BY: NADA HASSANEIN
Courtesy of Source NM

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Art Martinez has seen the power of ceremony.

Martinez, a clinical psychologist and member of the Chumash Tribe, helped run an American Indian youth ceremonial camp. Held at a sacred tribal site in Northern California, it was designed to help kids’ mental health. He remembers a 14-year-old girl who had been struggling with substance use and was on the brink of hospitalization.

On the first day of the four-day camp, Martinez recalled, she was barely able to speak. In daily ceremonies, she wept. The other kids gathered around her. “You’re not alone. We’re here for you,” they’d say.

Traditional tribal healing practices are diverse and vary widely, unique from tribe to tribe. Many include talking circles, sweat lodge ceremonies with special rituals, plant medicine and herb smudging, along with sacred ceremonies known only to the tribe.

​Martinez and the girl’s counselor saw her mental health improve under a treatment plan combining tribal traditional healing and Western medicine.
“By the end of the gathering, she had broken through the isolation,” Martinez said. “Before, she would barely shake hands with kids, and she was now hugging them, they were exchanging phone numbers. Her demeanor was better, she was able to articulate.”

Indigenous health advocates have long known the health benefits of integrating their traditional healing practices, and studies have also shown better health outcomes.

Now, for the first time, tribal traditional healing practices are eligible for Medicaid coverage in California and three other states under a new initiative. Last October, the federal government approved Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage of traditional healing practices at tribal health facilities and urban Indian organizations in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon.

These were approved under a federal program that allows states to test new pilot health programs and ways to pay for them.

Arizona’s waiver went into effect Wednesday. While California’s waiver currently only covers patients with substance use disorder, like the girl in Martinez’s camp, any Medicaid enrollee who is American Indian or Alaska Native is eligible in the other three states. Officials have said California’s program will expand to have such coverage in the future.

Under the waivers, each tribe and facility decides which traditional healing services to offer for reimbursement. Services can also take place at sacred sites and not necessarily inside a clinic, explained Virginia Hedrick, executive director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health.

“If a healing intervention requires being near a water source — the ocean, creek, river — we can do that,” said Hedrick, who is of the Yurok Tribe and of Karuk descent. “It may involve gathering medicine in a specific place on the land itself.”

Tribes long had to practice out of sight. The U.S. government’s assimilation policies had targeted tribal languages, cultural and religious practices — including healing. It wasn’t until 1978, when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was enacted under President Jimmy Carter, that they regained their rights.

“It was illegal to practice our ways until 1978 … the year I was born,” said Dr. Allison Kelliher, a family and integrative medicine physician, who is Koyukon Athabascan, Dena. “Traditional healing means intergenerational knowledge that have origins in how our ancestors and people lived generationally to promote health, so it’s a holistic way of looking at well-being.”

Last month, Kelliher and hundreds of others gathered at the National Indian Health Board’s health conference on Gila River Indian Community land in Chandler, Arizona. During a panel discussion about the waivers, tribal members discussed how health centers will bill for services, ways to protect the sacredness of certain ceremonies, and how to measure and collect data around the effectiveness of the treatments, a federal requirement under the waivers.

But teasing out those new protocols didn’t dull the enthusiasm.
“This is where we really start intersecting the Western medicine as well as traditional healing, and it’s exciting,” said panelist Dr. Naomi Young, CEO of the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board in Arizona.

The Trump administration announced earlier this year that it doesn’t plan to renew certain other Medicaid waiver programs approved under the Biden administration. But it hasn’t announced any changes around the traditional healing waivers.

Studies have found that incorporating sweat lodge ceremonies and other cultural practices in treatments led to substance use recovery and emotional health, and better quality diets when incorporating traditional foods, according to analyses of research by the National Council of Urban Indian Health.
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“When there is an opportunity to braid traditional healing with Western forms of medicine, it’s very possible, and the research is indicating, we may get better health outcomes,” Hedrick said.

Traditional practices
Decades of historical trauma, such as displacement and forced assimilation in boarding schools — where American Indian and Alaska Native people were forbidden from speaking their languages — are behind their disproportionate rates of chronic illness and early deaths today, tribal health experts say.

Tribes have long offered traditional healing — both outside brick-and-mortar health care settings as well as within many clinics. But health centers have been paying out of pocket or budgeting for the services, said retired OB-GYN Dr. John Molina, director of the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care and member of the Pascua Yaqui and Yavapai Apache Tribes.

Molina said the new Arizona waiver may help clinics afford to serve more patients or staff more traditional healers, and build infrastructure, including sacred spaces and sweat lodges. For other clinics, “They’ve been wanting to start, but perhaps don’t have the revenue to start it,” he said.

“I’m hoping that when people engage in traditional healing services, a lot of it is to bring balance back into the lifestyle, to give them some hope,” Molina said.

That’s the effect traditional healing practices have had on Harrison Jim, who is Diné. Now a counselor and traditional practitioner at Sage Memorial Hospital in Arizona, Jim, 70, said he remembers his own first all-night sweat lodge ceremony when he returned from a military tour.

“I [felt] relieved of everything that I was carrying, because it’s kind of like a personal journey that I went through,” he said. “Through that ceremony, I had that experience of freedom.”

Kim Russell, the hospital’s policy adviser, who also spoke on the panel about the traditional healing waivers, told Stateline her team hopes to bring on another practitioner along with Jim.

Tribal health leaders have expressed concern about people without traditional knowledge posing to offer healing services. But Navajo organizations, including Diné Hataałii Association Inc., aim to protect from such co-opting as it provides licensures for Native healers, Jim said.

Push in Washington
Facilities covered under the new waivers include Indian Health Service facilities, tribal facilities, or urban Indian organization facilities. In Arizona, urban Indian organizations can get the benefit only if they contract with an Indian Health Service or other tribal health facility.

In Oregon, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center spokesperson Shanna Hamilton said that while the center can’t speak on behalf of other tribes or clinics, many are still in the early stages of developing programs and protocols. She called the waivers a “meaningful step forward in honoring Indigenous knowledge and healing practices.”

Meanwhile, in neighboring Washington state, the legislature this session allocated $165,000 for the state to apply for a waiver by the end of this year.

​The Washington State Health Care Authority in a statement to Stateline emphasized that each tribe would determine its own traditional health services available for reimbursement.

Azure Bouré, traditional food and medicine program coordinator for the Suquamish Tribe, a community along the shores of Washington’s Puget Sound, called the waivers “groundbreaking.”

“We’re proving day in and day out that Indigenous knowledge is important. It’s real, it’s worthy, and it’s real science,” Bouré said.

On a brisk summer day in 2009, Bouré recalled, she had attended a family camp hosted by Northwest Indian College. It was then she tasted the salal berry for the first time. A sweet, dark blue berry, it’s long been used by Pacific Northwest tribes medicinally, in jams, and for dyeing clothing.

“It was just that one berry, that one day, that reignited that wonderment,” Bouré said. For her, it unlocked the world of Indigenous plant medicine and food sovereignty, a people’s right to the food and food systems of their land.

She got her bachelor’s in Native American environmental science and now runs an apothecary, teaches traditional cooking classes, recommends herbs to members with ailments and processes foraged foods.

One day she could be chopping pumpkins or other gourds and the next, cleaning and peeling away the salty-sweet meat from dozens of sea cucumbers harvested by shellfishbiologist divers employed by the tribe.

Bouré’s grandmother died when her mom was 12 years old. “That’s a whole generation of knowledge that she lost,” she said. One way she unearths that lost knowledge is by learning tribal medicine and teaching it, and holding on to memories like watching her great-grandmother Cecelia, who wove traditional sweetgrass dolls even when she was blind.

“I think that I come from a long line of healers,” she said.

Gary Ferguson, who is Unangax̂ (Aleut), is the director of integrative medicine at the Tulalip Health Clinic about 40 miles north of Seattle. He’s certified in naturopathic medicine in Washington and Alaska.

His health center already has a variety of integrative medicine offerings, he said, including traditional ones grounded in Coast Salish traditions of the Pacific Northwest. He said he hopes the waivers and continued support for Indigenous ways of healing will help tribes address health disparities.

“These ceremonies and ways are part of that deeper healing,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Dr. John Molina’s tribe and to include the Washington legislature’s funding to apply for a waiver. Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at [email protected].

This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Source New Mexico, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

BY: DANIELLE PROKOP
Courtesy of Source NM

As climate-fueled disasters cause mounting damages to New Mexico’s acequias amid rising costs, leadership from traditional ditch communities and land grant-mercedes say they need state help.

Those leaders discussed the issue on Tuesday in front of the state Roundhouse, as Democratic lawmakers previewed legislation for next year’s session that would establish two muli-million dollar funds to help pay infrastructure costs for dam repairs and debris removal, as well as for affordable housing developments on community-owned land.

“It’s more than a bill, it’s a promise,” said Sen. Leo Jaramillo (D-Española). “It creates a permanent fund so our New Mexico’s historic land grant and acequia communities can invest in our future, clean water and strong local infrastructure; more so in rural New Mexico where we need it the most.”

Similar legislation brought in 2025 — House Bill 330 — advanced through House committees and a floor vote, but stalled in the Senate Finance Committee. The bill, which would have dedicated $5 million in two funds for both acequias and land grant-mercedes, simply “ran out of time,” Jaramillo said.

“I’m very optimistic for it to pass this year,” he said.

But while acequias and land-grant mercedes count as government entities in law and predate New Mexico’s statehood by hundreds of years, their ability to obtain state or federal funding remains a challenge.

Since 2022, fires and flooding — including millions in damages to dozens of canals in September — have devastated more than 200 acequias across the state, said Paula Garcia, the executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association.

“With about 700 in the state that means one in four acequias is in crisis from some kind of climate disaster,” she said.

Garcia said uncertainty about receiving U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency funds and challenges navigating the state’s disaster funding creates a continued level of precarity as calamities pile up.

“It seems like every time there’s a disaster, we’re starting from scratch,” Garcia told Source NM. “Now having a funding source would be a game changer because we wouldn’t be scrambling every time there’s a disaster on how we’re going to piece together that recovery money.”

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District and much of Northern New Mexico, said she’s had to repeatedly “educate” federal agencies to get funding for acequias, and said this pool of funding may offer chances to seek federal grants in the future.

​“When the State of New Mexico passes legislation like this that not just builds upon the recognition, but says, ‘we are going to provide the funding at these levels, then they can go and seek matching funding from the federal government,’’ said Leger Fernández, who was in the state rather than Washington, D.C., due to the ongoing federal shutdown. “That’s why what the legislators have done today is so essential — because we want to multiply, as much as possible, the funding that comes into rural communities.”

Contact: Becca Fisher, Abiquiú Arts Council | [email protected]
Date: October 10, 2025

Abiquiú, NM — The much-anticipated Abiquiú Studio Tour returns this weekend, October 11, 12 & 13* from 10 AM to 5 PM, inviting art lovers, collectors, and curious travelers alike to experience the creative pulse of northern New Mexico.

This self-guided driving adventure opens the doors of over 60 working artists’ spaces & galleries, where visitors can witness the intimate origin of creation. From painting and pottery to textiles, jewelry, and sculpture, the diversity of work reflects the beauty, culture, and inspiration of the land itself.

As you wind through the breathtaking landscapes and golden yellow cottonwood trees that inspired generations of artists, you’ll find that each stop offers not just art to collect, but stories to carry home.

Plan Your Tour:
Maps, studio listings, and artist bios are available at abiquiustudiotour.org, and printed map brochures will be available at every stop. You can also download the Toureka app for an interactive, digital guide to plan your route, save your favorite stops, get directions, and explore with ease. Visit your app store to download today! Follow along on Instagram @abiquiuartscouncil for updates, artist highlights, and stunning glimpses of the tour in motion.

Come explore the art, the land, and the spirit of Abiquiú this weekend—where creativity and community meet under the New Mexico sky.

*Limited stops are open on Monday, 10/13. Please check artist listings and plan accordingly.

Ways to Support:
Support Local & Share: Bring friends, share & tag your favorite discoveries on social media, and let others know about this unique weekend.
Email Newsletter: Sign up via our website or here to stay in the loop on future exhibitions, juried events (like our Abiquiú Gathering of Artisans in spring), workshops, and special calls to the community.
Visit our Studio Tour Artist Showcase: On display through December 29 at Abiquiu Inn’s Café Abiquiu.
Make a Donation: Visit abiquiustudiotour.org/supporters/


About the Abiquiú Arts Council
The Abiquiú Studio Tour is presented by the Abiquiú Arts Council, a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating local artists year-round. In addition to the Studio Tour, the Council also produces the Abiquiú Gathering of Artisans, a juried mercado in late spring, and other community arts programs and initiatives are in the works to connect people and communities through creativity. Learn more at abiquiustudiotour.org

By NM Political Report

New Mexico lawmakers have allocated $5.9 million to support in-state public television and radio stations statewide after Congress eliminated federal funding for public broadcasting.
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The state funding includes $1.7 million specifically for New Mexico PBS, which faced an 18% budget cut totaling $1.7 million for fiscal year 2026 due to the congressional rescission vote, according to Franz Joachim, general manager and CEO of New Mexico PBS.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the New Mexico Legislature approved the emergency allocation to cover the funding gap that took effect Oct. 1, Joachim said in a statement. The total allocation will support public radio and educational television across the state, including tribal stations identified as most at-risk.

“This landmark allocation means children still have PBS Kids and educational resources they can count on, trusted news, arts, and culture are still reaching families in every corner of our state, and our emergency alert system is still active and vigilant when it matters most,” Joachim said.

The federal cuts also affected the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which typically provides forward funding to stations two years in advance to enable long-term planning. The corporation has begun winding down operations following the congressional action, according to the New Mexico PBS announcement.
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While the state funds cover fiscal year 2026, New Mexico PBS still faces a $1.7 million shortfall for fiscal year 2027 that was also eliminated by the federal rescission.

Higher Education Department Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez supported the funding allocation, Joachim said.

New Mexico PBS, which operates under the call letters KNME and KNMD-TV, serves New Mexico and the Navajo Nation through five digital broadcast channels and streaming services. The station is co-licensed to the University of New Mexico and Albuquerque Public Schools and has operated for more than 65 years.

Cipriano F. Vigil, age 83, of El Rito, NM, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family, on September 25, 2025, after a lengthy illness.
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Cipriano was preceded in death by his parents, Catalina Dominguez and Ruben Vigil; his son Fred Lopez; stepson Luis Tafoya; sister Betty Vigil; brothers-in-law Tony Vigil and Robert Gurule; and sister-in-law Josie Vasquez.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 47 years, Susan Vigil; his children, Cipriano Vigil Jr. (Kimberly) and Felicita Piñon (Alex); and his beloved grandchildren, Marisol Archuleta-Vigil, Alonzo Vigil, Mitzael Piñon, Nehemiah Lopez, and Fabian Lopez and his great-granddaughter, Camila Archuleta.

Cipriano leaves behind his siblings: Katherine Pacheco (Gilbert), Judy Vigil, Reyna Gurule, Ruben Vigil (Teresa), Enemias Vasquez (Enselma), and Juan Vasquez, as well as many other cherished family members and friends.

Born in Chamisal, NM, Cipriano spent most of his youth there before moving to Los Angeles, where he worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft. He eventually returned home to New Mexico, where he devoted his life to music and education. A renowned musician and scholar, Cipriano earned a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology and served for many years as Fine Arts Director and music instructor at Northern New Mexico College until his retirement.

Even in retirement, Cipriano continued his passion for music by crafting cigar box guitars and sharing his love of traditional Northern New Mexican folk music. He enjoyed spending time outdoors, especially fishing, and was rarely without his guitar—ready to play wherever he went.
The family extends heartfelt thanks to Presbyterian Hospice for their compassionate care and to DeVargas Funeral Home for their support during this difficult time.
​
(Services Pending)

Courtesy of Laura Williams-Parrish

​James “Jim” Dennis Williams passed away July 24, 2025 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was 88.

Jim was born May 11, 1937 to Leonard and Genevieve (Miller) Williams in Manning, IA.  They later moved to Minneapolis, MN, and then to Menlo Park, CA where he graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School. Jim earned his BS degree in electrical engineering at San Jose State and worked at Hewlett-Packard for 30 years. While there, he eventually took on work with AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society) and advocated for minority student access in STEM career paths. He also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1961 to 1969.

Jim and his wife Nancy moved to Medanales, NM in 1993 where they appreciated the culture, art and history of the Southwest. They always said it was the people they met who made it special, and they treasured many friendships where they lived.

Jim was an accomplished woodworker with a special fondness for Spanish Colonial woodcarving, and he made many fine pieces of furniture over the years. His interest in woodworking also led him to design and produce woodworking tools under his company Timberline Tools.

He was sincerely thoughtful about others and very supportive and encouraging in nature. His lifelong passion for learning was amplified by sharing his knowledge with others.

Jim is loved and missed by his wife Nancy of Colorado Springs; daughter Laura and husband, William Parrish (Colorado Springs); and son Tom and wife, Diana Golis (Glenwood Springs, CO). His daughter Marya Williams, who loved him dearly, passed away in 2017.

No service is planned. The family is honoring him in their memories.

By Felicia Fredd, Enchanted Garden Productions

I visited a garden-in-progress this week to check on the results of a seeding project that began last year, and what I found was a great surprise: a thick crop of Cowpen Daisy! The project, a recent home build just outside of Tesuque, NM, is situated on a somewhat windswept high point that provides huge landscape views in all directions.
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The views were the client’s primary attraction to the site. I love views too, but I tend to prefer them from a more private and perhaps ‘grounded’ garden space (see prospect-refuge theory: https://www.archpsych.co.uk/post/prospect-refuge-theory). So, the minimalist emphasis on distant views and spatial openness throughout design planning was an interesting experience for me (I’m practically agoraphobic).
Neither are the clients what I would call gardeners. They prefer other forms of strenuous exercise, and have never expressed a desire to change the fundamental character of the surrounding landscape. They accept its spareness and often harsh exposures, and felt they needed only to anchor the building with native plants and to revegetate areas disturbed by construction activity.

The area above and behind a retaining wall that supports a sunken patio is one of the zones most disturbed during construction (see photos below). We designed the wall as a long low ‘horizon line’ to emphasize the profile of distant mountains and ridge lines. In that sense, the field behind it also serves as an important foreground design element, and our intention here was simply to restore the original low-growing native grass and wildflower community, for the most part.

Seeding for the area was completed last fall - the natural time for grasses to drop ripened seed - and our seeding method was to cast into a thin layer of ¼” Santa Fe Brown crushed gravel. This was an experiment in seeding without hydromulch, tackifiers, straw, matting, etc., while still providing some protection from wind displacement and predation, and to help retain moisture. With supplemental watering last spring, the area flushed with tiny green seedlings, including the targeted native grama grasses. As this is their first growing season in very thin, dry soil, the grasses are still quite small, but what did show up with a bang was Cowpen Daisy (Verbesina encelioides).

At first, we didn’t realize the Cowpen Daisy accounted for so much of our spring seedling flush. We hadn’t included it in our seed mix, and unless some of our seed packets from Plants of the Southwest had been mislabeled, the Cowpen Daisy seed must have already been present in the soil. Once we figured that out, we chose to let it stay - reasoning that it would at least provide benefits such as shade and wind protection for the young grasses just beginning to establish. It was a good decision.
Now, I don’t think you could convince too many people that native Cowpen Daisy is a proper garden plant. There’s just something about its generic, somewhat rangy leaf texture and form that kind of screams “weed”. Most of the time I’ve seen it up close it’s also been pretty dehydrated. I’ve walked through many crunchy, midsummer, drought-stricken fields of these plants and wouldn’t describe them as “beautiful.” But right now, in full bloom following recent heavy rains, it’s a head-turner.

In the specific context of this garden it’s gorgeous - another vivid fall gold seen against a background of crisp sky blue. One of the things that helps change the perception from weed to wonderful is a narrow foreground ‘screen’ planting of irrigated native grasses just above the wall. These help push back the Cowpen Daisy field visually, where it is seen less distinctly as just a wash of golden color rolling into the horizon.

The coolest part of this accident is that Cowpen Daisy also happens to be a really important late-summer/early fall nectar and habitat plant for native insects. It’s one of our primary Ecoregion 10 keystone species: https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregions-north-america. And, with so little work, we gained so much beauty and ecological value - all of which relates back to my previous article, How To Love Your Garden, where I tried to say something about how helpful it is to focus on things that work more effortlessly in the garden, and to build on them.

I don’t think it would interest the most content-with-the-basics clients I’ve ever known (they haven’t even filled their seasonal pots), but I’d be tempted to add something like Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) to this scene. Though it may sound a little weird, Broom Snakeweed is another rugged self-sustaining native keystone species, and the shift in form and texture would subtly tweak that golden scene into something even more visually intense, while also conveying a bit more intentionality. There’s definitely something about a sense of intentionality and staging that helps make a space feel special - even if it’s just how you frame a view or place a chair.

I like to be involved with new garden development for a good 3-4 years, if not longer, because it’s the only way to really get all those studied adjustments and fine-tuning sorted out - the seasonal shifts, the editing, the perfect additions, etc., and the Cowpen Daisy was a great unplanned success to build those things out from.

Another angle showing a bit of 'Blonde Ambition’ Grama Grass in the upper retaining wall beds. ​

South facing view with foreground Little Bluestem planting in their second year. Next Fall, I would hope to see the Cowpen Daisy rolling right through the Little Bluestem grid to join the whole area together visually. ​

Federal uncertainty has upended local vaccine access

​By DANIELLE PROKOP
​Courtesy of Source NM

During the special legislation session starting Wednesday and focused on federal health insurance and food assistance programs, New Mexico lawmakers also plan to address state laws on vaccine policy.

Current federal tumult over vaccine availability requires providing state officials the flexibility “to set their own standards,” Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth recently told Source NM.

New Mexico Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham told Source NM she hopes the changes in the law will offer state officials more leeway as federal vaccine policy faces delays and uncertainty.

The hope is to “bulletproof” the state’s vaccination policy infrastructure and send clear public health messages, she noted.

“We are essentially hoping to just broaden the guidance that we can rely on in making vaccine decisions,” Durham said.

Durham pointed to the recent challenges the state faced in offering COVID-19 vaccines. State law requires pharmacies to follow guidelines set by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. But under the current federal administration, those guidelines have not been finalized. Thus, the state “was left in limbo,” she said.

As such, DOH Secretary Gina DeBlassie issued a public health order on Aug. 29 that directed the state pharmacy board to update its protocols to ease access. Then Durham wrote a statewide prescription for all residents. The situation, Durham noted, illustrated that the state needs to “craft its own recommendations.”

Durham pointed to clinical guidancereleased by professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics or others as a means for the department to craft effective policy guidance for pharmacists and other medical professionals.

“[American Academy of Pediatrics] and others have reviewed vaccines independently and just usually come to the same conclusion as ACIP, so we haven’t had conflicting recommendations,” Durham said. “What’s happening with ACIP right now — it’s not meeting in a timely manner and not providing strong evidence-based recommendations.”

Recent uncertainty may be worsened by the federal shutdown expected on Oct. 1 if Congress doesn’t pass a budget to fund the government.

“I would hope the acting CDC director would be considered an essential worker, but there’s really no way to know,” Durham told Source NM.

Durham said having a state policy will also help “screen out the noise” of misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
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“We think the Department of Health is well positioned to be really clear about what’s best for New Mexico. And again, it doesn’t necessarily have to be different than what’s best for other states, but we really do want to focus on that,” Durham said.
Other states have also begun charting their own vaccine policies. California, Oregon and Washington announced a public health alliance, while New York declared a disaster, citing the Trump Administration’s limits on the use of COVID-19 vaccinations.

By Jarred Conley

On June 11, 2025, the Rio Arriba County Board of Commissioners formally recorded a ban on certain fireworks at the County Clerk’s office. The order stated the ban would remain in place “until such time as the Board of County Commissioners determines that the hazardous fire conditions presently existing decreased to a level considered safe for such use.” Just nine days later, on June 20, County Fire and Emergency Services Chief Enrico J. Trujillo issued a full countywide burn ban due to extreme drought. While only the fireworks ban was formally recorded, both measures were shared publicly on social media. These actions were clear and designed to protect the public.

Despite these restrictions, the Santa Fe National Forest pursued a different course. On June 25, a lightning strike ignited what became known as the Laguna Fire. By June 30, the fire measured just 176 acres. Allegedly, that initial burn had run up against a cliff and stopped spreading due to natural terrain, which should have provided the Forest Service time to fully secure it. Instead, the agency announced it would “actively manage” the fire, planning to expand it through aerial and hand ignitions across some 13,000 acres. Under policies the Forest Service has created for itself, a “managed” fire does not have to be ignited directly adjacent to the original lightning strike — the ignition area can be a considerable distance away. This distinction gave the agency wide latitude to conduct new burns under the umbrella of wildfire management, even as local bans prohibited residents from lighting so much as a firework.

The contradiction could not be sharper. While local residents were barred from lighting even small fireworks or campfires, the federal government proceeded to intentionally ignite thousands of acres of forest. By mid July, the fire had escaped containment lines, forcing firefighters to deploy shelters, and ultimately burning 17,415 acres. Property and livestock were lost, and public confidence eroded again.

​The Forest Service has consistently circulated photographs that highlight only the low to moderate burn areas, presenting the Laguna Fire as if it were an ecological success. Yet my own photographs document areas where the forest burned at 100 percent, leaving nothing behind. Those images tell a different story, one that is just as much a part of the fire’s legacy as the carefully selected images used in agency updates. While it is true that some areas burned in the way managers intended, no old growth pine, no rancher’s cows, and no wildlife was worth torching in the middle of June to prove a point about “managed fire.” In the end, the Santa Fe National Forest used its own policies and loopholes to prove a point that it can do what it wants, regardless of local restrictions or public cost.

This raises a troubling policy question. Under the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016, the Forest Service is prohibited from conducting prescribed burns during “Extreme” fire danger unless coordination with state and local officials occurs. But the Act does not apply to lightning caused wildfires, which can be managed using the same ignition tactics under a different label. That loophole allowed the Laguna Fire to expand well beyond its original footprint, despite county burn restrictions.

​It is still unclear whether all other federal policy requirements, including coordination and reporting obligations, were met before this strategy was authorized. What is clear is the double standard: county leaders, with fewer resources, enacted and recorded bans to keep residents safe, while the federal government pressed forward with a massive ignition effort in the same extreme conditions.

As Brad Butterfield reported in the Rio Grande Sun on September 11, 2025, the fire’s aftermath has left many northern New Mexico homeowners facing an insurance crisis. One resident who built a modern, fire-resistant home on land with virtually no trees still had her policy canceled, despite her efforts to mitigate fire risk. Another saw his annual premium nearly quadruple in just a few years, forcing him into a punishing deductible that would be impossible to cover if a fire actually occurred. These stories show how the Forest Service’s decision to manage, rather than suppress, the Laguna Fire has deepened financial and emotional strain for people who had already followed local restrictions and acted responsibly to protect their properties.

​The Laguna Fire is more than a policy failure, it is a reminder of the human cost when federal agencies gamble with fire under extreme conditions. Families who followed county restrictions now face higher insurance bills or no coverage at all, while the agency that expanded the fire shields itself behind a loophole. If trust in fire management is to be restored, Congress must act to ensure that local bans are honored, loopholes are closed, and the people who live with the consequences are finally placed at the center of the decision-making.