skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar; 283 workers nationwide, including 83 in CO, killed on the job; IL health officials work to combat vaccine hesitancy, stop measles spread; New research shows effects of nitrates on IA's most vulnerable.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Pentagon begins removing transgender troops as legal battles continue. Congress works to fix a SNAP job-training penalty. Advocates raise concerns over immigrant data searches, and U.S. officials report progress in trade talks with China.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are reeling from near elimination of the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged demise but funding cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and in California, bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame.

New Mexico Creates First-Ever $100M Conservation Fund

play audio
Play

Friday, March 31, 2023   

New Mexico is using some of its surplus budget funds, primarily from oil and gas revenues, to establish the state's first-ever source of recurring funding for conservation efforts.

Known as the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, it consists of two $50 million reserves - one to fund existing state programs and another permanent fund managed by the State Investment Council.

Jonathan Hayden, senior policy analyst with Western Resource Advocates, said the funds with allow better stewardship as the state grapples with what's ahead from changing weather patterns "through things like watershed protection, forest restoration, thinning projects, community-resilience projects - all of which will help insulate communities from the worst effects of a dryer and hotter climate."

Monies from the Legacy Fund will also go to outdoor recreation and infrastructure, agriculture and working lands, historic preservation and wildlife protection. With predictable funding in place, the state will also gain access to untapped federal dollars from the Great American Outdoors Act, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Hayden said passage of the bill to create the fund was years in the making, as environmental groups and others urged lawmakers to follow Wyoming's lead to create dedicated, recurring funding for conservation.

"All the stars kind-of aligned this year," he said, "and we had the support of our legislators, of our administration, and unity in the conservation community about what programs should be included in this fund."

Following this year's legislative session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also signed Senate Bill 72, creating the Wildlife Corridors Action Plan. It will fund 11 high-priority safe passage projects around the state designed to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and restore habitat connectivity.

Disclosure: Sierra Club contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The California Parent and Youth Helpline has helped almost 113,000 people since its inception in 2020. (kieferpix/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The California Parent and Youth Helpline turns five years old today - just in time for a brand new study that confirms its effectiveness. The study…


Environment

play sound

The Mississippi River is the drinking water source for 20 million people and its starting point in northern Minnesota has new protections following co…

Environment

play sound

A new mapping tool shows South Dakota is a big player on the farm conservation scene. The online feature coincides with a new poll, revealing most …


Environment

play sound

Nevada clean-energy proponents have launched a new website to help connect Nevadans to energy and cost-saving programs. One of the nonprofits behind …

P.J. Brock, a 5th grader at Middlesboro Middle School, with his family and teacher, Sandy Evans, alongside Kentucky Retired Teachers Association and AARP Kentucky representatives. (AARP Kentucky)

Social Issues

play sound

Ahead of Mother's Day, one Kentucky middle-school student has received recognition for honoring his grandmother in a "Grandparent of the Year" essay …

play sound

Indiana residents now have a new way to track pollution from coal plants across the state. The Sierra Club's new online national dashboard shows how …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Despite uncertainty about Medicaid funding in Congress, Tennessee is moving ahead to help improve people's health outcomes with a program for …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021