Chieftain News Briefs

Unified Fire 500 acres

A fire broke out along the Rio Grande bosque northwest of Casa Colorada at about 10:40 a.m., Tuesday morning. N.M. 304 was closed south of Rio Communities and evaucations were made. See full story on our website at dchieftain.com

Legislative Funding & Smith Building Purchased by City

Legislative funding for the City of Socorro presented at Tuesday’s City Council meeting by Socorro Mayor Ravi Bhasker adding up to about $2.7 million for various city projects.

Smith’s Building: $700,000 reauthorization to purchase the Smith’s building with plans to put a beef jerky business in the building.

Police Station: About $1.172 million for phase two of the police station project.

Rodeo Grounds: About $700,000 to improve the rodeo facilities.

El Camino Real Monument Project: $50,000 from Representative Dow plus a $180,000 commitment from the Office of Cultural Affairs to move the monument near the convention center with an El Camino Real theme.

Evergreen Asbestos Water Line: About $2.3 million from Senator Heinrich’s office to replace an asbestos water line on Evergreen. (Timeline note: agreement not expected until October, with construction likely around spring 2027)

Cuba Road: $1.2 million for work on Cuba Road (funding already in place and to be spent).

EMRTC Bridge: About $6.8 million to redo/repair it which had its underpinnings damaged by flooding.

Natural Gas Station: About $2 million for a new/updated natural gas station, supporting the city’s ongoing emphasis on natural gas infrastructure.

Pending grants: Community Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF)$1 million under the Community Energy Efficiency Fund to help Socorro residents who meet certain criteria pay for windows, doors, heating, cooling, and appliances Details and applications to come once the program setup is complete.

Grid Modernization Substation & Battery Backup in partnership with Socorro Electric Co-op) about $750,000 for design of a substation and battery backup intended to complement the geothermal drilling project that the city contracted with a geothermal company from Texas to begin near the cleared area on the other side of the rodeo grounds.

Red Basin Uranium Project near Datil Update

According to a press release, Myriad Uranium Corporation executed an agreement dated March 17, to sell its Red Basin Uranium Project in New Mexico, to Subatomic Red Basin, LLC for $2,500,000 cash, payable on closing.

Myriad will retain a 10% free carried interest in the Red Basin Project and form a strategic alliance with Subatomic for exploration and development of other projects.

In January, the uranium claim located west of Datil was estimated to have a million pounds of the radioactive metal by Myriad’s CEO Thomas Lamb.

The Canadian-based Myriad Uranium Corporation purchased the 86 load claim in November 2025. The claim spans 1,779 acres about nine miles west of Datil, 12 miles east of Pie Town on Hwy 60 and an estimated 10-14 miles from the Alamo Navajo reservation.

“We bought it for a good price and now we are going to advance the project,” Myriad Uranium CEO Thomas Lamb said in January. “It’s a lovely project with half a million pounds of indicated uranium, and 1.5 to 6.5 million pounds of inferred uranium.”

Lamb said “indicated” means a higher confidence amount of uranium and “inferred” suggests additional, but less certain, uranium is present. He said the company must do further technical work to validate the full amount before reporting it officially as per Canadian standards.

“What is already clear, however, is that the potential for nuclear energy to provide uninterruptible, clean power solutions for the technology sector is attracting a new class of investors into uranium — and into domestic U.S. sources of uranium in particular. Myriad is well-positioned to benefit from this accelerating trend, and we look forward to updating shareholders on key developments as they unfold as we partner with Subatomic,” Lamb said in the press release.

According to the press release, closing is expected on or before April 17, 2026, and is subject to conditions including due diligence, and the finalization of agreements respecting the carried interest and the strategic alliance.

Other

Dollar Tree in Socorro

A realtor reported that the old Dollar Tree building located at 516 S. Old Highway 85 was not sold during auction and they are continuing to look for buyers. 

Missing Person

Andrew Dixon who went missing from the T or C area in July of 2025, and whose vehicle was recovered in Socorro County, is being featured on a multi-part series of the podcast The Vanished. Dixon is still missing and tips should be reported to the T or C police department at (575) 894-7111

BLM implements fire restrictions in Socorro and Catron counties

The Bureau of Land Management will implement fire restrictions on March 27, 2026, to reduce the risk of wildfire on public lands in the Socorro Field Office. This includes public lands in Socorro and Catron counties. Restrictions will be in effect until otherwise rescinded.

Prohibited acts include: Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal or a wood stove other than in a developed campsite and/or picnic areas. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials. Possessing, discharging or using any kind of firework or other pyrotechnic or incendiary device and exploding targets is already prohibited year-round by statewide order on BLM lands.

Violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both. Restitution for total costs of fire suppression or damage will be borne by the violator. For more information, please contact the BLM Albuquerque District Office at 575-761-8700, or reference the BLM NM Fire Restrictions site. Additional information regarding fire restrictions, safety and conditions can bef ound on NMFireInfo.com.

Catron County News

Two candidates running for County Commissioner were disqualified

According to the secretary of state website Amber Pauline Treto of Reserve and Cristina Lash of Aragon who filed to run for County Commissioner District two against incumbent Audrey McQueen were disqualified.

Update from Catron County Manager Deborah Mahler

Projects: The airport pavement project began March 16, closing the runway until mid-August. The Landing Zone remains accessible but is modified. We are also coordinating with the USFS for fire season access. The AWOS system installation is delayed, now anticipated for mid-June.

The Quemado Community Center electrical installation is complete, with power expected next week. Due to public water system requirements, the on-site well will be used only for irrigation/dust abatement, not potable water.

The cattleguard replacement project should go out to bid in the next few weeks. York Ranch Road goes out to bid March 20th. Both are NMDOT-funded.

Engineering for Menges Lane in Glenwood is complete, with construction still planned for summer 2026.

The manager is continuing to support the planning phase of the Luna Community Center project.

Other: A new Fair Board was elected at the March 2 meeting.

The Catron County Health Council, which meets on the third Wednesday of the month, has been active in deploying medical alert devices. Don Lincoln has installed 56 devices county-wide in three months.

Discussions: Several meetings with the USFS addressed road projects. A conflict between the USFS’s resurfacing project and the County’s colonias-funded Beaverhead project necessitates delaying the County’s project to minimize travel impact. The county is requesting a Colonias extension.

There was a USFS partner meeting in Quemado with wildland responders from multiple jurisdictions. Due to fuel moisture and anticipated weather, the county is implementing a full suppression response this fire season; small fires will be immediately extinguished by federal and state crews.

A collaborative meeting with USDA, USF&W, NMG&F, and Catron County aimed to share wolf activity “hot-spots” to mitigate significant impacts in the Luna and Quemado areas.

The County Clerk, District 30 Fire Chief, and county manager met with Horse Mountain voters to brainstorm a solution to keep the polling place open for the November 2026 election.

The Quemado Farmer’s Market

The farmers market has nnounced they will now accept SNAP/EBT benefits at the Saturday markets. They expect to start being able to accept them on April 4 at the first market of the season.