Tag Archives: New Mexico

Forest Service needs reforms, not Monday-morning quarterbacks

Posted on by
Reply

Farmington Daily Times 4/12/2013
Excerpt:     “Driving to Ruidoso after the Little Bear Fire last year, we passed a meadow brimming with hay bales about to become mulch on burn-scarred land.  Up north, Santa Clara Pueblo officials figure it will take $100 million and 100 years to restore Santa Clara Canyon after fire devastated half the watershed.

The average westerner is relinquishing the notion of our forests as a pristine resource and getting used to the reality of an overgrown, parched and buggy tinder box, dangerous as a warehouse full of old dynamite.   …”
Read entire article at http://www.daily-times.com/ci_23016341/forest-service-needs-reforms-not-monday-morning-quarterbacks

Officials: Finders isn’t keepers in treasure hunt

Posted on by
Reply

El Paso Times 4/5/2013
Excerpt:         “

ALBUQUERQUE — A collection of gold and jewels that a retired Santa Fe art dealer says he stashed in the mountains north of Santa Fe has generated so much interest from amateur treasure hunters that some have put their lives in jeopardy or been cited for illegally digging on public lands.

But authorities are warning people about more than being careful and following the law. They also note finders may not be keepers.  “If this treasure is buried, you would need to dig for it. And you can’t dig anywhere in a national forest without a permit,” said Bruce Hill, spokesman for the Santa Fe National Forest. “Even if it is not buried and it is just placed somewhere, it becomes public domain.”    ….”
Read entire article at http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_22956277/officials-finders-isnt-keepers-treasure-hunt?source=rss

Biodiversity: Forest Service adopting a regional policy to address bat-killing fungal disease

Posted on by
Reply

Summit County Voice 3/29/2013
Excerpt:      “SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. Forest Service is adopting a regional policy aimed at managing caves in the face of White-Nose Syndrome, a bat-killing disease that is sweeping across the country.   The fungal infection has wiped out millions of bats in the Northeast, spreading southward, and west as far as Oklahoma, but hasn’t yet reached the Rocky Mountains, but the Forest Service recognizes the threat:

“If (the disease) is introduced to cave or (abondoned mine) habitats anywhere in the five states in Region 2, it will likely spread rapidly via bat-to-bat transmission and could quickly contaminate cave and (abandoned mine) habitats,” the agency concluded in the study. …”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/03/29/biodiversity-forest-service-adopting-a-regional-policy-to-address-bat-killing-fungal-disease/

Colorado’s forgotten forest?

Posted on by
Reply

Summit County Voice 3/13/2013
Excerpt:         “SUMMIT COUNTY — Recent research suggests that most beetle-hit lodgepole pine forests are recovering about as expected. But other Colorado forest types have been also suffered the effects of drought and insect infestation — and the outlook for recovery is not as clear.

Across much of the West Slope and especially in the Four Corners region, the tiny ips beetle struck after piñon-juniper woodlands were left dessicated by the early 2000s drought. Within just a couple of years, by 2004, up to 80 percent of the mature piñons in the hardest hit areas were dead, and U.S. Forest Service researchers say some of those areas show little signs of regrowth.   ….”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/03/13/colorados-forgotten-forest/

State Efforts To ‘Reclaim’ Our Public Lands Traced To Koch-Fueled ALEC

Posted on by
Reply

Think Progress 3/11/2013
Excerpt:        “Despite the many problems that states and municipalities face today—from budget shortfalls to unemployment—seven western states have decided to embark on unconstitutional and quixotic battles attempting to force the federal government to turn millions of acres of public lands over to the states. Doing so, however, would result in the eventual exploitation for private profits of these beautiful parks, refuges, forests, and other lands because the leaders driving such efforts would prefer to see quick economic gains from resource extraction rather than prioritizing these areas’ more sustainable economic uses such as recreation.   …..”
Read rest of article at http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/03/11/1698221/state-efforts-to-reclaim-our-public-lands-traced-to-alec/?mobile=nc

State asks Forest Service to collaborate on land management

Posted on by
Reply

Ruidoso News 3/7/2013
Excerpt:     “While a bill that would call on the state to take over much U.S. Forest Service and BLM lands in New Mexico appears to be floundering in the state Legislature, another measure that would request the Forest Service work collaboratively in land management has been approved without a dissenting vote.

A House Memorial will ask the federal Forest Service to engage with state agencies and local governments in “meaningful” watershed health planning and management.   …..”
Read entire article at    http://www.ruidosonews.com/ruidoso-ruidoso_news/ci_22742679/state-asks-forest-service-collaborate-land-management

Takeover of fed lands could be costly, profitable

Posted on by
Reply

Ruidoso News 2/26/2013
Excerpt:       “Legislation that would move the ownership and management of some federal lands in New Mexico to the state would require at least $180 million annually in new state spending and likely more.

The Transfer of Public Lands Act, introduced by Sen. Richard C. Martinez, D-Espa ola, and Yvette Herrell, R-Alamogordo, would instruct the federal government to give up title to most U.S. Forest Service lands and Bureau of Land Management properties. The multi-millions of acres of public lands would be transferred to the state by Dec. 31, 2015.
Herrell said improper federal management of the lands has resulted in overgrown forests that create wildland fire threats.   ……”
Read entire article at http://www.ruidosonews.com/ruidoso-ruidoso_news/ci_22674022/takeover-fed-lands-could-be-costly-profitable?source=rss

Mexican Gray Wolf management plan dropped by feds

Posted on by
Reply

Deming Headlight  2/19/2013
Excerpt:     “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services has withdrawn its proposed plan for managing Mexican Gray Wolves outside of the current protected areas, a move the county was “encouraged” to see after it formed a committee to respond to the plan.

Sheryl Barrett, coordinator for the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, wrote to Luna County manager Kelly Kuenstler last week to inform the county that the department has decided to withdraw the proposed action.   ….”

Read entire article at http://www.demingheadlight.com/deming-news/ci_22621886/mexican-gray-wolf-management-plan-dropped-by-feds?source=rss

Grant County Commission opposes travel plan in Gila National Forest

Posted on by
Reply

Silver City Sun Times 2/15/2013
Excerpt:        “SILVER CITY — The Grant County Commission has sided with the New Mexico Association of Counties in a resolution to oppose the U.S. Forest Service’s travel management plan which would limit motor vehicle access to some roads in the Gila National Forest.

In the resolution, the association states that New Mexicans need public access to roads, even in the forest, for emergency purposes, protection of the rights and values of private property owners, natural resource management, economic and social well-being, recreation, and the customs and cultures of the communities and citizens of New Mexico. ….”
Read entire article at http://www.scsun-news.com/ci_22601876

Global warming: Yet another threat to Southwest’s iconic pinyon pine?

Posted on by
Reply

Christian Science Monitor 2/13/203
Excerpt;      “Over the past decade, researchers have documented the increased vulnerability of large stands of a Southwestern forest icon – the pinyon pine – to the dangers associated with a warming climate: drought, insects, and wildfires.

Now, it appears that rising temperatures could also put a damper on pinyon reproduction, potentially limiting the ability of trees that survive the other scourges to recolonize disturbed areas, a recent study says.    …….”
Read entire article at   http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2013/0213/Global-warming-Yet-another-threat-to-Southwest-s-iconic-pinyon-pine