Public Lands

The Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club is developing plans to assist in the restoration of areas in the Jemez that were severely damaged last year by the Las Conchas fire. And you are invited to participate as volunteers in this important effort. Please contact Mike Weinberg (505) 231-7322

By Eric Patterson

I came across an article by Matt van Buren on the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Study Area in the Taos News on Nov. 17 that really struck a nerve.

Almost 40 years ago, when I was teaching at Taos High School, I went backpacking for the first time with two good friends who were very experienced and capable hikers. We went up Long Canyon and camped overnight at Goose Lake.

New Mexico’s Otero Mesa is the largest and wildest Chihuahuan Desert grassland left on public lands in America. The area is located southeast of Alamogordo, west of Carlsbad and straddles the Texas border.

Here in New Mexico we too share in notable landscapes, rich in history and opportunity. Otero Mesa is an irreplaceable natural treasure, our nation’s last intact Chihuahuan Grassland. Unfortunately, today Otero Mesa is under increasing threat from mining operations and the landscape scale molestation they would bring. Better protections are needed before this unique place is lost to us.

The Northern New Mexico Group strongly supports the proposed Rio Grande Corridor at Buckman Restoration and Recreation Enhancement Project. For detail about our comments and a full description of the project, open this story.

By Michael Ritchie

“The Art of the Possible” is a recent expression of that well-known axiom “think globally, act locally.” On the national level, political posturing and gridlock have halted any real solutions to America’s diverse problems. Understandably, many of us have transcended despair and graduated to numbness.

Originally published by Taos News on 11/17, by Matthew van Buren

A coalition of citizens and organizations is calling for the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Study Area to receive official wilderness designation.

The area comprises about 46,000 acres, includes Flag Mountain, Lobo Peak and Gold Hill, and sits between the 20,000-acre Latir Wilderness and 19,661-acre Wheeler Peak Wilderness.

Albuquerque (November 3, 2011) – The newly-formed New Mexico Outdoors Coalition applauds the “America’s Great Outdoors” state report for New Mexico released today by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The report identifies two project priorities for action in New Mexico: establishment of the Middle Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge (Price’s Dairy) and construction of a trail linking Aztec Ruins National Monument with the City of Aztec.

October 6 Op-ed in the ABQ Journal by Kathy Holian / Santa Fe County Commissioner, District 4

New Mexicans have a deep love of their land. They also have a rich and lengthy history with the land that has fed and nurtured people living here for thousands of years. It is vital that we respect that relationship and that we protect and pass this bounty on to our children and grandchildren.

By Dr. Charles Keller

This year has been real wakeup call about the future of mega-fires in the Rocky Mountains. New Mexico had its two largest-ever fires, and Arizona suffered much larger ones.
Over the 10 years since the Cerro Grande Fire, the number and size of these fires has increased. We are being shown that the future will bring many more and perhaps even larger wildfires. In addition, the destruction of our forests and the resulting huge floods will irreversibly change our canyons and stream courses.