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  • January 8th, 2021

    More help is finally on the way

    — by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
    More help for New Mexico's hospitals, public health systems, and struggling New Mexicans is on the way. Congress finally reached a new bipartisan agreement at the end of last year to support our health care workers and millions of families who are struggling through no fault of their own. The emergency COVID-19 relief package extended unemployment...

  • December 22nd, 2020

    We need to fight forest fires when they aren't burning
    — by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and Louis Bacon
    This has been the worst year in recorded history for wildfires in the United States, and the vast majority of over 9.5 million acres burned so far has occurred in the American West. Huge sections of states were closed by fire, smoke clogged the air in cities and national forests, monuments, parks and wilderness areas were shut off to visitors....

  • December 12th, 2020

    Sen. Heinrich says Congress should not adjourn until COVID-relief package is passed
    — by Nathan O'Neal
    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The hopes of Congress passing another COVID-relief package this week remain dashed for now. Congressional leadership remains at odds over what should be included in the bill while members of New Mexico's delegation remains hopeful for a deal. Rep. Deb Haaland is calling on Congressional leadership to include restaurants in any...

  • December 7th, 2020

    New Mexico delegation unworried about Trump's threat to veto defense bill
    — by Algernon D'Ammassa
    LAS CRUCES - In the closing weeks of the 116th Congress, New Mexico's congressional delegation in Washington celebrated the completion Thursday of a $740.5 billion compromise defense bill for 2021.  The conference bill reconciles versions previously passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Among the 53 House conferees was...

  • December 4th, 2020

    Despite Signing The Great American Outdoors Act, Enforcement Has Been Sporadic
    LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: America is divided over many things, but protecting public lands and national parks enjoys broad public support. This summer, President Trump signed a bipartisan bill to do just that. But three months later, the Trump administration's implementation of the new law is being criticized. NPR's Kirk Siegler has more. KIRK...

  • November 27th, 2020

    Not ‘the usual pie in the sky’
    — by Geoffrey Plant
    According to a U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report released a couple of weeks ago, New Mexico’s $2.4 billion outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.2 percent of the state’s gross domestic product in 2019, and supported 35,000 jobs. In a separate report, also released this month, market research firm Southwick Associates found...

  • November 21st, 2020

    Critics say federal order undermines new conservation law
    — by Scott Wyland
    Dave Gold has hiked New Mexico trails for more than 40 years, descending into rugged canyons and trudging up to summits with breathtaking views.  Gold, 65, thinks open spaces should be expanded, especially after he's seen public access to some scenic hiking areas closed off over the years when easements were removed.  "You really can't...

  • November 19th, 2020

    Sen. Heinrich wants to protect the Pecos watershed from future mining
    — by Kendra Chamberlain
    The Pecos watershed is home to some of the state’s most pristine riparian habitat, but Lela McFerrin, vice president of the Upper Pecos Watershed Association, is worried that a proposal to drill new mines in the area will threaten the creeks, streams and drainages that make up the headwaters of the Pecos river.  “What we’re...

  • November 19th, 2020

    Heinrich seeks to protect Pecos watershed from new mining, drilling
    — by Scott Wyland
    New federal claims to extract minerals, including oil, gas and metals, would be barred in the Pecos watershed under a bill introduced by a New Mexico senator. Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said he seeks to avoid accidents in the area, such as a disastrous toxic waste spill from a closed mine in the 1990s that killed fish for 11 miles in the...

  • November 14th, 2020

    New Mexico senators ask National Guard to assess firefighting capabilities
    — by Sean P. Thomas
    As firefighters across the West continue to battle what experts are describing as one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in recent memory, a group of U.S. senators, including Democrats Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, are trying to get a sense of how prepared the National Guard is to help combat large-scale blazes. Udall and...

  • November 14th, 2020

    New Mexico leaders seek COVID-19 relief funds for outdoor industry
    — by Adrien Hedden
    New Mexico’s outdoor recreation industry is one of its fastest growing, and officials at the both the state and federal level advocated for it to receive more federal relief funds to survive the COVID-19 health crisis and maintain the momentum. Recently released data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed the outdoor...

  • October 27th, 2020

    Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to Supreme Court, as New Mexico’s senators vote against
    — by Susan Dunlap
    U.S. Senate Republicans voted 52 to 48 to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away Sept. 18. President Donald Trump held a celebration at the White House Monday evening after the Senate vote and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas swore her in at the White House to the...

  • October 18th, 2020

    Science needs to lead the way
    — by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
    Today, we’re facing the greatest public health and economic crises in our lifetimes. Meeting the full scale of the challenges we face will require big thinking and big solutions. In short, this moment demands that we invest in innovation. Our country has a long history of discovering and developing solutions to the world’s most...

  • October 14th, 2020

    We need to protect the air we breathe
    — by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
    As someone with a background in mechanical engineering, I always believe we need to rely on science as we create solutions to the problems we face. The COVID-19 pandemic is a problem on a scale that most of us have never faced before. Many of the world’s brightest scientists are discovering new information about the virus every day. It is by...

  • September 28th, 2020

    U.S. Transportation Dept. rail improvement grants bring cash to New Mexico, Colorado
    — by John R. Moses
    FARMINGTON — A new Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad bridge across the Animas River in Colorado is among 50 projects in 29 states receiving grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). New Mexico rail projects scored a total of $6.9 million for improvements to Amtrak’s...

  • September 25th, 2020

    Senate Dems delay judicial confirmations until after election
    — by Phaedra Haywood
    New Mexico’s Democratic U.S. senators, Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, have decided to delay the process of filling two U.S. District Court vacancies in the state until after the presidential election in November. The lawmakers said Friday they had decided to exercise their authority to pause confirmation hearings for the two judgeships after...

  • September 25th, 2020

    Sen. Heinrich calls for investigation into deaths of two Navajo soldiers at Fort Hood
    — by Patrick Hayes
    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich wants answers after two soldiers from the Navajo Nation died while stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. 

  • September 22nd, 2020

    The Great American Outdoors Act is Law, Part II — Episode 074
    — by Roxanne Sutton and Cort Jones
    On our previous episode of Open Space Radio — which was part one of our Great American Outdoors Act coverage — we spoke with Happy Haynes, the executive director of Denver Parks and Recreation, about what the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act meant for access to quality parks and recreation...

  • September 20th, 2020

    No, Trump, you are not a great environmentalist like Teddy Roosevelt: Sen. Heinrich
    — by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
    Earlier this month in Florida, President Donald Trump absurdly called himself “the great environmentalist.” That’s right. The guy, who repealed or weakened more than a hundred environmental protections, proposed unbridled oil and gas leasing on millions of acres of lands and waters, and still denies...

  • September 18th, 2020

    Bill would prohibit new mining in Pecos watershed
    — by Theresa Davis
    A bill that would withdraw all federally-managed minerals in the Pecos watershed from future leasing or sales was introduced by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich this week. “We all have different relationships with this river, but whether you’re a fisherman or farmer or outdoor recreationist, people understand this river is the thing that ties...