Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press
achedden@currentargus.com

Direct flights from Carlsbad to Denver began last week on 30-seat jets.

Starting Sunday, March 1, air travelers out of the Cavern City Air Terminal could fly to the Mile High City on larger jets operated by Contour Airlines, the new air service provider chosen by the city of Carlsbad last fall.

Contour was chosen from a field of airlines that all presented their plans to the Carlsbad City Council at public meetings throughout the last year. Councilors expressed a desire to reestablish flights to and from Dallas under the two-year contract, after they were canceled in 2023 by previous airline Advanced Air in favor of Phoenix flights.

Contour initially opted to shift Carlsbad’s Phoenix flights to Denver, with city and company officials contending the flights could soon be shifted again to Dallas. That would require renovating the Cavern City Air Terminal to accommodate equipment and staff for the Transportation Security Administration, which officials said could be complete by the end of 2026.

Until then, Contour will run five flights to and from Denver per week, along with seven to and from Albuquerque. The Albuquerque flights will continue when the Dallas flights begin.

At a ribbon cutting held Friday, March 6, at the airport on National Parks Highway, Contour Vice President of Customer Success Susan Skees said Carlsbad is the third city in New Mexico where the Denver-based airline operates, along with Albuquerque and Taos.

She said the airline also has inter-line agreements in place with United, American and Alaska airlines, meaning baggage will continue through to connections and riders will not need to pick up their luggage until their destination.

“This is an exciting partnership,” Skees said. “It will change the economic makeup of your community and the tourism industry. This makes a difference.”

Contour’s contract with the Cavern City Air Terminal is funded through the Essential Air Service, or ESA, program led by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The program pays for airlines to fly in and out of rural areas at no cost to the municipalities other than maintaining the airport.

That means Carlsbad will foot the bill to renovate the airport for TSA but does not pay Contour itself for the two-year contract. The city of Carlsbad recommended Contour last June, with the federal government issuing the final approval.

Contour’s predecessor Advanced Air eschewed the Dallas flights previously offered by its predecessor Boutique Air, but both used eight-seat prop planes. Contour’s 30-seat jets were a key selling point for Mayor Rick Lopez, along with the potential return of Dallas flights.

“I feel like we’ve been left behind for too long. Now is the time for us to show up and get to work,” Lopez said at the ribbon cutting. “Our residents deserve reliable jet service. Contour seeing that our market has a lot more to offer and setting up shop here is super important.”

Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press
achedden@currentargus

Former New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce was approved by a U.S. Senate committee to become director of the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-9 on Wednesday, March 4, in favor of President Donald Trump’s nomination of Pearce to run the bureau. The nomination now goes to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.

The Bureau of Land Management, a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Interior, oversees 245 million acres of federal public land along with 700 million acres of underground mineral rights. The acreage lies mostly in 12 states in the American West, including New Mexico, which means the bureau is tasked with overseeing oil and gas development on public land, a key driver of New Mexico’s economy accounting for about half of the state’s fossil fuel.

A Republican from Hobbs, Pearce served seven two-year terms as U.S. House representative for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District – from 2003 to 2009 and from 2011 and 2019. The 2nd District includes most of southern New Mexico, including its deep-red southeast corner consisting of portions of Eddy, Lea and Chaves counties.

Pearce ran for governor of New Mexico instead of seeking reelection to Congress in 2018, losing to current Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. He chaired the New Mexico Republican Party from 2018 to 2024.

Pearce owned oilfield services company Lee Fishing Tools until 2003 when the business was sold to Key Energy Services.

The committee vote to advance Pearce’s nomination was held without debate, although members questioned the nominee during a Feb. 25 hearing. The vote fell along party lines with all the committee’s Republican members voting in favor while the panel’s eight Democrats and one independent voted against.

The nomination needs 51 votes to be confirmed by the Senate where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. A confirmation vote has not been scheduled.

Pearce’s prior association with the oil and gas industry was a sticking point for U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) who serves as ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and voted against Pearce’s nomination.

During his hearing before the committee last week, Pearce touted his experience in Congress while representing the 2nd District, which includes vast stretches of federal public land in the southern portion of the state.

He said the federal government should collaborate with local communities and the industries they depend on while balancing the needs for outdoor recreation.

“If confirmed, I fully intend to uphold these same principles as BLM director and ensure local input is a key factor in my decision-making,” Pearce said during his opening remarks. “I have also seen firsthand the importance of our public lands and support those missions completely.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Heinrich voiced concerns about Pearce’s past support of selling federal public land and opposing conservation designations such as national monuments.

“When Congressman Pearce testified,” Heinrich said, “he promised that he would not recommend rolling back national monument designations, something which is extremely important to me; and he acknowledged that (the bureau) cannot conduct large-scale selloffs of public lands under existing law, which is correct.

“I intend to hold him to these statements. But I also know that commitments to follow the law by previous Trump administration nominees have proven unreliable at times.”

The vote to advance Pearce’s nomination drew criticism from environmental groups, and support from industry leaders.

Camilla Feibelman, director of the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande Chapter, which covers New Mexico and portions of West Texas, said she was concerned about Pearce’s past support of reductions in national monument acreage and cutbacks to regulations intended to reduce air pollution linked to oil and gas.

“These lands belong to all of us and are an economic engine for our communities,” Feibelman said. “Americans deserve a trustworthy leader who would prioritize managing our cherished public lands for the good of all, rather than selling them off to polluting corporations.”

Dan Naatz, chief of policy for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a national oil and gas trade group, said Pearce’s experience in the federal government, and a “multi-use” philosophy for public lands – including mineral development and conservation – make the former congressman the right choice to lead the Bureau of Land Management.

“It’s important that the head of the BLM understand the multiple use mandate for federal lands management as enshrined in law,” Naatz said. “Pearce’s background in Congress and serving the state of New Mexico qualify him to lead the agency.”

Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
achedden@currentargus.com

Eddy County proposed tighter rules for overgrown properties officials said are causing fire hazards in rural areas.

The County Commission voted unanimously at its Tuesday, March 10, meeting to approve an amendment to Eddy County’s Vegetation Nuisance Ordinance, removing an exemption for property owners on lands 3 acres or larger.

With their unanimous vote to approve the proposed change, commissioners agreed to hold a public hearing on the matter on May 5, after which they will vote again to officially amend the ordinance.

As written and last approved in 2016, the ordinance requires the removal of any plants more than 12 inches tall that could pose a fire or public safety hazard, impede traffic or obstruct views for motorists. This does not include agricultural vegetation, the ordinance read, rangeland grasses or “ornamental grasses or plants” used in landscaping.

Landowners are required to trim such plants within 300 feet of an occupied structure and could be issued a written notice by the county, per the current ordinance. Ten days after the notice is issued to no response, the county may remove the vegetation and bill the landowner for the expense, read the ordinance.

Violations could also result in a $300 fine per day in violation and up to 90 days in jail

The proposed change would only remove the 3-acre exemption, requiring landowners to follow the ordinance regardless of the size of their properties.

“We’ve been carefully evaluating this,” said Eddy County Fire Chief Josh Mack. “This would give us the ability to identify these properties that are potential threats and work with landowners to get them cleaned up.”

Mack said he did not believe the change would affect farmers and ranchers in the county, because their properties are regulated under New Mexico’s Agriculture Act. The state law provides exemptions from local regulations, allowing farmers and ranchers to “maintain their properties,” Mack said.

He said the county would still honor such state exemptions, should its ordinance be rewritten.

“Agriculture is still protected,” Mack said. “Most farmers maintain their property because they don’t want anything contaminating their property or their crops.”

Woods Houghton, a resident of the Happy Valley area on the western edge of Carlsbad and former Eddy County agricultural extension agent at New Mexico State University, said the 3-acre exemption was added to the original ordinance to allow farmers to build up vegetation on their properties, which can be used to aid plowing.

“The reason we had the over three acres was so that farmers could build up a biomass so they could plow it under. It wasn’t there for people to leave it there for five years and cause a fire hazard for themselves and others,” Houghton said. “That’s something to consider.”

Commissioners voted to approve the amendment with little comment but held a lengthy discussion on the vegetation ordinance at their Feb. 24 meeting.

At that meeting, District 3 Commissioner Phillip Troost said he’s fielded several complaints from constituents concerned about properties being acquired by companies from out of state who allow vegetation to become overgrown.

He said the 3-acre exemption was being abused by such landowners who Troost said find “every excuse in the book” not to address nuisance vegetation.

“They have no desire to maintain,” Troost said. “The only thing not allowing us to keep them in check is this section.”

Other business

Commissioners voted to certify the results of the March 2 municipal election held in Artesia. Voters chose longtime city councilor Jeff Youtsey as mayor over his opponent Terry Todd. County Clerk Cara Cook reported 1,583 voters cast ballots, about 20% of the 8,055 eligible voters in the election.

Finance Director Roberta Gonzales reported the county received $7.6 million in gross receipts tax revenue from oil and gas in January 2026 and $5.6 million in GRT revenue from other sources.

An annual audit of county finances included no findings, meaning there were no inconsistencies or policy violations found in how the county reports its financial information.

Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.