{"id":47288,"date":"2025-06-20T15:05:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T22:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=47288"},"modified":"2025-06-20T15:05:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T22:05:59","slug":"new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

A warming climate \u2014 fueled in part by the state\u2019s oil and gas production \u2014 has parched rivers and turned forests to tinder.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This story<\/a> was originally published at Capital & Main<\/a>, a NMPBS partner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Smoke billows from a wildfire in the cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico, on April 27. Photo: Jerry Redfern.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

By Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late May<\/strong>, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham\u2019s office sent out a press release announcing an executive order<\/a> that declared a drought emergency and state of emergency in New Mexico. The order itself was missing two things: It didn\u2019t actually include an emergency declaration, and it didn\u2019t say why the state was in the midst of the worst drought conditions in recorded history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lujan Grisham\u2019s order did urge local governments to consider \u201cappropriate\u201d firework bans. It also told the New Mexico Drought Task Force<\/a> to meet and make \u201cnear-term action recommendations no later than July 31\u201d \u2014 more than two months after the executive order was signed, and deep into fire season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Lauren Dodd Thorp, communications assistant to the governor, said that while the order \u201cdoes not specifically use the terms \u2018drought emergency\u2019 or \u2018state of emergency,\u2019 it does function as an emergency declaration under the Governor\u2019s authority.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The order didn\u2019t say what is making the drought as bad as it is, but scientists in New Mexico have. \u201cClimate change is making things worse,\u201d said Dave DuBois, New Mexico\u2019s state climatologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warming climate doesn\u2019t cause droughts, but it does increase the likelihood that they become longer, hotter and more intense, exactly what New Mexico is experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tree ring studies infer historical periods of drought and abundant rain via ring thickness. In New Mexico they show that \u201cthe current drought has been one of the most intense we\u2019ve seen in hundreds of years,\u201d DuBois said. \u201cThe overall trend is heading toward a warmer climate \u2026 There is nothing to show us that trend is going to change a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, there is \u201ca mountain of evidence\u201d that the warming and drought is caused by humanity\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions, said David Gutzler, professor emeritus of climate science at the University of New Mexico. And those emissions come from burning fossil fuels like oil and natural gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no other plausible explanation,\u201d he said, \u201cAnd the evidence keeps getting stronger and stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThere is very little appetite in policymaking that has any kind of regulatory effect on the oil and gas industry.\u201d ~ Lucas Herndon, energy policy director, ProgressNow New Mexico<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That evidence puts New Mexico in a tight spot. Among the nation\u2019s states, only Texas produces more oil, and only a few produce more natural gas, depending on the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The irony for New Mexico is that those fossil fuels heating the atmosphere also fund more than a third of the state\u2019s general budget and all that entails: a third of school spending; a third of road building; and a third of the effort to mitigate ever-increasing drought and fire seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Mexico doesn\u2019t spend very much, though, on containing the industry that funds budgets and warms the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is very little appetite in policymaking that has any kind of regulatory effect on the oil and gas industry,\u201d said Lucas Herndon, energy policy director at ProgressNow New Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said his group recently reviewed every legislative session since Lujan Grisham took office in 2019 and found that no major oil and gas legislation made it to a floor vote in the state Legislature in that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said oil and gas companies \u201chave successfully killed any real attempt at any comprehensive reform of their industry\u201d in New Mexico. That includes legislation in the past session that tried to codify Lujan Grisham\u2019s much-touted methane regulations<\/a>, which she often points to as an environmental win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Methane is the main component of natural gas and it is a potent greenhouse gas, with more than 80 times<\/a> the warming potential of carbon dioxide. Beginning in 2021, oil and gas producers are required to reduce natural gas leaks and emissions to less than 2% of production by the end of 2026. In addition, starting in 2022, they also have had to reduce releases of other volatile organic compounds \u2014 like benzene, toluene and hexane \u2014 that form the building blocks of toxic ozone pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Mexico\u2019s methane emissions appear to have dropped since the rules were implemented, but rules do not have the long-term durability of law, and in the past four years the state\u2019s Democrat-controlled Legislature hasn\u2019t made them so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In New Mexico, leaks and emissions from the oil and gas production process are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Herndon said that industry has maintained its perfect record of preventing regulatory legislation with a flood of money that crested this year. His group just tallied<\/a> all lobbying dollars spent in New Mexico in this year\u2019s legislative session and found that 54% was spent by the oil and gas industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s an incredible amount,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The industry is also biggest when it comes to the state\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions. Across the country as a whole, transportation is the largest overall greenhouse gas emitting sector, followed by electricity generation. But in New Mexico, leaks and emissions from the oil and gas production process top the list. It\u2019s a rare distinction the state shares with Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coincidentally, Lujan Grisham was at the Fourth Annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage last week. In a press release she noted the state\u2019s hydrogen and geothermal energy developments and also said, \u201cNew Mexico produces some of the cleanest liquefied natural gas in the world, thanks in large part to our nation-leading methane emission standards.\u201d The state does have some of the country\u2019s strongest methane standards, but claims of \u201cclean\u201d liquified natural gas are debated.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She planned to discuss federal partnerships for New Mexico\u2019s \u201cadvanced energy initiatives\u201d with Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The partnerships may prove difficult. Just two years ago, Wright said, \u201cThere is no climate crisis<\/a> and we\u2019re not in the midst of an energy transition either.\u201d Zeldin, on his first day in office at the EPA, said, \u201cWe are driving a dagger<\/a> straight into the heart of the climate change religion.\u201d And Burghum, on his first day in office, said, \u201cInterior<\/a> will focus on ways to eliminate harmful, coercive climate policies.\u201d Since taking office, all three have promised to roll back federal oil and gas production regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lujan Grisham traveled to Alaska with Rob Black, recently appointed secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Previously, Black spent six years as the president of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, where he regularly testified on behalf of the state\u2019s oil and gas industry at the New Mexico Legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The governor\u2019s office did not respond to questions about the trip by publication time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, others<\/strong> in the state are preparing for future fires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura McCarthy, New Mexico\u2019s state forester<\/a>, said, \u201cWe\u2019re looking at above significant fire danger, particularly in the southwest\/south central regions of the state.\u201d She said that includes the state\u2019s two biggest metro areas, Albuquerque and Las Cruces, and two areas that have already been walloped by years of drought-fueled fires, the Gila and Lincoln national forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis risk comes from the persistent drought the state faces, low precipitation over last winter and mistakes that people make,\u201d she said. Those mistakes aren\u2019t directly related to oil and gas policy. \u201cThe data tells us that the majority of our fires are caused not by malicious behavior but by folks making mistakes when they\u2019re outside on a windy day,\u201d she said. The higher temperatures from global warming fan the flames of those mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI worry about those forests burning. And the sad part is that the data analyst part of me understands that those forests will burn.\u201d ~ David Gutzler, professor emeritus of climate science, University of New Mexico<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The danger continues despite recent rains across the state. \u201cCertainly, we love to see rain any time, but this year it is not a silver bullet to alleviate fire danger,\u201d McCarthy said. In fact, it may well increase fire danger later this summer, because rain \u201callows for faster green-up of flashy fuels like grasses that can burn very fast and move a fire quickly in a high-wind situation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gutzler, the University of New Mexico climate scientist, said storms that suddenly dump huge amounts of rain are actually a signal of the warming climate. \u201cAs the climate warms up in general, the potential for extreme precipitation goes up,\u201d he said. The science is complicated, but in rough terms, as air warms it can hold more water, leading to \u201ctremendous dumps that exceed what we\u2019ve seen historically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not expect every year to look as dire as this year,\u201d he continued, but this won\u2019t be the last dire drought year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gutzler said, \u201cIn the short term \u2026 we must adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He lives north of Albuquerque, about a mile from the Rio Grande, which bisects the state from north to south. Gutzler said usually it is \u201ca full, freely flowing river this time of the year.\u201d But this year he and his wife hiked along its banks on Memorial Day, \u201cand it\u2019s not a high flowing river, for sure. So that\u2019s troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking up at the neighboring Sandia Mountains from the trail, \u201cI worry about those forests burning. And the sad part is that the data analyst part of me understands that those forests will burn,\u201d he said. \u201cOur forests are at a dire risk. That is part of climate change. That is daunting to think about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo the hopeful part of me [thinks] people have dealt with droughts forever here, and have muddled through them. And I\u2019m reasonably confident we can muddle through this one,\u201d Gutzler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving said that, I don\u2019t expect a return anytime soon to the wet decades of the end of the 20th century,\u201d Gutzler said. \u201cWe need to be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was originally published at Capital & Main<\/a>, a NMPBS partner.<\/em> Copyright 2025 Capital & Main.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A warming climate \u2014 fueled in part by the state\u2019s oil and gas production \u2014 has parched rivers and turned forests to tinder. This story was originally published at Capital & Main, a NMPBS partner. By Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main In late May, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham\u2019s office sent out a press release announcing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":47292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10906],"tags":[10907],"class_list":["post-47288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partner-stories","tag-partner-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of. - New Mexico In Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of. - New Mexico In Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A warming climate \u2014 fueled in part by the state\u2019s oil and gas production \u2014 has parched rivers and turned forests to tinder. This story was originally published at Capital & Main, a NMPBS partner. By Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main In late May, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham\u2019s office sent out a press release announcing…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New Mexico In Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-20T22:05:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-20T22:05:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e7956764b767e9f3903129e94d388a2\"},\"headline\":\"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of.\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-20T22:05:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-20T22:05:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1721,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Partner Stories\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Partner Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/\",\"name\":\"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of. - New Mexico In Focus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-20T22:05:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-20T22:05:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e7956764b767e9f3903129e94d388a2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Smoke billows from a wildfire in the cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico, on April 27. Photo: Jerry Redfern.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/\",\"name\":\"New Mexico In Focus\",\"description\":\"Involved, Informed, In-depth Journalism\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e7956764b767e9f3903129e94d388a2\",\"name\":\"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9a68f8c3b7f6e2ac4ddf145f09a3452846dd632d2082333a6c47d35665956f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9a68f8c3b7f6e2ac4ddf145f09a3452846dd632d2082333a6c47d35665956f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9a68f8c3b7f6e2ac4ddf145f09a3452846dd632d2082333a6c47d35665956f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/author\\\/jerryredfern\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of. - New Mexico In Focus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of. - New Mexico In Focus","og_description":"A warming climate \u2014 fueled in part by the state\u2019s oil and gas production \u2014 has parched rivers and turned forests to tinder. This story was originally published at Capital & Main, a NMPBS partner. By Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main In late May, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham\u2019s office sent out a press release announcing…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/","og_site_name":"New Mexico In Focus","article_published_time":"2025-06-20T22:05:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-20T22:05:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/"},"author":{"name":"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#\/schema\/person\/4e7956764b767e9f3903129e94d388a2"},"headline":"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of.","datePublished":"2025-06-20T22:05:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-20T22:05:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/"},"wordCount":1721,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg","keywords":["Partner Stories"],"articleSection":["Partner Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/","url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/","name":"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of. - New Mexico In Focus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-20T22:05:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-20T22:05:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#\/schema\/person\/4e7956764b767e9f3903129e94d388a2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Socorro-County-Fire.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Smoke billows from a wildfire in the cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico, on April 27. Photo: Jerry Redfern."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/new-mexicos-governor-declares-drought-emergency-sort-of\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Mexico\u2019s Governor Declares Drought Emergency. Sort Of."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/","name":"New Mexico In Focus","description":"Involved, Informed, In-depth Journalism","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#\/schema\/person\/4e7956764b767e9f3903129e94d388a2","name":"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a68f8c3b7f6e2ac4ddf145f09a3452846dd632d2082333a6c47d35665956f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a68f8c3b7f6e2ac4ddf145f09a3452846dd632d2082333a6c47d35665956f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a68f8c3b7f6e2ac4ddf145f09a3452846dd632d2082333a6c47d35665956f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main"},"url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/author\/jerryredfern\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47288"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47295,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47288\/revisions\/47295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}