Here’s a look at today’s headlines:

The Silver City Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service informed listeners Thursday, March 17, at the National Guard Armory in Santa Clara of a proposed wildlife improvement project consisting of a 2,010-acre prescribed burn within the Fort Bayard Wildlife Refuge. The project focuses on improving habitat for deer and elk.  The burn is estimated to begin the second week of April, 2016, and be completed three days later.  Burning will not occur if north or northeast winds prevail.  Smoke monitors will be placed at the Fort Bayard Hospital and in Mimbres Valley.

The Silver School Board at it’s March 15th meeting elected new officers.  Arnold Torres was voted as the new Board President, Tony Egan Vice President, and Chris Arvidson as Secretary of the Board.

In sports news, senior Calum Hill was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week.  Hill has posted a pair of top-ten finishes, including one in the top-five.  WNMU Mustang Golf is currently tied for 21st in the latest Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches’ Poll.

For farmers and ranchers growing organics, the USDA Farm Service Agency offers several programs that can help.  The USDA recently announced that they will be providing financial assistance to organic producers to establish up to 20,000 acres of conservation buffer zones, which are protective natural borders along fields that produce organic crops.  Through the Conservation Reserve Program, funds can be used to establish shrubs and trees, or support pollinating species that can be planted in blocks or strips, helping to improve soil and water quality while also providing more wildlife habitat.  Interested organic producers can offer eligible land for enrollment in the program at any time by visiting their local FSA office.

In a joint effort to ensure responsible, science-based wildlife management practices and protect New Mexico’s animals from indiscriminate injury and killing, Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) and The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) have today initiated a state appeal and a separate federal challenge of the validity of the expansion of cougar trapping in the Cougar Rule approved by the New Mexico State Game Commission.  APNM and The HSUS are joined by concerned New Mexican citizens who run Search and Rescue missions in the expanded trapping areas and have had dogs injured in leg-hold traps, a hunting and fishing guide, and wolf advocates.

The New Mexico Department of Health announced today it is now accepting applications from medical and dental students for the New Mexico Health Service Corps Stipend.  In exchange for the stipends, which will help cover education costs, medical and dentistry students will commit to serving two years of service upon completion of their program in a rural, medically underserved area or clinic in New Mexico.  Applications can be downloaded at the Department of Health website, http://nmhealth.org/about/phd/hsb/oprh/.  Application deadline is April 29th.