Josh’s Friday Night Forecast

Drier air and hotter temperatures have continued to spread across northern New Mexico today. This has brought very fewer thunderstorms to northern and northwestern parts of the state this afternoon. A few storms across northeastern New Mexico have become strong this afternoon, while isolated storms have developed across southern and southeastern New Mexico.

Temperatures will remain just as hot Saturday afternoon. Rain and thunderstorm chances will increase across the eastern half of the state, while much of western, northern, and central New Mexico stays mostly dry.

High temperatures will cool a few degrees Sunday and Monday as a large area of high pressure remains well north of New Mexico. This will also allow a surge of monsoon moisture to move in from the east and southeast. While low-level moisture will increase across the state, forecast models have trended drier in the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere. Storms are still expected to develop Sunday and Monday afternoon, but coverage may not be as widespread as earlier forecasts suggested. Storms will also begin moving from east to west during the afternoon and evening. This pattern is expected to continue through the middle of next week, with drier air returning in the mid-levels and potentially limiting thunderstorm coverage.

ROSEBURG, Ore. — The push to redraw the Oregon-Idaho border has gained support in parts of Eastern Oregon in recent years, even as some counties have reversed course and the effort remains stalled in Salem.

The Greater Idaho Project is a movement that has been covered for years. Thirteen Oregon counties have voted to consider expanding the Idaho border to cover much of Oregon. Two of those counties — Harney and Wallowa — later voted to repeal their decisions to side with Greater Idaho.

In Douglas County, voters rejected a Greater Idaho-related measure in the May 2022 election. Measure 10-185 asked Douglas County voters to consider expanding the Idaho border. The measure was defeated with 52.6 percent of the vote, meaning more than 47 percent voted for consideration of expanding the Idaho border.

Greater Idaho effort seeks federal help as Oregon lawmakers keep border plan stalled

After that vote, David Jaques, identified as the leader of Greater Idaho in Douglas County, said in 2022, “I’m a lifelong Oregonian. I don’t wanna move to Idaho. Well the good news is we don’t have to move. We’re just gonna draw the line around here.”

The movement’s executive director, Matt MacCaw, said the effort has support from Idaho but remains blocked by Oregon lawmakers.

“We have Idaho as a willing partner saying, hey, all these people in eastern Oregon want to be a part of Idaho. We will take them. We would love to have that conversation,” MacCaw said. “We have the people of Eastern Oregon voting and saying, we want to just peacefully secede from Oregon and join Idaho. But the Oregon Legislature, Western Oregon, is holding eastern Oregon captive against our wishes. The Oregon Legislature refuses to take up the issue, refuses to to have any conversation about letting us go.”

Greater Idaho has now turned its focus to the Trump administration, asking the federal government to fix the standstill.

President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Monday afternoon shrinking the size of two national monuments in Utah, which currently cover a combined 5,094 square miles, the Deseret News confirmed on background with a Utah source.

The two national monuments — Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears — have oscillated in size through the previous several presidential administrations.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was created by President Bill Clinton in September 1996. Bears Ears National Monument was created by President Barack Obama in December 2016. Both designations received a mixed reception among Utahns.

In 2017, Trump reduced Bears Ears by about 85% and Grand Staircase by about 46%.

Then when former President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he restored them to their original sizes.

Trump is expected to sign the executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday at 4:30 EST.

In a statement to the Deseret News on Friday, the White House said, “Any policy announcement will come directly from the President. This reporting about potential executive orders is pure speculation.”

National monument designations place restrictions on what recreational and economic activity residents and visitors can do on the land. The designation also prohibits anyone from pursuing new mining claims, oil and gas leasing, coal exploration or new commercial infrastructure projects.

However, the Bureau of Land Management previously found that Bears Ears and Grand Staircase have little to offer in terms of oil and gas potential, the Deseret News previously reported.

For nearly three decades since Clinton designated the first monument, Utah’s federal delegation has asked for reductions in land size for more local control, recreation and grazing.

Recently, Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy challenged the monument’s resource management plan to return to a plan the first Trump administration outlined in 2020 with help from local Utahns.

However, her bill died after missing a key deadline to make it to the Senate for a vote.

People react to the potential land reduction

Based on an initial report by ABC4, environmental groups are already vocalizing their disapproval over a potential reduction of monument land.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance Executive Director Scott Braden described the potential executive order as “unlawful, unwise and unacceptable,” in a press release sent to the Deseret News.

“This action will only bring uncertainty and chaos to places that should instead be protected for their rich biodiversity, unique geology, and remarkable cultural values,” he wrote. Braden said SUWA was preparing to fight the executive order through lawsuits or by lobbying in Congress.

On X, former Utah state Sen. Nate Blouin referenced the land reduction in conjunction with the Babylon Fire, which as of Friday is 25% contained and has covered more than 100,000 acres in southeastern Utah.

“As the largest wildfire in the U.S. burns pristine landscapes in southeastern Utah, Trump is threatening to shrink both Grand Staircase & Bears Ears National Monuments,” Blouin wrote. “This unprecedented move is happening without input from the region’s ancestral inhabitants.