Santa Fe National Forest Announces Prescribed Fire Projects
SFNF News:
SANTA FE —The Santa Fe National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations in September, pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue through the fall and winter as weather conditions allow.
Prescribed fire helps reduce overgrown vegetation to protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from catastrophic wildfires.
The following prescribed fire projects are tentatively planned:
Jemez Ranger District
- Holiday North
- Acres: 853
- Location: Holiday Mesa approximately 3 miles northwest of the village of Jemez Springs
- Smoke: Smoke
Daily Postcard: Blood Moon Sets Over Pajarito Mountain
Daily Postcard: Blood Moon sets over Pajarito Mountain Monday morning. Photo by Marc Bailey Read More
U.S. Rep. Vasquez Introduces Bill To Help Protect New Mexicans From Natural Disasters, Establish Resiliency Office
U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez
From the Office of U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) introduced Monday, Sept. 8, the bipartisan Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience (CLEAR) Act, a bill to help communities better prepare for and recover from extreme weather and natural disasters.
The CLEAR Act invests $100 million annually over five years to help states, territories, and Tribes establish or expand resiliency offices and save lives. This push to bolster resiliency offices is critical for strengthening disaster mitigation, infrastructure protection, Read More
Wildlife Wednesday Free Event: Hibernation And Torpor
Bears rely on torpor and hibernation to get through lean, cold times. Courtesy/NMWF
NMWF News:
While human beings get to reach for a wool blanket when nights get cooler in the fall, many other animals rely on the ability to slow down their metabolism to conserve energy. From the tiniest hummingbird to the largest bear, a wide spectrum of creatures relies on torpor and hibernation to get through lean, cold times.
Shayne Halter, a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, will speak on how animals use torpor and hibernation. He’s the featured speaker at the New Mexico Wildlife Federation’s Read More
Public Input Requested On Improving Visitor Services Across National Parks System
NPS News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Park Service is seeking public input to help identify ways to improve visitor services in national parks, including more efficient methods for delivering and managing those services.
This request for information supports Executive Order 14314, Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks, which directs the Secretary of the Interior to take steps to enhance services for United States residents visiting national parks.
“We’re inviting those who know our parks best, the visitors, to share their experiences,” said the Read More
Daily Postcard: Pair Of Bull Elk Battle At Bandelier
Daily Postcard: Bull elk testing one another Sunday at Bandelier National Monument. Photo by Jim Cobble Read More
NNSA, LANL Given Okay To Depressurize Containers
From LANL:
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Los Alamos Field Office and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) received Temporary Authorization from the New Mexico Environment Department to safely perform the controlled depressurization of headspace gas from four flanged tritium waste containers at LANL’s Technical Area 54, Area G.
The “Transmittal of Notification of Planned Start of a Temporary Authorization Request” is posted in the LANL Electronic Public Reading Room at https://eprr.lanl.gov/.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Read More
Daily Postcard: Valles Caldera Helped Prove Theory Of Plate Tectonics Now Widely Accepted
Daily Postcard: Two scientific bore holes from a paleomagnetism study on Cerro Abrigo. I heard that Valles Caldera helped prove the theory of plate tectonics. How so? When scientists were working to verify the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s, Valles Caldera was an ideal study location due to the occurrence of certain aged volcanic rocks. Similarly aged rocks from Valles Caldera’s lava domes and from the ocean floor were analyzed for their symmetrical stripes of alternating normal and reversed magnetic polarity. Some of the young reversals of the Earth’s magnetic field that Read More
Posts From The Road: Sheep Canyon Geological Loop
Open Views: When visiting the Flaming Gorge area, traveling from south to north, one would be on Utah Highway 44 to drive the Sheep Creek Geological Area. This view was taken a short distance into the 13-mile loop that traverses through high meadows and open spaces surrounded by mountains. The views are tremendous and there are some areas along the loop road to stop and appreciate the landscape. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Forested Hillsides: The loop road passes through mountains and high desert terrain for the first few miles of the loop. Many views such as this forested hillside broken Read More
Cone Zone: Week Of Sept. 7, 2025
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County Public Works staff manages the projects listed in this section through contractors. For more information, please email lacpw@lacnm.us, call 505.662.8150, or visit the County Projects page at https://lacnm.com/pw-projects.
Please slow down and use caution within the construction work zones. Please note the information below is based on a schedule provided by the contractors and may change due to weather or other delays.
Bathtub Row Reconstruction Project Updates
Construction crews with TLC Plumbing & Utility continue the Bathtub Row Reconstruction Read More
Residents Invited To Take ‘Bicycle Friendly Community’ Survey
Cyclists ride along Diamond Drive. Courtesy/LAC
COUNTY News:
The League of American Bicyclists is reviewing Los Alamos County’s application to renew its Bicycle Friendly Community status and inviting residents to share their feedback through an online survey open now through Sunday, Oct. 5.
The survey will help the League evaluate bicycling conditions in Los Alamos County as the community seeks to move from its current bronze designation to silver status.
The survey is designed to take 10-15 minutes at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFC_2025.
Achieving the League of American Bicyclists Read More
Daily Postcard: Storm Clouds Cover Sky Over Los Alamos
Daily Postcard: Storm clouds cover the sky over Los Alamos viewed late Saturday afternoon from N.M. 502. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com Read More
September Update For Los Alamos Golf Course
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County staff evaluated the course Sept. 4 for any problem areas and assessed its overall status for additional play.
Staff has confirmed that the front nine is holding up well and will be making a slight adjustment to the schedule.
Based on the golf course project management team’s evaluation of the golf course, the Los Alamos County Golf Course has announced a new schedule.
Beginning Sept. 24:
- An additional day for play – The golf course will open at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays, and all day Thursdays through Sundays.
- Full course opening – All 18 holes of the golf
Bandelier To Host Wilderness Project Day Saturday Sept. 27
NPS News:
Bandelier will be celebrating National Public Lands Day with special events and a fee free day on Saturday, Sept. 27.
In honor of National Public Lands Day and recognizing September as National Wilderness Month, the park will be hosting a Wilderness Project Day on Saturday, Sept. 27. The park is looking for up to 20 volunteers who would like to participate in a special project. Volunteers will work alongside park rangers and will spend the day building Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) in Frijoles Canyon. BDAs are intended to mirror the effects of natural beaver dams for the purpose of stream Read More
Daily Postcard: Western Kingbird Spends Time In White Rock
Daily Postcard: A Western Kingbird spent considerable time on Wednesday in a tree behind the water treatment plant in White Rock. For the most part, the breeding range for these birds is the western United States. They winter largely in Mexico and Central America, but have also been migrating for more than 100 years to parts of Florida. They largely eat insects but also eat the fruit of several shrubs. Photo by Richard Skolnik Read More
New Mexico Archaeology Field Training Program Now Accepting Applications
NMDA News:
SANTA FE — The Office of Archaeological Studies (OAS) in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA), is launching the New Mexico Archaeology Field Training Program, a new educational and workforce development initiative for aspiring archaeological field professionals.
Funded by the New Mexico Legislature in 2025, this statewide pilot program offers immersive, hands-on training designed to prepare participants for employment on professional archaeological projects. The program is open to permanent New Mexico residents and will run from September Read More
Daily Postcard: Silvery Sunset Behind Ashley Pond
Daily Postcard: Silvery sunset behind Ashley Pond Wednesday evening. Photo by Miriam Wallstrom Read More
Reminder: LANL To Repave East Jemez Road Sept. 7-30
Map of the paving work to be completed in two phases. Phase 1 (yellow on the above map) begins on Sept. 7, 2025, and Phase 2 (green on the above map) begins in mid-September. Courtesy/LANL
UPDATE: Project will now begin Sunday, Sept. 7, due to weather conditions.
LANL News:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) will be repaving East Jemez Road from the N.M. 4 intersection (mile marker 10) to the start of the three lanes and the climbing lane (mile marker 7.6). Drivers should anticipate traffic delays and potential traffic pattern shifts during this project.
Los Alamos Police Cmdr. Chris Ross said, Read More
2025 Valles Caldera Fall Fiesta Coming Oct. 4-12
NPS News:
JEMEZ SPRINGS — From Oct. 4–12, the National Park Service will host the 2025 Valles Caldera Fall Fiesta—a time to celebrate the rich natural beauty and cultural heritage of this volcanic landscape.
The first weekend of the fiesta—Oct. 4 and 5—is packed with activities. Rangers will be leading guided programs and art activities throughout both days, guest speakers will share their knowledge, tribal artisans will demonstrate their cultural artistry, artists and educators will offer information and sale items at booths, and visitors may enjoy self-guided activities each evening Read More
