skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NM: Rare Chance to Speak Up about National Forests

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 5, 2011   

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - If you are an outdoor enthusiast or make a living off the land, this week brings a once-in-a-generation chance to make an impact on New Mexico's national forests. A public discussion Tuesday in Albuquerque is to cover a proposed update of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA).

The governing rule for how a Forest Service ranger district manages its land has gathered some serious dust: it's been in place for well over a generation. The Obama Administration has proposed an update to the NFMA, and conservation groups say that's a good idea, but they don't think the proposal will go far enough to protect forest land over the next 30 years.

Nathan Newcomer, associate director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, calls New Mexico the birthplace of wilderness, but he says the state ranks dead last for its amount of protected public land. He thinks the new rule is too vague, and leaves too much discretion to local forest managers.

"And while that can be good in some instances, in other instances it may not be very good, depending on who the person is that's in charge of that regional forest district. So, we'd like to see more protections in terms of, like, the teeth - really making it more real."

Newcomer says the rule needs to be more precise about how to protect wildlife and watershed resources, including requiring wilderness inventories.
He says New Mexico has nine million acres of National Forest land, but very little of it is designated as wilderness. He says the current rule hasn't been updated since 1982, and now is the time to be more proactive on how we protect our land.

"And take into consideration things like global warming, climate change and just the ever-increasing population. If we're going to have another rule in place for, I would presume for 25 or 30 more years down the road, we need to be prepared for that, and we need to have the best rule in place."

Public comments can be made in writing at www.govcomments.com through May 16. The Forest Service says it will use the comments to develop and publish a final rule later this year.

Planning Rule Public Forums are Tuesday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., at the Marriott, 2101 Louisiana Boulevard NE, Albuquerque.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021