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Interview with Laurie Magoon By Jessica Rath Community, noun. From Latin commūnitās, [f.], 1. A community, 2. Public spirit, a sense of duty, and willingness to serve one’s community. Maybe you think that I sound like a broken record, but I have to say this again: there are so many community-conscious people in Abiquiú! Instead of striving to become rich and famous, they use their energy and skills to help other individuals and families, and they do this voluntarily. They build up and support a sense of belonging, trust, and care among like minded individuals, and they imbue a feeling of empowerment: when people work together, they get stuff done and can change things.  Image credit: Laurie Magoon. I just heard about a new project: the Community Café, an initiative dreamed up by Melodie Milhoan, owner of Café Sierra Negra, and realized by Abiquiú resident Laurie Magoon, who was kind enough to tell me all about it. Here is what I learned. First, Laurie told me about her background. She grew up in a small town in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. A big family and a small town – these two components had a great impact on her. She went to graduate school at Boston University where she became a coach for women's field hockey and lacrosse. She went on to coach at other colleges, and also became a wellness coordinator. Wellness, nature, and coaching have become constant threads throughout Laurie’s life.  Image credit: Laurie Magoon. She spent about ten years at one of her most favorite places in the world: Kripalu, a health and yoga center in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Laurie told me. She worked there as a Senior member of the Healthy Living Faculty, and taught yoga dance. After she traveled the world for a while, she found out about Ghost Ranch which reminded her of Kripalu, but it's also different because they're more into the arts and outdoor activities. First, she joined as the College Staff Wellness Coordinator, just for a summer. Then she was asked to stay on, and was there for about eight years.  Image credit: Laurie Magoon. “I just love that community,” Laurie said. “They're beautiful people and I love everything they offer. I learned so much, and eventually I got connected to other people in the Abiquiú community. This not only expanded my horizons, but I found people I can relate to, who love hiking and so on. Nature is a big part of my life. All the wellness programs I teach, the workshops I offer, it's always related to nature. And I've had fun getting to know people in the community.” After living at Ghost Ranch for a couple of years Laurie moved to Abiquiú in 2018. So, what is this Community Café all about, I wanted to know. “This was all Melody Milhoan’s idea,” Laurie explained. “Melody wanted to offer her café to the community, she wanted to bring a group of people together who could talk about what folks in the area needed. She is very generous; she offers her space to other groups as well, to any organization that might need it. But she didn’t want to speak to the group, and she asked me to be the facilitator. I agreed because it’s easy for me to do. But I want to make sure you know that it was her idea originally.” “We're at the beginning stages;” Laurie went on, “ so far, we've had three meetings. Our goal was to identify the following topics: what are the needs in the community, what are the issues that people are concerned about? But also, how can we have fun together? How can we enjoy the art and the music and the amazing talents that people have in this community? How do we bring everybody together? There's the Pueblo, there's the Mosque. We've got many transplants. Sikh communities are not far. There’s the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. So it's a very, very unique community and we want to try to bring people from every part of the community together.”  Image credit: Laurie Magoon. “At the very first meeting I had us explore how we can come together and learn from each other, have fun, and get to know each other: not just by simply connecting, but kind of weaving ourselves together, supporting each other. At the first meeting, we had about 25 people at the restaurant. Three issues emerged.” Laurie explained further. “First of all, people are very concerned about recycling. There's no recycling in Abiquiú and very little in New Mexico. There is a waste management program where people can bring their trash, and they used to include recycling, but they're not doing it anymore.” “The next issue people are concerned about is the lack of a speed limit on Hwy 84 from the El Rito Road through town which is really dangerous because nobody slows down.”  Image credit: Laurie Magoon. “The third thing was, What about the kids and art? The elementary school doesn’t have an art program, and people who came to the meetings felt that should be changed. So those were the three things we started with, recycling, the speed limit, and arts at the school.” Laurie elaborated further. “We found several places that recycle for free, in Santa Fe and Los Alamos for example. So that was great but it's out of the way. We've got information in case somebody wants to write a grant proposal. We can't do everything at once, so we have to pick priorities. The speed limit is really tough. We've called the sheriff's office, and we've called the Department of Transportation. They're aware of it.” For the third issue, to include more artistic activities at the school, they plan to identify all the people in town that could be resources. Laurie mentioned the library: on the weekends they offer free classes for the kids, such as art, science and Legos. In addition, they plan a monthly program for art and music in the elementary school. A volunteer from the library, Max Manzanares, will facilitate it, starting this month.  Image credit: Laurie Magoon. “The folks at the Mosque have offered their space for soccer games, archery, potluck, all those things,” Laurie continued. “Their Executive Director, Rafaat Ludin, comes to all the meetings. He was there for the two that we've had so far. And it is a beautiful thing for someone to offer us space, because potluck for me is a big deal. It's one of the easiest ways to bring all kinds of people together, and that's really our big goal. And then we're going to add maybe a soccer game for all ages, maybe some music. Everybody's willing to help. This is just the beginning. We've got a lot of ways to go, and people have a lot of other great ideas, but we take it one thing at a time, or maybe two or three. I think those three issues I mentioned have been our main concern, and now we're planning a potluck for April at the Mosque.” Laurie shared more about this upcoming gathering. “We just had our last meeting on Thursday, and we confirmed that April is open at the Mosque. So now I am checking with other organizations to make sure we're not going to pick a date that's in conflict with something else. That's where we are at the moment. The Mosque is doing Ramadan right now, and Rafah is inviting the community to celebrate with them when Ramadan ends. It'll be in the Abiquiú News.” I really liked Laurie’s next thought: “Abiquiú is an unincorporated community, and the meaning of the word is Wild Chokecherry, which comes from the Tewa language. And I feel like we are this wild community and we need to come together. People are yearning for that, they really want to connect. We have young folks, we have retired folks, we have locals. And that connection, especially now with the general situation of the world, really brings people together. You don't have to be committed. You can just come to events, or you can just come to a meeting. But if there's people that really want to do more, there's plenty to do, they can be involved.”  Image credit: Laurie Magoon. She continued: “Down the road, we'd love to support families and/or elders who need extra help. Max Manzanares was putting together little packages of kindling and bark for folks that are elderly and who need help to start their fires in the morning. It still gets cold here in the morning, and he was delivering that just out of his own initiative to help. So when they get up, they can start a fire. There are some great ideas, and it's really inspiring.” “So these are our goals. There's no commitment, you can choose how much you want to be involved. And when we have an event or a potluck, everybody's invited. That's important to me. It's been fun so far, it's been good. I'm meeting all kinds of new people that I may have seen before, but I didn't really know. And I really like that. There’s so much to Abiquiú. I spent about ten years here, and I am still learning about new places to hike, to walk, to go to. It's incredible.” Laurie mentioned another initiative: “My dear friend Susan Kazmierski, she was the nurse practitioner at the Coyote Clinic, is a volunteer for the Abiquiú Lake Amigos. This is a group of folks that go out and help the Corps of Engineers with water testing, making sure the bird houses are up, and all kinds of other things. So, different organizations are coming together at our meetings. Susan l will be at the next one and tell everybody about the Abiquiú Lake Amigos, and maybe get some new volunteers.” To summarize: currently they’re working on three initiatives, the recycling, the speed limit for Hwy 84 through Abiquiú and RT 554 and art education in the elementary school and library. “But we should also keep track of the potluck,” Laurie added. “The potlucks – that’s something we really want to try. Maybe not every month, we could do it every two months. There could be different places to host it. And I want to mention that the Stanford A Capella Group is coming, they're going to be in Santa Fe and they're going to come to Ghost Ranch, and it's all free. Max Manzanares is a student at Stanford University. We’d like for people to know about events like that, events that are free.”  Image credit: Laurie Magoon I was curious – are there other young people who come to the meetings?
“Yes,”, Laurie answered, “we have a wonderful woman, Lena, who's from Northern New Mexico College, which is in the El Rito area, but I think she lives in Abiquiú. And then there’s a younger man named Eric, who's helping me do some research on recycling. Taos had a really great program but they stopped everything, and some of the independent people that were doing the recycling quit, and now supposedly they got a grant, and they’re back recycling. So we've got some homework to do to see what happened: what are they doing now? How did they do that?” “After every meeting I write a recap of what went on at the meeting and I send it to everybody on our mailing list. And I added what I had found out about the grant information. So I said, ‘Hey, is anyone interested in writing a grant?’ If you're really into recycling and you want to do something, here's your opportunity.” Laurie repeated that they’re only at the beginning stage. “We're learning a lot, we research what else people are doing elsewhere in the state that's working or not. And as I said, we need the physical bodies of people who say, ‘Yes, I'm going to work on this. This is something that I will pursue.’ The energy feels good and the people are very open. We have nice discussions at the meetings.” Isn’t all this impressive? It's one thing to complain and say, this should happen, or that should happen. But if nobody does anything, nothing ever happens. So this initiative sounds really great to me. I hope they will grow, and that people will take on certain things. I’m certain that the Abiquiú News played a major part in creating this sense of community. People have some idea of what's going on around here, they feel more of a connection with each other. Thank you, Laurie, for talking to me, and a big Thank you to Carol and Brian Bondy for their steady commitment to this community!
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Give me five! Now give me seven. One more five.By Zach Hively Readers often ask me how I manage to write something new every week. The answer is simple: I live in terror. (Terror of what? Of being a letdown, not following through, discovering that no one actually cares when I skip a week? Hey, give us a break. We here at this fine publication haven’t dug that deep. There’s no time for digging into our core selves when we’re always on deadline.) But fear is not always a sustainable motivator.So, sometimes, I turn to what we entertainment professionals call an “encore performance” because it sounds both more entertaining and more professional than “rerun.” I will, when the straits get dire, republish something that originally ran in a simpler time—a time like, for instance, last year. When I do, I end up wondering how in the world I was ever so young, so carefree, so legally free, and so clearly without a proofreader. These insights are, however, not helpful insights for readers. Readers who ask me how I manage to write something new every week often want some sort of reassurance that I am on medical-grade stimulants and can hook them up. Sadly, all I have to hook them up with is some actionable advice. I’m going to let you in on my little secrets. Two very simple things I do in order to keep myself writing that you can do too, probably:
 Anyone—and I include my dogs in this—can write seventeen syllables. There exist in the hallowed halls of poetics some pedants who disagree about what variants we can call a haiku. But yours truly is a purist. I stick with ye olde 5-7-5 formula that may or may not include an allusion to Mount Fuji. Riding-or-dying with the classic style provides me with the basics of a little game: I don’t have to think up what I want to write out of everything in the whole wide universe—no, I just have to write one measly five-syllable thought. I might write something such as: I’m sure I can write. Ha ha! Suck it, writer’s block—you can’t stop me from writing five syllables! They can sneak through any crack in my psyche, anywhere, anytime, and I’m off to the races with whatever else I need to write that week. At least, I might be. I also tend to show some compulsive tendencies, and I really must finish something once I’ve begun, so long as it is:
Haiku hits them all. So, I typically decide I really should finish this tiny warmup exercise of a poem. I try out some contenders for that seven-syllable second, or “encore,” line, counting beats on my fingers. It can’t be as hard as it-- It’s just pen on paper, you-- No pressure. No one will read-- Dang. You give me more than five simple syllables and I start to run on. Rein it in, yo. How about: How hard can it be, really? REALLY HARD! my harsh inner critic yells at me. GIVE UP! my harsh inner financial advisor bellows. But I’m so close, so very close, to wrapping up this anti-writer’s-block haiku. It’s time to bring it on home-- I’m sure I can write How hard can it be, really? Hard as Mount Fuji The point, clearly, is not the quality of the resulting haiku. The point is simply to generate something, anything, that did not exist before I started. It clears the way for more, and hopefully better, thoughts to come through. Once I’ve given the finger to writer’s block by having—whaddya know—written something, either I’m off to grab my notebook to scribble out more good ideas than two horny dragonflies can produce … or I’m off to give the dogs an encore walk.  By Hannah Grover NM Political Report Debate included whether chemical disclosure requirements violate law  Hannah Grover / NM Political Report The New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission moved forward with a rulemaking Tuesday to prevent the use of PFAS chemicals in downhole oil and gas operations such as hydraulic fracturing.
After lengthy discussions, the state regulators approved a proposed rule with various changes based on commission deliberations, however that rule will not become official until the commissioners have a chance to further review it and issue an official order at a future meeting. Commissioners went through the rule and looked at various definitions individually. There were three proposals for what the PFAS rule should look like. These rules were drafted by WildEarth Guardians, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and the Oil Conservation Division. The final rule will likely look different than any of those three proposals. “I don’t think any one set of proposals encompasses where I would land,” Commissioner Greg Bloom said at the start of the meeting. The rulemaking came as a result of a petition by the advocacy group WildEarth Guardians, which is concerned that the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in oil and gas operations could impact communities in the Permian and San Juan basins. One of the areas debated during deliberations was whether companies should be required to disclose what chemicals are being used in oil and gas operations. Proponents of such a requirement say it is needed to ensure PFAS chemicals aren’t injected into the ground, but opponents say such requirements would violate the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Bloom said NMOGA noted in its arguments that a type of PFAS chemical known as PTFE was used until 2020 and another PFAS chemical was used until 2015. “The only reason we know about the use of these chemicals is because they were disclosed,” he said. “Had they been held as trade secrets, we would not have known anything about them.” Bloom noted that there are thousands of types of PFAS chemicals and many of them have not undergone safety testing. He said if the rule is not implemented, those chemicals could be kept as trade secrets. Commissioner William Ampomah was not convinced that such requirements wouldn’t violate the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. “Let’s say if we force companies to more or less disclose entirely all the chemicals that they are going to use in the downhill operations, are we not in violation of the trade secret?” he asked. Bloom argued that the Oil Conservation Commission would not be violating the law because “we would be saying that companies simply have to disclose the chemicals they’re using, and they can’t use anything that’s not disclosed.” Commission Chairman Gerasimos Razatos said he also had concerns that the Oil Conservation Commission could be overstepping its authority, though he shared Bloom’s concerns that the PFAS chemicals used in oil and gas operations could impact public safety and the environment. A representative from the New Mexico Department of Justice told commissioners that both sides laid out legal arguments and that there was not a black and white answer. “We’re up here protecting health. We’re up here protecting the environment. And right now, the industry can pick any chemical, call it trade secret, and we have no idea it’s in use,” Bloom said. “I mean, there could be an entire new class of chemicals invented tomorrow that would be put into use and we wouldn’t know about it for lord knows how long until somebody decided to voluntarily disclose it to us.” Ultimately, Razatos sided with Ampomah and said the chemical disclosure of all chemicals used in the oil and gas industry in New Mexico goes beyond the purview of the Oil Conservation Commission.  By Felicia Fredd Enchanted Garden Productions My second garden design project in the 'badland' foothills of Abiquiu, NM is my own place. The landscape around me is dry, fragile, and ruggedly picturesque, and I have a great view of the Chama River corridor just a 1/2 mile away. I often take note of the dramatic shift in vegetation from rio grande cottonwood and willows along the riverbank to the sparse pinon juniper scrubland beginning just 200' beyond. I don't know that it is actually any hotter, or colder, living in the foothill slopes, but it is definitely more exposed. Beginning in June, leaving the house can feel like stepping onto a hot tarmac. The soil is essentially bare, the light very intense, and it is indeed hot. Also, I do not have a well. Instead, I have an above ground cistern to which precious water is delivered about four times a year. All of this is to say that a tender, leafy, oasis is out of the question for me, but to have no garden, in my case 'yarden', is also out of the question. The value of diverse plant life has become much clearer living in the desert. After three years of considering the many opportunity/constraint variables, I've moved forward with several big edible THORNLESS 'nopal' type prickly pear cactus (henceforth referred to as nopal) as a primary structural element for the space. It is one of few plants that will hopefully allow me to create fullness, shade, food, beauty, and conserve soil with an extremely limited water supply. I do not make a habit of experimenting with plants outside of their established climate & soil range, and I would never have thought about trying nopal if I hadn't spotted a large specimen growing nearby. My first propagative cuttings came about a year and a half ago from a mother plant growing in someone's front yard in La Mesilla, just 30 minutes south of Abiquiu. The owner said it had gotten so big (about 5x8 feet) that she was happy to give several pads away. The proximity of this gorgeous plant was encouraging, but not a guarantee that it would survive even colder temperatures in Abiquiu. But it did survive, and last spring each pad pushed out 3-5 new leaf buds, and nearly tripled in size in one growing season. The cactus I brought home is probably a variety of Opuntia ellisiana - one that is generally not expected to survive below 10F. We have even colder temperature dips and wind chills, so it could be a unique hybrid with a slight advantage. After quite a bit of research, I'd say I've learned that nothing is certain in the world of cactus - opuntia in particular. The entire genus is referred to simply as "prickly pear cactus". They are known to be 'promiscuous' plants that hybridize freely. I can also now say that I’ve had success with from cuttings of Opuntia erinacea (Grizzly Bear Prickly Pear) from Idaho, Opuntia violacea (Santa Rita Prickly Pear), Echinocerus coccineus (Spiny hedgehog Cactus) from Santa Fe, and Escobaria vivipara (New Mexico Spinystar). These low growing cacti are for stabilizing some gravelly slopes, bees, color, texture. None of these plants are on invasive species watch lists (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4318432/). The best approach for anyone wanting cactus hardy to our elevation will be to find donor plants that have been growing reasonably close by, and ideally, for at least a few years having different weather patterns. I'm giving a shout out here to Roger Montoya at Moving Arts Espanola for sharing cuttings of his nopal type cactus that grow right in the parking lot 'hellstrips' of the facility. And here are a few softer plants that have the drought and soil tolerance for my hot and sandy location: ephedra, palafoxia, astragalus, gaura, evening primrose, datura: New Mexico Environmental Department Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)PFAS contamination in New Mexico is one of the New Mexico Environment Department’s top priorities, as is the protection of human health and the environment. PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals that have been used for a large number of purposes since the 1950s. PFAS have been used in food packaging, cleaning products, stain resistant carpet treatments, nonstick cookware, and firefighting foam, among other products. While PFAS have made our lives easier – they come with the cost of adversely impacting our health and the environment.  Due to the widespread use of PFAS and the fact that they bioaccumulate, they are found in the bodies of people and animals all over the world, as well as ground and surface water. New Mexico has some of the highest documented levels of PFAS in the world with respect to wildlife and plants around Lake Holloman which is next to Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands National Park. In addition, the City of Clovis and rural Curry County have been suffering with PFAS pollution caused by Cannon Air Force Base. As a result, 3,600 dairy cow that were euthanized from PFAS poisoning after the herd consumed the groundwater that the U.S. Department of Defense contaminated and failed to clean-up.  Toxic PFAS pollution (white foam) along Lake Holloman  Euthanized dairy cows from toxic PFAS poisoning by the U.S. Department of Defense Health Impacts
With an estimate 19,000 different forms of PFAS circulating through our economy in consumer goods, these chemicals are in your home in everything from food packaging, cookware, carpet, furniture, and more. In addition, living around a military base where PFAS-containing fire fighting foams were used for jet fuel fires increases your risk of exposure through drinking water. Once exposed to PFAS, there are many ways in which these chemicals can hurt your health, including:
Drinking Water Public water systems in New Mexico are regulated by the New Mexico Environment Department’s Drinking Water Bureau. However, water quality for private wells, also known as domestic wells, is not regulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Therefore, private well owners are responsible for testing the quality of their drinking water and maintaining their wells. On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first-ever national drinking water standards for several PFAS in drinking water. The final rule establishes maximum contaminant levels for PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (also known as GenX chemicals) as individual contaminants, and will regulate PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA, and PFBS as a mixture through a Hazard Index. This new rule will significantly reduce the level of PFAS in drinking water across the United States. However, these standards do not apply to private wells. Although the New Mexico Environment Department’s Drinking Water Bureau does not regulate water quality for private wells, we tested a limited number of private wells for PFAS with the U.S. Geological Survey. Results showed that PFAS occur in some private wells in New Mexico, but no PFAS were detected in the majority of wells that were sampled. Other organizations may have conducted or are in the process of conducting PFAS studies as well. Private well owners who would like to collect their own water samples for PFAS testing may contact a certified drinking water laboratory. Laboratories can provide instructions for collecting water samples. To learn more, please see the New Mexico Environment Department’s Drinking Water Bureau factsheet PFAS and Your Private Well (English) (Español). Other useful links for private well owners are provided below:
In the fall and winter of 2024, the New Mexico Environment Department offered residents who live around Cannon Air Force Base an opportunity to have their private drinking water wells tested for PFAS contamination. The testing was available to anyone who lived in areas around Cannon Air Force Base on a first come, first serve basis (up to 150 households). To inquire about future private drinking water well testing, please email us at [email protected] with your full name, email address, street address, and phone number.  SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) confirms that a deceased resident of Lea County, who was unvaccinated, tested positive for measles.
The official cause of death is still under investigation by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. However, NMDOH Scientific Laboratory has confirmed the presence of the measles virus. The individual did not seek medical care before passing. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness that can cause severe complications. One in five cases requires hospitalization, and approximately three in every 1,000 cases result in death. The only prevention for the highly contagious respiratory illness is vaccination. With ongoing exposures in Lea County, NMDOH urges residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families. “We don’t want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles,” said Dr. Chad Smelser, NMDOH Deputy State Epidemiologist. “The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease.” To support community protection, NMDOH has scheduled free measles vaccination clinics in Lea County on Tuesday, March 11:
If you have symptoms, call before visiting. Staff will provide guidance based on symptom severity:
Anyone with measles-related questions – such as about symptoms or vaccinations – is asked to call the NMDOH Helpline at 1-833-796-8773. The Helpline is staffed by nurses able to provide guidance in English and in Spanish. More information is available on the NMDOH website at http://measles.doh.nm.gov.
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum sends its deepest condolences to Anna Marie Hamilton, their sons, and the entire Hamilton family after the passing of Juan Hamilton.
A talented artist, Mr. Hamilton’s ceramic and sculpture works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, and many others, including the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. After coming to New Mexico in 1973, Mr. Hamilton had an undeniable presence in Georgia O’Keeffe’s life. For 13 years, he became a companion both at home and in travel, a studio assistant, and a trusted administrator of O’Keeffe’s business affairs. He served as a special consultant to the Museum’s Board of Trustees since the Museum’s inception in 1997. After her death, he became an ardent steward of her legacy, generously gifting many of O’Keeffe’s personal belongings to the Museum, which remain significant pieces of O’Keeffe’s story as an artist and a person. These objects and her story continue to inspire the thousands of people who visit the Museum and the Home & Studio in Abiquiú each year. Juan will be remembered as a dear friend of the Museum and our namesake artist. Albuquerque center housing ‘critical’ wildfire dispatch on DOGE termination list as fire risk grows3/6/2025 By: Patrick Lohmann Source NM  The National Interagency Fire Center’s March fire weather outlook for North America, showing most of New Mexico with above normal fire conditions. The Albuquerque office for the Albuquerque Interagency Dispatch Center is on the list of lease terminations announced by Elon Musk’s DOGE. (Photo Courtesy NIFC) As Albuquerque and the rest of the state gear up for another wildfire season, a 22,000-square-foot building housing a wildfire dispatch center is on the list of lease terminations announced by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The building at 2113 Osuna Road Northeast in Albuquerque is the office for the Cibola National Forest Supervisor and also the headquarters of the Albuquerque Interagency Dispatch Center, which coordinates fire response among dozens or potentially hundreds of people from different agencies responding to a wildfire. According to the local broker for the lease between California-based EKF Properties LLC and the United States Forest Service, the property is the same one mentioned in the DOGE lease termination list. Property tax records also show the building has the same square footage as the one on the DOGE list. Emails and calls to the dispatch center or the National Interagency Fire Center, which oversees the dispatch center, were not returned or were returned undeliverable Tuesday. Several federal agencies, including the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, cooperate with the dispatch center, but did not respond to a request for comment. New Mexico State Forestry is also a partner. Forestry Spokesperson George Ducker declined to comment on the potential closure of the dispatch center but, in an emailed statement, called its work “critical” and “paramount” for successful wildfire suppression. Dispatch centers coordinate fire suppression efforts between federal, state and tribal agencies, including monitoring radio traffic between hand crews, and air support. They also facilitate communications between incident command during larger and more complex wildfires, Ducker said. “This kind of coordination is critical during emergencies where homes, lives and natural resources are at risk from wildfire,” Ducker said. “Because each wildfire requires an all-hands response, and that response can include from 100-1,000 people, maintaining good communication between all the different resources is paramount.” The Albuquerque dispatch center, one of six in the state, covers the state’s biggest city, as well as hundreds of square miles in Central New Mexico, stretching south toward Truth or Consequences, west to Zuni Pueblo and east to Encino. Communications about wildfires that spark in that area, regardless of agency, flow through the dispatch center, as well as communications about ongoing prescribed burns. Albuquerque Interagency Dispatch Center Coverage Area  The center also provides predictive services and intelligence to support incident command and on-the-ground wildland firefighters, according to its website.
Cutting wildfire infrastructure, including placing the Cibola Forest Supervisor’s office on the termination list, is a bad idea, said U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján in a statement to Source New Mexico. “Wildfire season in New Mexico is already here, and cutting firefighting infrastructure at this critical moment is reckless and dangerous. Musk and Trump’s decision to dismantle these resources — especially after the state’s largest wildfire that was ignited by the federal government — puts lives, homes, and communities at risk,” he said in an emailed statement. Much of New Mexico, including the area the Albuquerque dispatch center monitors, has been under a Red Flag warning this week, as continued drought and high winds create extreme fire risk throughout the state. A mid-February wildfire outlook from the National Interagency Fire Center shows worsening long-term fire conditions through April here. The NIFC typically provides region-specific wildfire outlooks on the first of each month, but it has not yet published its prediction for March. Are you an employee or former employee at the dispatch center, Cibola National Forest or other national forests in New Mexico? Reach out to reporter Patrick Lohmann securely on Signal at Plohmann.61 or by using this link.  PEH
A new general surgeon has joined Presbyterian Española Hospital (PEH), expanding the care options close to home in northern New Mexico. Dr. Antonio Brecevich will provide surgical treatment for a variety of conditions. He earned his Doctor of Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and completed his general surgery residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas. "I am excited and honored to join the general surgery team at Presbyterian Española Hospital and to serve this community,” said Dr. Brecevich. “I am committed to providing high quality care and I look forward to the opportunity to serve my patients for all of their surgical needs." Brecevich will join surgeons Dr. Blair Hough and Dr. Miguel Iturregui at PEH in providing inpatient and outpatient surgical care, as well as emergency surgeries. Surgeries offered include minimally invasive surgery of the gallbladder and colon, hernia surgery, colorectal and gastrointestinal surgery, anorectal surgery, hemorrhoid surgery, colonoscopy, gastrointestinal endoscopy, surgery for skin cancer, and wound management. Our general surgeons and healthcare team members will care for you before, during and after your surgery. For more information, visit phs.org.  Stanford University's a cappella group, Talisman, is headed to New Mexico for their 2025 Spring Break Tour. They will be visiting Santa Fe on March 24 & 25; and they will be at Ghost Ranch and in Abiquiú on March 26 & 27. Stanford Talisman shares stories and songs from around the world. Talisman will perform at the Agape Center at Ghost Ranch on Wednesday, March 26 at 7pm. The show is free, and donations are always appreciated. They will be visiting Abiquiú Elementary on the 27th , as well as exploring the local area. Casa Manz (David, Andie & Maxmiño Manzanares) are their New Mexico host family. Stanford Talisman just celebrated their 35th Anniversary. Last year, they traveled to Thailand, and when Maximiño Manzanares was a member from 2018-2019, they traveled to Mumbai and Udaipur, India. Generations of members have had the opportunity to perform locally, nationally (including at the White House and the 1996 Olympics), and internationally (multiple times in South Africa). Further, they have performed with such artists as Bobby McFerrin and Joan Baez. http://www.stanfordtalisman.com/about.html We truly believe that they will leave all of us here in New Mexico with something very special. Their voices will uplift all of our hearts and spirits! Just a couple of their songs: Prayer Song (Blackfoot & Cheyenne): https://youtu.be/-TXk28YUZxQ?si=PcpGJkRysMJpJoBI&t=2184 Amazing Grace: https://youtu.be/-TXk28YUZxQ?si=LV2-Ic6yWb-SIFPc&t=5929 Questions? Call 505-469-2015 or [email protected]  |
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