Former Bigfoot Museum Opens New Chapter, Forest Service Employees in Limbo, and More: Your Village Update

After closing last year, the landmark building has new owners and big plans in store. Catch up with fired forest service workers, new fire restrictions, & prep for Tuesday's village council meeting

Heavy equipment rolls through the former Bigfoot Enterprises parking lot while new owners renovate the interior.

Cloudcroft’s eccentric Bigfoot Enterprises, formerly home to a unique cryptid-themed attraction in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, is transforming under new ownership.

Locals Michael Adams and Kelsey Worthan recently purchased the rustic yet relatively new build adjacent to Future Real Estate along the James Canyon Highway.

The new proprietors are reimagining the expansive layout, though some elements, like the lobby shooting target game, remain. Adams and Worthan are excited to supply outfitter retail goods that cater to hunting and camping needs, sell homemade fudge, and more.

Michael Adams is part owner of Ski Cloudcroft, where he works as the snowmaker and groomer for the mountain and manages the rental shop. He also owns and operates Pursuant Land Services, which offers right-of-way clearance and maintenance, forest thinning for mitigation, brush clean-up, and more.

Kelsey Worthan devotes much of her time to their new business and renovations. She also owns several rental properties and helps out at the ticket counter for Ski Cloudcroft. She formerly owned and managed the Big Wave Xpress Car Wash in Alamogordo and remained general manager during the company’s rebrand to Zips Car Wash until the end of last year.

The duo also shares the Lone Stud Ranch, which is stocked with mini Highland Cattle.

Worthan and Adams welcomed a new highland calf to their mini herd earlier this month.

Adams and Worthan have big plans in the works for the former Bigfoot museum.

Former owner Anna Mae White sold the property last year. The spacious building once featured oddities, rumored Sasquatch artifacts and lore, a large animatronic Sasquatch designed by the same team that creates movie props for Universal Studios, and a disorienting vortex tunnel.

Making way for new retail space

The new owners are currently renovating the building, demolishing the plentiful insulation foam that composes the walls of the sasquatch exhibits at the back of the large establishment.

After renovating the interior of the building, they hope to open for business by early summer.

For those eager to take a closer look, Cloudcroft Reader will deliver a sneak peek and chat with the new proprietors closer to the opening date.

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Former Lincoln National Forest employees say, “Nothing yet.”

Recently, the Merit Systems Protection Board ordered the USDA to reinstate over 5,000 terminated employees, as their firings could be “unlawful.”

The Reader spoke to local Lincoln National Forest (LNF) employees cut as part of the recent swath of mass federal firings under DOGE.

“I’ve heard nothing yet. It seems like the phone calls are coming from higher up than our supervisors, so I have no idea who, when, or if I even get a call. I’m really hoping I do,” says one former forest service technician left in limbo.

Those fired were notified through a short, ready-made email letter sent from the Washington D.C. USDA Human Resources Management Director.

One current LNF employee describes the atmosphere and concerns for fired and potentially re-hired employees facing cuts after the mandated 45-day stay:

“They should at least now get the same chance as everyone else for their positions to be considered by the agency when it comes down to a Reduction In Force (RIF) process. It seems likely many [employees] will still be cut in an RIF, but the process should be more fair and thoughtful.”

“Probationary or career, my understanding is it makes no difference when being considered for an RIF. I did see some internal communication saying that National Forest officials were being quiet about the initial round of firings because the action was under litigation.”

The Reader asked one former employee if they would return to their former position in light of the recent firings.

“I definitely would come back. Even though I was laid off, I still believe in the mission of the Forest Service, and I'm proud to be affiliated with it, whether I'm employed there or not,” they replied.

As this story unfolds, the Reader will report new developments. You can catch our initial reporting here:

• Forest Employees Get the Axe as Trump Layoffs Hit Cloudcroft’s Backyard

• Federal Review Could Reinstate Some Lincoln National Forest Jobs—But Uncertainty Remains

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The Village meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night

The Reader will report after the next village council meeting, scheduled at a new time for Tuesday, March 18th, at 6:30 p.m. in the village chamber. Check out the agenda here:

Note the new meeting time: 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18th in the village chambers.

On the docket: a nearby filming in May and the hiring of a village clerk, police officer, and library director.

Can’t make it in person on Tuesday night? Catch the village meeting through a live stream on the Village of Cloudcroft Facebook page.

Also available anywhere with an internet connection: Cloudcroft village department reports, 3D mapping, and more through techie Mayor Timothy King’s recently implemented online GIS dashboard.

King also created a survey for Cloudcroft residents on fire and water issues. The survey lets you rank various infrastructure needs and give the mayor, trustees, and even the president a 1-10 rating.

Fill yours out here.

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Lincoln National Forest and the Village of Cloudcroft entered new fire restrictions.

Here’s what to know.

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The village moved into restriction level 2, which means:

• No outside fires or grills with open flames. The Cloudcroft Volunteer Fire Department said the ordinance “does allow the safe and proper use of propane and butane grills and smokers and does not allow the use of pellet grills and smokers.”

• No smoking within 3 feet of combustible materials.

• It’s unlawful to operate a two-cycle engine that is not equipped with a “USDA-approved spark arrestor or fire mesh.”

The ordinance, signed by Mayor Pro-tem Jim Maynard on Tuesday, March 11th, states that “while all fires are discouraged under this restriction, indoor fires are permitted.”

Depending on their jurisdiction and mutual aid agreements, local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officers issue citations for breaking fire danger rating ordinances.

According to New Mexico Fire Info and the Bureau of Land Management, violating fire restrictions can result in fines and/or imprisonment.

Check out this dashboard for a list of year-round restrictions in the Southwest.

For questions about the restrictions, call:

• The Cloudcroft Volunteer Fire Department 575-682-3473

• The Lincoln National Forest Service Supervisor’s Office 575-434-7200

• The Village of Cloudcroft Office 575-682-2411

• The Otero County Administrative Office 575-437-7427

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