Gov touts New Mexico鈥檚 lower methane numbers, but state still falling short on 2030 climate goal
鈥� Danielle Prokop,
New Mexico鈥檚 stricter methane rules for oil and gas companies mean the state鈥檚 emissions are half of releases from neighboring Texas, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced in a news conference Monday, alongside environmental advocates.
鈥淲e know that methane is what creates global warming, faster than any of our other carbon issues on the planet. So if you鈥檙e gonna make an impact, this is where you must make it,鈥� Lujan Grisham said.
Satellite data 1.2% of natural gas escaping into the atmosphere relative to the total amount produced and sold in New Mexico 鈥� a measure called methane intensity鈥� compared to 3.1% in Texas.
The results are 鈥渟triking,鈥� Environmental Defense Fund Energy Transition Associate Vice President Jon Goldstein said during the news conference.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the clearest evidence yet that regulations are working,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭he state鈥檚 efforts to put sensible requirements in place to limit methane emissions from oil and gas development are having a marked impact on pollution on the state.鈥�
Methane is a colorless, odorless gas and a significant driver of climate change as it is , according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. New Mexico passed rules in 2021 and 2022 to require producers to track and capture 98% of the gases. The EPA issued under the Biden Administration, which President Donald Trump has , prompting pushback from states, including New Mexico.
Lujan Grisham said she hopes the state can be a leader on the issue, as the federal government moves to implement more regulations cuts for industry.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a good ready statement except that I believe New Mexico won鈥檛 be one of those places that can be strong-armed to do the wrong thing for the people that we serve,鈥� she said.
But the findings 鈥� which include data collected by nine satellites and validated by the Environmental Defense Fund 鈥� still show that New Mexico is projected to have higher greenhouse gas emissions than its 2030 goals set forth in an executive order issued by Lujan Grisham in 2019.
Efforts to in recent sessions have failed, and the Lujan Grisham administration is running out of time to pass them, given the 2026 30-day session will be the last of her second term.
The Environmental Defense Fund noted that New Mexico鈥檚 methane emission rate is still 鈥渁ppreciably high,鈥� and that additional efforts would need to be in place to reduce emissions. Oil and gas production in the Permian Basin has more than doubled since 2020.
Lujan Grisham acknowledged that 鈥渨e are seeing a drastic reduction in our greenhouse gases methane, but it鈥檚 not where we have to be by 2030.鈥�
\New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said the state would work with EDF to close the 9% gap and meet the 2030 emissions reduction goal.
鈥淭his partnership, this ability to work together, to develop the science, to work with regulators, to then implement what we鈥檙e learning will show that there is not a lack of leadership around climate in the United States 鈥� it鈥檚 actually happening within the states,鈥� he said.
No obvious injuries, foul play in deaths of elk hunters in southern Colorado, authorities say -
Authorities probing the in the Rio Grande National Forest found no obvious injuries on their bodies or initial signs of foul play, the local coroner said Friday.
An investigation into what caused the deaths of Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko is ongoing, said Conejos County Coroner Richard Martin.
Autopsies were expected to be conducted Monday in El Paso County, Martin said.
Search and rescue teams found two unidentified bodies about 11 a.m. Thursday about 2 miles from the Rio de Los Pinos trailhead following a massive search effort.
Porter, of Asheville, North Carolina, and Stasko, of Salt Lake City, Utah, were last heard from Sept. 11 about 3 p.m. when Porter shared his location with his fianc茅e, Bridget Murphy, from his Garmin InReach satellite device.
Both were experienced outdoorsmen, Murphy previously told The Colorado Sun. Last year they spent a month hunting elk in the Crazy Mountains of Montana. Murphy said they were the kind of people who built outdoor forts for fun at age 12.
The men, both 25, were hunting southwest of Monte Vista in Game Management Unit 81, which stretches from the Continental Divide on the west to the Rio Grande River on the east and down to the border of New Mexico.
Martin, who did not see the scene of the recovery, said no determination has been made about cause or manner of death.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big mystery to a whole bunch of people,鈥� Martin said.
The search for evidence to pinpoint what caused the men鈥檚 deaths could take time, said Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes, who is not directly involved in the case.
鈥淔or this case specifically, the scene may encompass a larger geographic area with natural hazards that prolong evidence collection and documentation,鈥� Barnes wrote in an email to The Sun. 鈥淭he time it takes to conduct a thorough death investigation can be a hardship for loved ones desperately seeking answers.鈥�
LAST HEARD FROM A TRAILHEAD AT 11,700 FEET
The last ping from Porter鈥檚 InReach device came from near Stasko鈥檚 car, which was parked at the trailhead, at 11,700 feet. Authorities found wet clothes in the car. But none of the gear Porter would need to hunt, harvest or pack out an elk was in the car.
Thunderstorms were reported in Alamosa, the nearest National Weather Service site to the trailhead where the men were last reported, Sept. 12 and 13, Makoto Moore, a meteorologist with the agency鈥檚 office in Pueblo. The storms likely originated in the eastern San Juan mountains, Moore said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to get a higher potential for lightning, the gusty winds, and maybe even some small hail,鈥� Moore said of the higher elevation terrain where the men were hunting. 鈥淏ut again, we don鈥檛 have any stations up there that could give us the daily or even an hourly data.鈥�
By Sept. 14, overnight temperatures dropped to the mid-to-low-30s in Alamosa, which sits at 7,500 feet elevation.
鈥淐ertainly the elements were probably working against them,鈥� Moore said.
During the week Porter and Stasko were missing, multiple search and rescue teams, law enforcement agencies and volunteer hikers, horseback riders and hunters .
Bob Rodgers is the search and rescue resource officer for the in Albuquerque. He said after Conejos County Sheriff Garth Crowther contacted him for assistance on Monday, he dispatched 鈥渁 bunch of resources鈥� on Tuesday and Wednesday, including drones, ATVs and around 30 volunteer searchers.
They combed the area off of the Rio de Los Pinos trail, he said, zeroing in on a large bowl that topped out at over 11,000 feet. He characterized the terrain there as 鈥渞eally rough and really steep鈥� with typical cold and windy mountain weather. He said when Porter and Stasko went hunting they would have had to 鈥渃limb up out of the bowl to go hunt in different directions.鈥�
But any storms that had been in the area had moved out by the time his searchers arrived, and the weather was good, he said. His teams helped search Tuesday and Wednesday, until the 鈥渁ctivated and brought a bunch of resources.鈥� At that point he determined his teams were no longer needed and called them back to New Mexico.
Friends of Porter remembered him as a quiet, thoughtful person who helped ground Murphy. Alex Stokman, who owns a Missoula-based company called that teaches women to hunt, said, 鈥淎ndrew was quiet, focused and creative with a steady presence that was deeply supportive of those around him.鈥�
And Draya Grangroth, a hunting guide, author and photographer, said Porter鈥檚 passion for hunting shone through his soft-spoken demeanor.
Porter was incredibly supportive of Murphy, whom he planned to marry in May 2026, Stokman and Grangroth said. Two things were 鈥渧ery apparent鈥� to anyone who spent time with Porter, Grangroth said, 鈥渉is passion and love for the outdoors, and his love for Bridget.鈥�
Stasko and Porter attended Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The latest chapter in the Yazzie-Martinez case: What did PED learn from statewide tour? -
As the deadline approaches for the Public Education Department to turn in a draft of its court-mandated remedial plan to improve education in New Mexico, its secretary, Mariana Padilla, said the department is using input from communities across the state.
鈥淚鈥檓 just so pleased about the amount of participation that we received,鈥� Padilla said in an interview with the Journal earlier this month.
In August, PED , visiting almost a dozen cities, including Albuquerque. The department hosted open-house-style events to seek input from parents, teachers, tribal leaders and students. It also held remote sessions.
鈥淚t reinforced that we need to invest in our teachers. It reinforced that we need to invest in the actual facilities of our school, the programs that make kids want to show up to school,鈥� Padilla said. 鈥淲e have to create an education system that really engages our students.鈥�
In April, Santa Fe District Court Judge Matthew Wilson i in a legal battle that has spanned over a decade, which seven years prior determined that the state of New Mexico鈥檚 education system is violating the constitutional rights of some of its students.
The suit originated in 2014 when Wilhelmina Yazzie, the parent of a student at Gallup-McKinley County Schools, and Louise Martinez, the parent of an Albuquerque Public Schools student, joined other parents to file a lawsuit against the state, tasking it to improve its education system, particularly for Indigenous and minority students. In 2018, the late Judge Sarah Singleton ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
Padilla said PED had been communicating with the plaintiff鈥檚 attorneys and that the plaintiffs attended some of the listening tour meetings.
However, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which represents the Martinez plaintiffs, said that wasn鈥檛 accurate.
鈥淢artinez plaintiffs were never reached out to by the Secretary, so we now are waiting on a kind of word about what (the remedial plan) will look like,鈥� Ernest Herrera, Western Regional Counsel for MALDEF, said in an interview. 鈥淎s for the listening tours, I鈥檓 glad that there was an effort to do that outreach, but I think it was difficult, given the short notice and some of the like time of day and location, for some of the plaintiffs and community members to be able to attend.鈥�
The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, who represents the Yazzie plaintiffs, also said they haven鈥檛 been brought along to collaborate on the plan yet.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 been directly involved in shaping the state鈥檚 plan so far, our team has been gathering input through our own community engagement events and will continue doing so to ensure the state鈥檚 plan incorporates the recommendations and perspectives of those most directly impacted,鈥� Melissa Candelaria, education director for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, said in a statement Friday. 鈥淲e will be sharing that feedback and continuing the conversation with PED in the coming weeks.鈥�
PED must produce a draft of the remedial plan by Oct. 1, and then file a comprehensive final plan and a status report by Nov. 3. The department has already completed the first step ordered by Wilson, selecting outside consultants to assist in the remedial plan.
The state agency the New Mexico-based Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Foundation and the Phoenix-based nonprofit WestEd, each entity roughly $200,000.
鈥淲hen you have that many community voices, which, all told, I think was around 1,500 individual participants, the variety of input really ranges,鈥� Gwen Perea Warniment, president and CEO of the LANL Foundation, said in an interview Friday.
She said the main themes heard were a need for more multicultural education and 鈥渞esponsive teaching, honoring culture and language,鈥� as well as a need for strong teachers, improved special education services, and 鈥渘eeding mechanisms for ensuring that funding is adequately used.鈥�
Perea Warniment, who served the Legislative Education Study Committee from 2022 鈥� the primary policymaking arm for the state鈥檚 education laws 鈥� said she was encouraged to see PED seek input for the remedial plan.
鈥淚 feel like the PED did a great job of leaning in with us, letting us lead facilitation, and also being present, really endeavoring to be there, to listen and do a good job of listening, as opposed to taking a defensive stance,鈥� Perea Warniment said.
But she said the road ahead to reforming education in New Mexico 鈥� a state with some of the lowest test scores in the country 鈥� is still a long one.
鈥淭his is a long game, so I鈥檓 not sure what the court will decide and how the action plan plays a role in sort of putting anything to rest,鈥� Perea Warniment said. 鈥淏ut I think transformation of the system to meet the needs of students in New Mexico is a long game, and an action plan is one piece of it.鈥�