Winners
Outdoorsy-Type shoppers
Santa Fe's new REI won't open until Sept. 12, but the outdoor-lifestyle megastore isn't wasting time. On Aug. 16, painters coated the walls of the Railyard District's newest tenant and the same day, REI held training classes for new employees at DeVargas Mall. REI clearly expects crowds for the opening: Aside from the free breakfast folks will get when they show up Sept. 12-14, the first 200 people also will receive free Nalgene water bottles.
Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout
The western part of Valle Vidal is closed until Aug. 28 so New Mexico Game and Fish employees can poison non-native fish in Carson National Forest streams. The goal is to restore the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, the state fish of New Mexico. In order to poison invasive fish without harming the cutthroat, Game and Fish spokesman Dan Williams tells SFR his employees will electroshock the water, stunning all the fish, then remove and destroy the non-natives.
17 Gila National Forest hikers
If you see Gila National Forest in the headlines, chances are the story involves lost hikers, as was the case on Aug. 14 when 14 students and three adults from Aldo Leopold Charter High School in Silver City went on a hiking trip and couldn't find their way back. The whole episode lasted 20 hours and wound up involving 12 search-and-rescue teams, state police and the US Border Patrol. All's well that ends well with this story, which made national news. Speaking of which, note to MSNBC: Gila is not a national park.
Losers
Mythical creatures
Publicity-savvy Georgians held a press conference on Aug. 15 to announce they had found Bigfoot—a story debunked almost as soon as it came out. The men who "found" Bigfoot, coincidentally, run a Bigfoot hunting outfit, which means somebody is making a buck on this hoax, and it ain't Bigfoot's widow. Despite this myth-busting, some believe Bigfoot is alive and well and living in northern New Mexico. According to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, Rio Arriba County has had eight Bigfoot sightings since 2005, and Taos and Sandoval counties also have had reports. Cue the eerie theremin music.
ATV riders
On Aug. 12, 100-plus outdoors enthusiasts, many of them ATV advocates, showed up at a public forum to discuss a proposed plan by Santa Fe National Forest to shut off more than half the forest roads to motorized transport. It was the ninth of 13 public meetings; a final decision on the road closures will be made next month. It hasn't been an easy month for ATV buffs: On Aug. 13, one rider had his ATV impounded after he was caught riding illegally in Tierra Contenta. The next day, eight kids, all 21 years old or younger, were caught trying to steal two ATVs from a house off NM 599.
Weeds
Santa Feans suffering from ragweed allergies, take heart: The city has your back. All through this week, road crews are removing weeds on Zia and Rodeo Roads, and are also reminding residents of their obligation to remove weeds from sidewalks. The weed removal falls under the city's Weed Ordinance and requires weeds be less than 12 inches high. In addition to ragweed, bindweed, Canadian thistle, mustards, hairy stickweed and dandelions also gotta go under the city law.