Non-Local News Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) introduced their bipartisan Continental Divide National Scenic Trail Completion Act, legislation that directs the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT).

Designated by Congress as part of the National Trail System in 1978, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail stretches more than 3,000 miles and passes through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The trail follows the Continental Divide and transverses some of the nation's most treasured natural, historic, and cultural resources.

Insects and warm conditions driving forest damage statewide 

SANTA FE – Tree deaths in New Mexico's forests more than doubled from 2023, according to the new Forest Health Conditions Report released by the Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Forestry Division. 

Key findings from the report show: 

 70,000 acres of dead conifer trees – up from the 33,000 acres in 2023. 

 406,000 acres damaged by insects, disease and harsh conditions — an increase of 42,000 acres or 12% since 2023. 

 39% rise in trees losing needles, leaves and turning brown or red statewide. 

(Washington, D.C., April 21, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins joined the 2025 White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn alongside American egg producers.

 "The White House Easter Egg Roll is the yearly Super Bowl for eggs! Egg farmers and consumers were hit hard by the negative impacts of the bird flu this past year, but, thankfully under President Trump's leadership, our five-point plan to combat avian flu and lower egg prices is working. Going into Easter weekend, wholesale egg prices are down 56 percent! This historic event is a great opportunity to celebrate this progress alongside America's hard working egg farmers," said Secretary Rollins.

On April 27, 1935, Congress established the Soil Conservation Service, which would later become the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), as a permanent agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For 90 years, NRCS has helped farmers, ranchers and forestland owners make critical investments in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working and boost agricultural production, while at the same time improving the quality of our air, water, soil, and wildlife habitats.

 This week, NRCS celebrates 90 years of Helping People Help the Land. See our compilation of videos, stories and resources here.  https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/history 

 (Washington, D.C., April 22, 2025) – Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins applauded the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) announcement on the IDFA Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment, a voluntary, proactive pledge to eliminate Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 in milk, cheese, and yogurt products sold to K-12 schools for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs beginning during the 2026-2027 school year:

"America's dairy farmers and milk processors have always led the way in providing our families and schoolchildren with healthy, nutritious, and delicious milk products. While I look forward to getting whole milk back into our schools, today's announcement shows how the dairy industry is voluntarily driving change and giving consumers what they want, without government mandates," said Secretary Brooke Rollins. "I thank IDFA and the dairy industry for leading the way and look forward to other industries thinking about how together, we can Make America Healthy Again."

FARGO, ND - April 22, 2025 — Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced $340.6 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster assistance to deliver relief to farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by natural disasters that have caused devastation across the country.

In support of President Trump's January executive order, which expedited assistance to communities who were left behind by the Biden Administration, Secretary Rollins is delivering critical aid through the USDA Disaster Assistance Fund to provide immediate relief to communities that have waited far too long to receive the aid they need to recover.

Santa Fe, NM — Today, there are tragic reports of a newborn baby found deceased and placed in a dumpster in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While details remain limited at this time, this serves as yet another heartbreaking example of mothers of unwanted newborns choosing the worst case scenario.

Senate Republican Caucus Chair David Gallegos (R-Eunice), a fierce advocate of Safe Haven Baby Boxes in New Mexico, has issued the following statement in response:

The U.S. District Court in Tucson has ruled in favor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Arizona Game and Fish Department and against a coalition of plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the FWS’s 2022 Mexican wolf 10(j) management rule for the recovery of Mexican wolves. 

In reaching this decision, U.S. District Court Judge Scott Rash evaluated written and oral arguments on the science underpinning the Mexican wolf recovery program from all parties and concluded that the professional wildlife conservation agencies charged with wolf recovery were correct and the course to recovery was reasonable and achievable with the current management rule.