she has partnered with the United States Department of Defense and the New Mexico Land Conservancy for the second time to protect an additional 60,000 acres of state trust land covering portions of Socorro and Torrance Counties in the White Sands region known as Turkey Ridge from future large developments.
The State Land Office received $3.2 million to benefit public education and other institutions under the agreement.
In January 2025, Commissioner Garcia Richard, the Department of Defense, Read More
Wildlife Department Announces Fish Art Contest Winners
NMDW News:
SANTA FE — Some of New Mexico’s most talented youth artists took part in the first-ever Art of Conservation New Mexico Fish Art Contest, with winners announced last week by the New Mexico Department of Wildlife.
The contest included divisions for grades K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The top-three finishers in each division will proceed to the National Fish Art Contest, sponsored by Wildlife Forever. Other categories included the Invader Crusader Award, for artwork featuring a native and invasive aquatic species found in the student’s local area; the Mighty Minnow Award, Read More
New Mexico Approves First Air Quality Fee Increase In Decades
Environment Secretary James Kenney
NMED News:
“New Mexico has not raised any air quality permit fees since 2009, despite seeing an over 2,000 percent increase in oil and gas-related general construction permits and a 126 percent increase in total permitting actions since 2012.” –Environment Secretary James Kenney
SANTA FE — New Mexico’s Environmental Improvement Board — the state’s independent board that reviews and approves environmental rules — on Monday approved a proposal brought by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to increase air quality permitting fees for the first Read More
Daily Postcard: First Black-Chinned Hummingbird Of Season
Daily Postcard: The first Black-chinned Hummingbird of the season is spotted sipping water from a feeder on Monday at a farm in the beautiful Española Valley. Photo by Liddie Martinez Read More