Montana state officials have already made a New Year’s resolution: Sue the federal government. In a lawsuit filed on Dec. 31, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte accused the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) of violating established agreements for managing bison.

Federal wildlife officials have ignored Montana’s concerns about increased numbers of bison, the lawsuit said, and also avoided vaccinating the animals against brucellosis, a disease that worries the state’s cattle-ranching industry.

It’s the latest escalation in a decades-long conflict between state and federal officials over management of bison herds in Yellowstone National Park. The core issue is about how to manage the animals when they leave park borders and roam into Montana. According to the lawsuit, the NPS changed the rules regarding bison numbers and vaccination in a 2024 environmental impact statement without consulting state officials.

The lawsuit was filed in district court by Gianforte’s office, the Montana Department of Livestock, and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. The NPS didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

“The new Bison Management Plan is another example of Yellowstone National Park’s tendency to do what it wants, leaving Montana to collect the pieces,” the lawsuit said.

Is Livestock Disease the Issue?

The latest dispute began in 2000 when Yellowstone National Park implemented the Interagency Bison Management Plan. This long-term plan allowed for brucellosis-positive bison to live in Yellowstone. That concerned Montana officials because brucellosis can cause fetal abortion and sterility in livestock, and Yellowstone bison frequently roam outside of park boundaries.

State officials hoped the issue would be addressed when the NPS updated the management plan in July 2024. But that’s not what happened, according to the lawsuit. Instead, the updated plan violates previous agreements to keep bison Yellowstone bison herds under 3,000 animals, and avoids vaccinating them against brucellosis, Gov. Gianforte said in a July 2024 letter to federal officials.

“The condescending and disingenuous methods of NPS, and other agencies, is forcing a new day in the West,” Gianforte wrote.

While brucellosis has been found among Yellowstone bison, it’s more likely to infect livestock via elk herds, according to 2016 research from the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Any attempt to control the rate of spread in wildlife must be evaluated at the ecosystem scale and include an effective strategy to address infection in elk across the greater Yellowstone area. Focus on bison alone, as was suggested in the past, will not meet the disease eradication objective and conserve wildlife,” said the National Park Service’s Rick Wallen, lead wildlife biologist for the bison program in Yellowstone National Park and co-author of the 2016 study.

Too Many Bison?

But by 2023, the Yellowstone bison population had swelled to 6,000, or double the intended herd limit from the 2000 plan. That led to Montana hunters killing many of the animals at point-blank range as they wandered outside park borders, according to conservation groups Roam Free Nation and Alliance for the Wild Rockies.

“The so-called ‘hunt’ is just another tool to achieve what livestock interests want — to keep wild bison out of Montana,” the organizations said jointly in a press release.

Regardless, the Montana lawsuit requests a temporary pause of the 2024 bison plan while the court reviews the state’s claims.

Visitation to Southern Nevada was up less than 1 percent in November, but most other tourism indicators were down from a year ago, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported late Tuesday.

LVCVA officials said the declines were the result of tough comparisons to last year when the inaugural Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix produced record results in several categories.

Kevin Bagger, vice president of the LVCVA Research Center, said visitation in November was up 0.6 percent to 3.3 million, thanks to the Formula One race and the Specialty Equipment Market Association automotive aftermarket trade show, one of the Las Vegas calendar’s largest annual events.

“November saw higher weekend occupancy vs. last year (89.1 percent, up 0.4 points) but lower midweek occupancy (78.9 percent, down 2 points) as overall hotel occupancy for the month reached 81.4 percent, down 0.5 points,” Bagger said. “While down compared to the record-shattering levels tied to last year’s inaugural F1 race, monthly average daily room rates this year saw the second-highest on record for the month of November, reaching $198.72, down 20.3 percent year over year.”

The declines mirrored downturns in the number of passengers seen at Harry Reid International Airport, 4.7 million, down 2.1 percent, and the average daily automobile traffic on Interstate 15 at the California-Nevada border, 44,916, down 2 percent.

There was a net decrease in midsize and small meetings in Las Vegas during the month resulting in a total 548,200 convention visitors, off 8.4 percent from a year ago.

Clark County’s gross gaming revenue has yet to be reported by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Despite the late-year decline – October was the second month in 2024 to have fewer visitors than the previous year – Las Vegas is still on track to have a higher total in 2024 than 2023. After 11 months, 38.3 million had visited the city, up 2.2 percent from a year ago.

Other indicators aren’t as robust, with the 5.7 million convention attendance off 1.3 percent, hotel room occupancy down 0.1 point to 83.7 percent and I-15 traffic at the California border down 0.6 percent.

Still, airport traffic is on track for a record 2024 with 53.6 million passengers so far, up 1.4 percent, and the average daily room rate up 0.7 percent to $193.12 a night.

Two other Southern Nevada cities were on opposite ends of November results.

Laughlin saw visitor volume increase 5.9 percent for the month to 94,000, with occupancy down 0.7 points to 42.4 percent and room rates down 0.5 percent to $55.08. For 11 months, Laughlin visitation is up 3.3 percent to 1.2 million, the occupancy rate is down 1.5 points to 50.3 percent, and the average room rate is down 0.9 percent to $60.82.

Mesquite’s visitor volume in November fell 10.8 percent to 66,000 with occupancy down 3.7 points to 72.9 percent and room rates up 9.3 percent to $89.65 a night.

For 11 months, Mesquite visitation is down 8.8 percent to 778,000, the occupancy rate is down 4.5 points to 74.5 percent, and the average room rate is up 10.2 percent to $83.19.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.

New Mexico is the easy decision.

Where in New Mexico is the hard one.

The Land of Enchantment scores 10 out of 10 for art, culture, history, cuisine, nature and the outdoors, national parks and historic sites. Tack on the nation’s greatest festivals to boot.

The state puts on a show during the winter holidays as well, presenting visitors countless no-lose choices.

Albuquerque

Travelers arriving to New Mexico by air typically do so via the state’s largest city, Albuquerque. The understandable impulse is racing to rental cars and making haste to Santa Fe, Taos, Ghost Ranch, White Sands, Zuni Pueblo or whichever destination serves as your trip’s focal point. Fight this urge. Albuquerque offers worthy rewards of its own.

Stopping at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center feels compulsory when visiting New Mexico where Indigenous culture stands more forward than anywhere else in America. Just a 15-minute drive from Albuquerque’s Sunport airport, an introduction to the state’s 19 Pueblos and their history, culture, and people takes shape through artworks, exhibitions, and events.

Dances are held in IPCC’s mural-ringed Avanyu Plaza Saturdays and Sundays year-round from noon to 1 PM. Make every effort to attend one. Pueblo artists sell their handiwork daily in the courtyard, and the center’s gift shop displays authentic Pueblo jewelry, pottery, clothing and textiles, fetishes, and more. During December, the Center hosts a Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest.

The tastiest treats, however, come from the onsite Indian Pueblo Kitchen. Show up early–like, when it opens at 9:00 AM early–to guarantee a portion of homemade bread. Homemade pies last longer. Native Superfoods waffles or griddle cakes made with blue corn, quinoa, currants, piñon, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and triple berries are available all day.

Four miles from IPCC, Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm could be the best smelling hotel in America. “Hotel” only in that guests can spend the night in one of fewer than 50 casita-style accommodations spread across the 25-acre property. The privilege of doing so isn’t cheap. Think $500 a night.

Fortunately, Los Poblanos’ olfactory delights have less expensive price points, and what delights they are!

Finley split pinon kindling burns in fire pits across the property. The same is available in guest rooms along with newspaper and thick kitchen matches for fire starting. Essential oils are distilled on site, resulting in handmade, small batch lavender-peppermint hand soap and lotion. Lavendar fields to the right greet visitors arriving through an alley of monumental cottonwood trees. Sage and rosemary are used in landscaping. Garlic grows on the farm. Lemongrass, lemon verbena, and basil grows in greenhouses.

Los Poblanos began producing its own gin in 2022. A selection of craft gin cocktails from Los Poblanos’ CAMPO restaurant deliver a strong whiff of juniper.

For a spot of its caliber, reservation-only CAMPO is surprisingly “affordable.” A couple can enjoy two drinks, two appetizers–for sure the fresh bread board with selections including a green chile cheddar sourdough made in the on-site bakery with red chile Manteca butter–and two entrees with tip for about $150. Meals are cooked over a live fire. Most of what diners will enjoy is sourced either on the farm or locally. Tortillas, pasta and hominy are made on site.

CAMPO offers breakfast as well, even more reasonably priced. Judge for yourself if CAMPO’s blue corn Sonora white wheat pancakes with organic maple syrup and blackberry meringue are superior to those at IPCC. CAMPO’s earthy, herbal house bacon and sausage will make you wonder if you’ve ever really had pork before.

The property’s brown sugar and sage sausage is sold in the Farm Shop next door to CAMPO. So is a spicy chorizo, the pancake mix, the soap and lotion, the gin, and fresh baked bread daily. Browsing the Farm Shop makes for an even lower entry point to Los Poblanos with wonderful gift opportunities.

Unfortunately, farm tours are only available for overnight guests and visitors enjoying afternoon tea, but others are welcome to look around. Keep an eye out for the peacocks. Enjoy a drink in the stunning library. Say “hello” to the sheep and alpaca and Mouse, the orange cat snoozing in the lobby.

Winter makes for a great time to visit with the burning pinion fires–and pinion coffee–but so does spring when the fruit trees are blooming, or late July and August when the lavender blooms. You’d expect to drive an hour into the countryside for an agritourism experience that feels this removed from urban life; Los Poblanos pulls off the trick amidst a city of nearly one million.

Taos Pueblo

“YouTube or it didn’t happen.”

Not at Taos Pueblo.

Cameras, cell phones, and electronic devices are not allowed at Taos Pueblo during ceremonial events, so while there’s no YouTube video of the Christmas Eve bonfires or Christmas Day Deer Dance, both most certainly happen. More extraordinary holiday celebrations do not exist anywhere in the nation.

Taos Pueblo in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains has been continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years. The name of those mountains–Blood of Christ–a reminder of present-day New Mexico’s Spanish occupation during the 1600 and 1700s. So too are the Christmas Eve bonfires at Taos Pueblo.

A remnant of the residents’ forced conversion to Catholicism–Taos Pueblo remains Catholic–every Christmas Eve tribal members erect more than 20 split firewood stacks throughout the Pueblo’s plaza, ranging in height from 3-feet to more than 15. At sundown, they are lit from the top down. Shortly after, a procession of riflemen and a statue of the Virgin Mary are paraded from San Geronimo de Taos church in front of more than 1,000 onlookers.

The public is welcome (just not welcome to record). Parking is free and the Pueblo doesn’t charge admission.

By nightfall, a glowing ring of fire surrounds the Pueblo’s courtyard. Guests are silhouetted against the flames, none of them competing with the electronic illumination of screens.

As a visitor, you’re there, you’re not online. The experience belongs to travelers, not influencers. Guests stare at fires, not phones. Freedom comes without the pressure of capturing every visual and then immediately sharing it.

The largest conflagrations put off an intense heat, unbearable from even 50-feet away. Cheers and embers erupt as the giant pyres collapse. Swirling smoke cyclones spin off from the strongest flames, blown in the direction of the wind. Regard the inky black sky, a combination of smoke and the absence of light pollution. There is no electricity at Taos Pueblo. Still. As the smoke wanes, the stars emerge.

Arrive by 4:00 to guarantee a portion of frybread and a parking spot up close. Late arrivals may end up walking over a mile in temperatures that can drop into the 20s. Browse the numerous shops set up in homes for heirloom treasures and souvenirs alike. Learn about Taos Pueblo’s sparkling, golden brown micaceous pottery.

Unbelievably, the following day’s activities are even more remarkable–if the Deer Dance is held.

On December 25 at Taos Pueblo, tribal members will perform either Los Matachines dance, a social dance derived from the Spanish, or the Deer Dance, a deeply spiritual ceremony all their own. Which dance is not widely known or publicized in advance. The start time for either is unspecific. These are not made-for-TV events aligned with network programming schedules. Guests should arrive around 1:00.

During the Deer Dance, what you see, you may not believe. Tribal members dressed in their finest regalia–silver, turquoise, coral, shell, feathers–shake gourd rattles in a ring enclosing the Deer Dancers and two Deer Maidens. A drum beat pulses throughout.

As snow began falling during the 2024 ceremony, not a single dancer–not the shirtless men or the sleeveless women–missed the rhythm.

Don’t quiz tribal members about what unfolds. It’s no business of outsiders. The Deer Dance will not be explained. It should not be questioned. All willing to respect it are welcome, free of charge.

For those who can’t get enough, each December 26 at Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo 45 miles south of Taos on the main road to Santa Fe, a day-long ceremonial Turtle Dance is held. Recording is likewise prohibited, and the event is similarly free and open to the public.

Arrive in late morning and watch for hours as approximately 100 male tribal members form a line throughout the Pueblo’s main dirt streets. They dance, chant, and shake gourd rattles with their torsos covered in clay. Admire their turtle shell leggings. The jingles. Their feathered, half-gourd headpieces. The fantastic yellow moccasins.

Keep an eye out for the jolly, white-and-black striped Koshare and the frightening fully masked figures lashing the legs of male tribal members.

Santa Fe

Santa Fe’s handful of world-class art museums have a tendency of being overlooked in favor of its hundreds of world class art galleries. Big mistake. Presently, the International Folk Art Museum presents a suite of special exhibitions unsurpassed anywhere in America.

Apartheid South Africa, America’s criminal punishment system, and Ukraine post-Russian invasion don’t seem to have much in common at first glance. Given more thought, they emerge as kinfolk. The vulnerable being abused by the powerful. Human beings tormented.

Their artists are similarly bonded. Creating from what is available under conditions of extreme trauma. Creating as a life affirming shriek for their degraded dignity.

“iNgqikithi yokuPhica/Weaving Meanings: Telephone Wire Art from South Africa” (through November 17, 2025) shares the histories of wire as an artistic medium in South Africa, the first major presentation of this artform at any North American museum. Picking up in the 1980s as telephone service–and along with it, an abundance of discarded, often colorful, telephone wire–became commonplace in South Africa, the nation’s indigenous Zulu weavers turned to the material. From this detritus, they fashioned spectacularly vivid and intricate geometric, and then increasingly complex figurative designs, into sculptures, vessels, plates, pots, and lids.

“Between the Lines: Prison Art & Advocacy” (through September 2, 2025) exposes visitors to the cruelty of America’s runaway prison system, by far the largest of any democracy on earth, and the artwork produced inside. Artwork produced from toilet paper, chewing gum wrappers, paper scraps, matchbooks, and handkerchiefs, a fascinating subgenre of prison art known as paño arte.

“Amidst Cries from the Rubble: Art of Loss and Resilience from Ukraine” (through April 20, 2025) displays photography and artwork fashioned from shell casings, missile fragments, and ammunition boxes to demonstrate humanity’s uncrushable creative impulse.

Artists making due.

Artists proving no tyranny, no matter how evil or total, can extinguish our desire for self-expression.

Heavy stuff.

Visitors will not be faulted for following up their time at the International Folk Art Museum with a tequila or mezcal flight at the Anasazi Bar & Lounge inside the spectacular Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi hotel in Santa Fe to take the edge off. Participants sit at a dedicated tequila table where one of the bar’s spirits experts guides imbibers through the origins, history, and nuanced flavors of tequila.

No salt or lime here. This is sipping tequila. The best in the world with hundreds of bottles to choose from.

Flights for parties up to six should be scheduled 48 hours in advance and begin at $100 per person. As everyone loosens up, ask to try the Convite Coyote Mezcal Joven which puts the smell and taste of that Taos Pueblo bonfire into the bottle.

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