Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks - New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

WILDERNESS!Organ Mountains-Desert PeaksWilderness ActGISSPECIAL EDITIONVOLUME XI, NUMBER III— FALL 2009New Mexico WILD! Page 1

new mexicoWILD!FALL 2009The Newsletter of theNew MexicoWilderness AlliancecontentsCourts Rebuke BLM Otero Plan 04Otero Mesa Update 05El Rio Grande del Norte Update 06Changing the World, Bit-by-Bit 07Hikes and Service Projects 07Roadless Rule Update 08NMWA Credit Union Membership 0 8Fear Divides It 09Saving Small Worlds 09A Trip to Washington 10Volcano Hills Wilderness Area 11Leopold’s Dreams, Our Passions 12People and Wilderness 14Victory at Sabinoso 15Time to Pay Up 17Thirds in Seconds 17Community Land Grants 18Reflections on the Journey 18Enduring Gift of a Penny 19New NMWA Board of Directors 20WildStyle Book Club 20Tax-Free Giving 21Get InvolvedPage 221stephen capraexecutive directorIt has been an amazing few months here at theNew Mexico Wilderness Alliance! The change inpolitical winds has brought good fortune to theLand of Enchantment. It began with the UnitedStates Senate introduction of the 302,000-acreproposal for El Rio Grande del Norte, near Questa,New Mexico. Then came the news we have workedtoward for years: the introduction of the OrganMountainDesert Peaks Wilderness in the UnitedStates Senate. That proposal, including the NationalConservation section, would protect close to 400,000acres of land surrounding the city of Las Cruces,which would become the second largest Wildernesscomplex in New Mexico since the enactment of theWilderness Act of 1964. Our thanks go to the realheroes here—Senators Bingaman and Udall—forfollowing through on their promises to help us moveforward on Wilderness designation across the state.Being last among all the states in the amount ofprotected public lands we have means New Mexico hasa long way to go. These two bills, along with efforts invarious parts of the state, however, point toward a newand very serious attempt at preserving wilderness inNew Mexico.So our state is suddenly poised to add more than700,000 acres of protected land in the coming year! Thisis tremendously encouraging, but we remain vigilant onmany other fronts. Recently, for example, we learned ofplans for opening an area on the northern boundary ofChaco Canyon National Historical Park to full-scale oiland gas development. This land is also adjacent to theareas that are at the center of our Split Lip Flats andAh-Shi-Sle-Pah citizens Wilderness proposals.It is a surprising and perhaps little-known fact that inthe United States today there are only twenty WorldHeritage Sites, out of 890 in the entire world. These areplaces of natural beauty or of significant cultural value.In the United States, they include sites like the Statueof Liberty, the Grand Canyon, and New Mexico’s ownChaco Canyon. Yet important landscapes like ChacoCanyon and Carlsbad Caverns have no buffers from oiland gas development. In Carlsbad Caverns, one can seeoil rigs from the parking lot, and leasing goes right up tothe park boundaries in many areas. This is a disgrace.In communications with Interior Department officials,we have asked that Interior Secretary Salazar use anexecutive order to create buffers around importantlandscapes like national parks and Wilderness areas,not just in New Mexico, but nationally—to preserve thescenic qualities for which these parks and Wildernessareas were created and to allow them the dignity thatthey and their wildlife so richly deserve.We have been studying these areas, using the mostadvanced GIS techniques to identify parcels that havenot been leased for oil and gas, and meeting with variousagencies to try to broker trades or exchanges that couldcreate important buffers for our parks, Wilderness areas,and wildlife. These are complex arrangements ofteninvolving the Bureau of Land Management, the NationalPark Service, the State Land Office, and sometimestribal entities. The results, however, can be dramatic, asFALL 2009our work in Chaco Canyon is beginning to indicate.So write a letter to Secretary Salazar, asking that bufferzones be created for our national parks and Wildernessareas. The time has come to make protecting our landsand heritage a priority, trumping the endless greed anddestructiveness of the oil and gas industry.Thankfully, we have good people in Washington whoare making a real difference. Besides our senators, thereare their staffers. Jorge Silva-Banuelos, for example, isSenator Bingaman’s environmental aide. Many peoplewill tell you there is not a more qualified person workingon the environment in Washington than Jorge. He hasworked his magic over the past few years, helping tocraft our El Rio Grande del Norte Wilderness proposaland doing much of the groundwork in putting togetherthe Organ MountainsDesert Peaks Wilderness proposal,spending countless hours meeting with agency officials,ranchers, off-roaders, conservationists, and sportsmen.But Jorge has also come to New Mexico to camp, hike,and see the lands firsthand, asking questions, exploringOtero Mesa, and thinking about the potentials forWilderness designation that remain in our state. Hehas also worked with longtime Wilderness craftsmanDavid Brooks, who is on Senator Bingaman’s Energyand Natural Resources Committee. These two men areexamples of the unsung heroes who have helped to makethis new era of Wilderness a reality in New Mexico. Wethank them, and we look forward to working with themon many more Wilderness proposals.Which takes us to the long view, or the 11 percentsolution. Currently only 2.1 percent of our state isprotected as Wilderness. Our goal is to get that numberto 11 percent—still far behind states like California,Washington, and others—but a number that isobtainable and that would dramatically change our poorstanding as far as the amount of protected public landsin our state. It would also ensure that future generationswill enjoy landscapes rich in wolves, bears, prairie dogs,and all the wildlife that is so important to maintaininga healthy and balanced environment. Finally, it wouldprotect areas large enough to sustain precious waterand wildlife resources. So remember that number—11percent. It is a goal that we are working toward, and onethat will be achieved with your continued support!

Wilderness Explorerby Pat BulsI’ve been an explorer all of my life. Ialways take the back roads, the scenicroute, the road less traveled. Growingup in a military family, I had ampleopportunity to explore many differentareas in the United States and SouthAmerica, mostly by horseback. I settledin southern New Mexico because of itsclimate and its vast, open spaces—room to explore.I’ve also been a seeker of the Truth, thereason for our existence here on thisawesome planet. My extensive explorationof the backcountry has led meto places where I entered into the verypresence of the Creator of this wondrousearth and all its amazing creatures.The oldest and most reliable story ofcreation is that the Creator’s intent wasto establish an everlasting paradise. Inthe book of Revelation (11: 18) he revealsthat “he will bring to ruin those ruiningthe earth!” No wonder then, that forBy Nathan SmallThe rains arrived late this year. Withthem the country has sprung to life,green shoots filling in the yellowedclumps of last year’s grass and brightflowers popping up next to waterpools in recently dry desert draws.In mid-September, one of the largerstorms, replete with midnight lightningand sleep depriving rain, heralded aneven more important event: SenatorJeff Bingaman and Senator Tom Udall’sintroduction of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act.There are many perspectives on thismomentous event. Most are enthusiasticallysupportive. Three localgovernments, Dona Ana County, theTown of Mesilla, and the City of LasCruces, unanimously passed resolutionssupporting the legislation. TheLas Cruces Sun News and AlbuquerqueJournal wrote editorials praising boththe legislation but the pain stakingthose of us who cherish nature, ourfondest wish—our driving force—is topreserve the earth as it was created.Throughout my amazing journeythrough life, I have had the rewardingexperience of bringing other peopleinto the wilderness–my children, myhorseback-riding students , and nowmy grandchildren. What a delight itis to foster that spirit of adventure andwatch it unfold into a desire to care forand nurture the earth! It is, after all, ournatural habitat—and our only viableone!Here in Doña Ana County, we have someof the most extreme contrasts in habitatfor both human and animal inhabitants.We are one of the poorest in thenation in terms of average income, yetwe are experiencing new growth thatincludes some of the wealthiest peoplearound. We live in a desert, yet we havea lush river valley flowing through ourmidst. We have a fair-sized metropolisin the city of Las Cruces (second largestprocess that preceded it. Excited phonecalls have come in from new, longtime,and even lapsed members asking whatthey can do to help.The outpouring of support underscoresan important point: conservation canbring communities together. Voicesin this newsletter eloquently describethe hope, pride, and accomplishmentthat comes with protecting importantwilderness areas. Increasingly, theeconomic and quality of life benefitsof wilderness protection are beingshowcased and openly discussed, withconservation and economic opportunitygoing hand in hand.On a recent weekend, in the midst ofall this excitement, I stole away fora solitary morning trip to the BroadCanyon Country. A misty fog envelopedthe land, courtesy of an all day and allnight rain. I began hiking in a familiarplace—the beginning of severalcommon hiking routes, including thein the state), and we have vast areasuninhabited by humans but bearingevidence of previous inhabitants in themany petroglyphs and fossil remains.Broad Canyon is one of the most interestingareas an explorer will encounterin southern New Mexico. It is filled withthe artwork of the Ancients. Fossilsand petroglyphs are abundant, rockformations and the native flora arebreathtaking, yet there is currently nopermanent protection for this area. TheNew Mexico Wilderness Alliance andits support groups continue to workto establish such protection. We knowthat it’s now or never, for once publiclands are “disposed of” (sold for privatedevelopment), there’s no getting themback. Even holding on to public accessroads becomes difficult when privateownership is granted. Fences are built,gates are locked.For those of us with any sense ofadventure, it is imperative that webecome active, not only in exploringour habitat, but in protecting andpreserving it intact, as it was createdfor our enjoyment, our sustenance,and our spiritual renewal. Get involvedby joining a group of like-mindedindividuals, making your voice heardby your legislators on a local, state, andnational level. And know that by doingso you will be heard as a “voice cryingin the wilderness,” preparing the wayfor a return to Paradise.ReflectionsTop of the World Ridge tour, VallesCanyon, and more. Climbing high abovethe canyon, I saw mist clouds floatingbelow, above, and also at eye level.We’ve been fortunate to take scores oftrips over the past several years to theBroad Canyon Country. It had neverappeared this way—veiled in swiftlyflowing rivers of fog and cloud. Duringthese trips, the oldest participant wasover 80, and the youngest had yet tosee 10 years of age. Promoting theexploration and enjoyment of thesewild lands is a wonderful blessing. Wewill continue to help introduce peopleto these extraordinary places. Throughthe leadership of countless communitymembers, businesses, and organizations,combined with the strongleadership of our two Senators, JeffBingaman and Tom Udall, look forwardto the day when the Desert Peaks-OrganMountains Wilderness Act is passedinto law.Main Office505/843-8696 • fax 505/843-8697nmwa@nmwild.org • www.nmwild.orgP.O. Box 25464, Albuquerque, NM 87125Las Cruces Field Office275 N. Downtown MallLas Cruces, NM 88001575/527-9962Santa Fe Field Office341 E Alameda StSanta Fe, NM 87501505/216-9719Mission StatementThe New Mexico Wilderness Alliance isdedicated to the protection, restoration,and continued enjoyment of New Mexico’swildlands and Wilderness areas.NMWA StaffAlbuquerque OfficeStephen Capra, Executive DirectorNathan Newcomer, Associate DirectorTisha Broska, Development DirectorRoxanne Pacheco, Finance ManagerTrisha London, Membership & Grassroots AssistantCraig Chapman, Special Events CoordinatorMiranda Gray: GIS CoordinatorRoger Turner: Member and Volunteer CoordinatorGeorge Duffy, Volunteer SuperstarCarlsbad OfficeSteve West, Staff ScientistLas Cruces OfficeJeff Steinborn, Southern DirectorNathan Small, Wilderness Protection CoordinatorSanta Fe OfficeDavid Ehrman, Outreach CoordinatorNorthern New MexicoJohn Olivas, Northern DirectorBoard of DirectorsWesley Leonard, Albuquerque, NM (Chair)Bob Tafanelli, Las Cruces, NM (Vice-Chair)Nancy Morton, Albuquerque, NM (Secretary)Tom Mouck, Albuquerque, NM (Co-Treasurer)Nancy Murray, Albuquerque, NM (Co-Treasurer)Rick C. Aster, Socorro, NMKen Cole, Albuquerque, NMEsther Garcia, Questa, NMJim Hickerson, Cedar Crest, NMChristianne Hinks, Albuquerque, NMTripp Killin, Albuquerque, NMTodd Schulke, Silver City, NMBrooke Williams, Moab, UTAdvisory CouncilPhil Carter, Albuquerque, NMDave Foreman, Albuquerque, NMBob Howard, Santa Fe, NMRick Wiedenmann, Carlsbad, NMRandy Gray, Missoula, MTJim Baca, Albuquerque, NMNewsletter StaffNathan Newcomer, Managing EditorJoe Adair, Design EditorHilary Handelsman, Copy EditorWhat is Wilderness?The Wilderness Act of 1964established the NationalWilderness Preservation Systemto preserve the last remainingwildlands in America. TheWilderness Act, as federal policy,secures “an enduring resourceof wilderness” for the people.Wilderness is defined as an areathat has primarily been affectedby the forces of nature with theimprint of humans substantiallyunnoticeable. It is an area thatoffers outstanding opportunityfor solitude or a primitive orunconfined type of recreation, andan area that contains ecological,geological, or other features ofscientific, educational, scenic, orhistorical value.Please visit us atnmWILD.orgNew Mexico WILD! Page 3

Page 4FALL 2009TOM WOOTTEN — WEST POTRILLOMOUNTAINS WILDERNESS AREAby Steve WestThe recent introduction of the DoñaAna County Wilderness Bill in theUnited States Senate is a great stepforward in protecting large landscapesacross that part of the ChihuahuanDesert. One of the main componentsof this bill is designation of the WestPotrillos as a Wilderness area. Thisis a large area with forty-eight cindercones and numerous other geologic,cultural, and biological features.We are also working to honor one of ourwilderness leaders by adding his nameto the designation. Tom Wootten wasa quiet, unassuming man who lived inLas Cruces and frequently wanderedthe Potrillos in his quest to learn moreabout desert plants. Tom passed awaysuddenly and far too soon a little overtwo years ago. During his time withus, he and his wife supported a widevariety of conservation measures.He was a founder and former boardmember of NMWA. He and Eleanorfounded T & E, Inc. and supportedhundreds of projects undertaken bystudents, professors, and agencieswho were studying threatened and endangeredspecies, ecosystems, and biologicalprocesses, primarily in the ChihuahuanDesert. This support, which still continues,has greatly increased our understandingand has helped to preserve species thatmight otherwise have passed on.There are over 700 established Wildernessareas in the United States and almost fiftyof them have been named after wildernessheroes. Some of these areas are namedafter people with national wildernesscredentials such as Bob Marshall, AldoLeopold, or Henry Jackson. Others arelocal wilderness heroes—people whooften worked quietly to protect landscapesand species and to increase environmentalawareness and protection. Tom was one ofthose.Tom spent a great deal of time in thePotrillos; it was one of his favorite places.And the Potrillos, both West and East, aredeserving of Wilderness designation. Theproposal concerning the West Potrillos,located southwest of Las Cruces, wouldinclude over 140,000 acres and extend intothe far reaches of eastern Luna County.This area is a broad volcanic field thatencompasses numerous cinder cones,large craters, and signs of extensive lavaflows that occurred about 10,000 yearsago.So what is the Tom Wootten-West Potrillosproposed wilderness area and why shouldit be designated Wilderness?The plant community found in the WestPotrillo Mountains is typical of theChihuahuan Desert. A wide variety ofgrasses occurs, and much of the landscapeis covered with creosote, the result ofyears of overgrazing. Yucca, mesquite,acacia, and creosote currently make upthe majority of the plant cover. Netleafhackberry occurs in draws and arroyoswhere additional moisture may collect.Junipers are found at higher elevations inthe wet Potrillos but can occasionally befound at lower elevations as well. Most ofthe moisture comes in August-Septemberand can result in a profusion of flowers,including white and yellow desert zinnias,desert marigolds, blackfoot daisies,various species of globe mallow, mountainpepperweeds, Chihuahuan flax, summerpoppies, and sunflowers. In one of thelarge basins in the center of the WestPotrillos can be found a unique type ofvegetation called the cholla savannah.In this area grow grasses and large canecholla with heights up to ten feet (3.05meters). Large barrel cactus are also foundin this vegetation type and elsewhere.This area is also important to a widevariety of wildlife. Numerous birds ofprey use the area, with golden eagles,great horned owls, and Swainson’s hawksnesting here. Peregrine falcons have beenreported during migration. Other speciesof animals that can be found here includemule deer, pronghorn, coyote, black-tailedjackrabbit, scaled quail, and even ducks,who appear on ephemeral ponds in thefall. The area also has a high diversity ofbats.The Potrillos area is also known for itscultural importance. There is ampleevidence of pre-Columbian NativeAmerican habitation in caves in the EastPotrillo Mountains. Located in the regionis a classic Mimbres Pueblo, which has thehighest concentration of bird bones foundat any known Mimbres site. There are alsoseveral undisturbed El Pasophase structuresin the West Potrillo Mountains. Thename “Potrillos” comes from Spanish,meaning a foal or a young horse, andreflects the Spanish influence. How thatname became attached to this area may bea mystery lost to history.This large area is important for a variety ofreasons. Not the least is that its being closeto Mexico means that it forms a biotic linkbetween species that the U.S. and Mexicoshare. The area also provides large-scaleprotection for plant and animal communitiesin an area that has already beendrastically changed. Some species, suchas aplomado falcons and Mexican graywolves are gone, and others will disappearwithout additional protection.It is amazing to realize that a largelyuntouched gem of this size exists so closeto the cities of El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces,New Mexico; and Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.These cities contain in excess of 2.5 millionresidents, many of whom value open spaceand depend on it for weekend getaways.Tom Wootten was a mentor to many whowork in protecting the land today. T &E, Inc. supported many of those peoplewho continue to study the land, workto preserve biodiversity, and promoteeducation. Tom’s name should beassociated with an area that he studiedand loved. His name also serves as areminder of what an individual can do tomake things better, working quietly andshowing the commitment that can bringabout changes that last for generations.People who hike in the Tom Wootten-WestPotrillos Wilderness Area a hundred yearsfrom now will be reminded of a wildernesshero from another generation.NMWA is asking that people write lettersto Senator Bingaman and CongressmanTeague in support of this wildernessarea. A copy should be sent to Steve West,Staff Scientist and Southeast Directorfor NMWA. His address is 1105 OcotilloCanyon Drive, Carlsbad, NM 88220, ore-mail: stevewest@nmwild.or

New Mexico WILD! Page 5Wilderness in DoñaAna Gets Its ChanceLooking for scenic landscapes? SouthernNew Mexico offers breathtaking sightssuch as lava flows, limestone cliffs, andwinding canyons; these natural beautiescan be found in the surrounding wild areasof our own Doña Ana County. Hiking,camping, fishing, bird-watching, andhorseback riding are some of the recreationalactivities these places offer.Doña Ana County is part of the northernChihuahuan Desert, an area consideredhigh desert, with elevations raging from3,000 to 5,000 feet. This diverse, highdesert ecosystem supports nearly 4,000species of plants and animals, includingendangered species such as the Mexicanwolf (Canis lupus baileyi), the black-tailedprairie dog (Cynomys ludovicanus), andthe recovering Aplomado falcon (Falcofemoralis). Current threats to these species,among others, include a growing humanpopulation and the increasing popularityof ATV recreation. Off-road vehiclespresent a serious risk to wildlife, causingdirect mortality, habitat fragmentation,anddamage to native vegetation.Preservation of wild areas such as those inDoña Ana County is of utmost importanceto protect the natural habitat that is criticalfor all species. For this reason, local citizensselected several areas in southern NewMexico to be designated as Wilderness.The Wilderness Act of 1964 defines theterm “wilderness” as “An area wherethe earth and its community of life areuntrammeled by man, where man himselfis a visitor who does not remain.” Themain purpose of designating Wildernessareas in Doña Ana County is to preservethese wild lands in their natural condition,which means protecting them against anever-increasing population, accompaniedby expanding settlement and an increaseduse of mechanized vehicles.In addition to ecological soundness, thereare many reasons to justify wildernessprotection, not excluding personal tiesto the land. Piedad Mayagoitia, a NewMexico State University member of theNMWA, sees her connection to wild landsas an opportunity to be part of a naturalexistence so seldom found these days.Along similar lines, chapter member JamesMorel describes his personal connectionto wilderness: “I experience significantmoments of clarity when I spend timein the wild; time seems to slow down inthe tranquil atmosphere of wilderness.”Charles Britt, another member of theuniversity chapter of the NMWA, says thatwilderness is, for him, “A place to escapeanthropogenic pressures, gain a clearmind, and relish the solitude found in themountains.”Southern New Mexico wildlife issues havegained importance, and, thanks to localefforts such as those of the WildernessAlliance, the citizen’s proposal hasreached the ears of Senators Jeff Bingamanand Tom Udall. On September 17, 2009,both senators introduced a bill calledthe Organ Mountains–Desert PeaksWilderness Act, which would protect thefollowing wilderness areas: the OrganMountains, Sierra de Las Uvas, BroadCanyon, Robledos, and the Greater PotrilloMountain Area. This bill would create259,000 acres of Wilderness and 100,000acres of National Conservation Area.Watersheds, outstanding hunting andrecreational opportunities, and culturalresources like petroglyphs and otherhistorical features would all be protectedunder the provisions of this bill. Thislegislation seeks to promote local tourismand economic development, as well asmaintaining healthy habitat for game andsensitive species, and represents a bigstep toward designating our wild landsas protected Wilderness areas. The nextstep, which we support and advocate,will be encouraging Congressman HarryTeague to introduce this bill in the Houseof Representatives.The New Mexico State University chapterof the Wilderness Alliance will continue topursue wilderness advocacy as our maingoal. We also organize hiking excursionswith the purpose of demonstrating theneed for wild land protection, while alsoenjoying the fresh air, beautiful views,wildlife, and plants. If you are interestedin participating in our organization or inthe state chapter, send an e-mail to thestudent chapter at nmsuwild@gmail.comor to Nathan Small, at the state chapter,at nathansmall@nmwild.org. You canalso visit the Web site of the Doña AnaWildernessPerceptionsby Jim BatesDoña Ana County Sportsmanperceived that they wanted to prevent usfrom using these areas.With the state of the nation—and the worldin general—as they are, it is not difficult tounderstand why so many of us are skepticalabout things. Sometimes, though, eventsoccur that can give us hope. Such hasbeen the case with the events leading upto the recent wilderness bill introduced inCongress by Senator Bingaman.As an outdoorsman and hunter who hasused the proposed Wilderness areasextensively for several decades, I wasextremely concerned about the Wildernessdesignations, especially given some of thesuggested boundaries and road closuresin the original study areas. I vowed, alongwith many others like me, to oppose anylegislation that would essentially eliminateour ability to utilize these areas for ourtraditional recreational purposes. We wereskeptical, to say the least, of the Wildernessproponents’ underlying intentions; weThen came the public forums and meetingson the wilderness proposal. For me, theywere a real eye-opener. Instead of beingconfronted by wilderness zealots withdastardly intentions of preventing me fromparticipating in the activities I cherish,I found the individuals involved to bereasonable, amicable, and willing to listento the concerns of others; they possessed anattitude of compromise that was unexpectedand quite refreshing.The discussions that took place betweenthose willing to focus on the “big picture”of preserving these landscapes and theplant and animal communities that residein them were civil and productive. Althoughevery effort was made to bring them into thefold, those who could not get beyond theirown selfish interests and shortsightednesswere—reluctantly—left behind.The final product that came out of the entireprocess is a good one. The compromises init are substantial and reasonable. Assumingthat the legislation that has been introducedpasses, these treasured areas willfinally be protected in a manner that allowsthe parties from all sides—even those whocontinued to balk throughout—to feel goodabout their interactions with one anotherand the resulting accomplishments.From a consumptive-use outdoorsman’sperspective, my faith has been restored inthe “process” and the ability of reasonablepeople with varied and differing outlookson things to come together and make gooddecisions. The wilderness folks should takepride in the work they have done throughindividuals like Jeff Steinborn, NathanSmall, and many others. Kudos to you all!

New Mexico WILD! Page 7E l Ri o Gr a n d e De l No r t eNational Conservation Area (NCA) Proposalby John OlivasNorthern New Mexico DirectorForty-five years ago, a bipartisan group oflawmakers agreed to legislation that wouldhave a lasting impact on our nation’spublic lands—not by changing them, butby making sure that some portion of thesemagnificent wild places would stay as theywere for all time and for all generationsto use and enjoy. The Wilderness Act,signed into law September 3, 1964, was anacknowledgment that our public lands arepart of what shape us as a people and thatthere is value in protecting some of themin their pristine state as a natural legacy.Over the last four and a half decades, thisact, which created the National WildernessPreservation System, has been used toprotect forever some of New Mexico’swild treasures, including the Gila, AldoLeopold, and Blue Range Wildernessareas in southwestern New Mexico, andthe Pecos and Wheeler and Latir peaks inthe northern part of the state. Earlier thisyear, after years of work by sportsmen,conservationists, business leaders, andranchers, the Sabinoso Wilderness, locatedin eastern San Miguel County, became oneof the nation’s newest Wilderness areas.Sabinoso Wilderness was part of a majorlands package that was signed into lawby President Barack Obama in March,protecting 16,030 acres for future generations.A similar group of diverse interests hasbeen working with Senator Jeff Bingamanto add more special, wild places to theWilderness treasury. Efforts are underwayto designate the Cerro de Yuta Wildernessand the Rio San Antonio Wildernessas part of a measure introduced by thesenator to create the 235,980-acre El RioGrande Del Norte National ConservationArea. His bill, which has won the backingof the Taos County Commission andthe support of the Mora Valley and TaosCounty Chambers of Commerce, wouldensure that this area, rich in wildlife andplants, would stay as it is—for camping,hunting, fishing, and quiet solitude. Thelegislation would preserve an importantpart of our natural heritage—an areathat boasts high mesa sagebrush grasslands,woodlands of piñon juniper, andextinct volcano cinder cones. SenatorBingaman has crafted his bill to allow forlongstanding traditions, such as grazingand the collection of firewood and piñonnuts, to continue. It also protects therights given land grant members underthe Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.We applaud this conservation effort andhope to see it become the law of the land assoon as possible.‘Time out’ a chance todefend ‘Roadless-Rule’by Kathy HolianSanta Fe County CommissionerFive National Forests are contained inthe state of New Mexico: Carson, Cibola,Lincoln, Santa Fe, and Gila. These forestlands are among the most important ofour state treasures. Most people are awareof the recreational opportunities thatthey afford — hunting, fishing, hiking,horseback riding, among other activities.But it is also important to recognize thatthey help serve as our community lungsby cleaning our air, and as our communitykidneys by cleaning our water. Fifteencommunities in New Mexico — includingSanta Fe — depend on the National Forestland for their watersheds. As such, theyare an integral part of our life, and ourhealth. About a third of the NationalForests across the country are in a specialcategory called “Roadless.” It is critical tohave some areas that are unfragmentedand pristine. The Roadless Area ConservationRule, or “Roadless Rule,” wascreated in 2001, not only to safeguarda significant fraction of America ‘sNational Forests from logging and othercommercial development, but also toprotect unbroken areas from the ravagesthat roads can cause. Roads always causefragmentation, but moreover, they cancause erosion and drying of vegetation thatborders the roads, leading to increasedfire danger. In developing the RoadlessRule, the federal government garnered analmost unprecedented amount of publicinvolvement. It received more than 1.6million comments from the public, andit held some 600 public hearings. Federal,state, tribal, and other pubic agencies wereinvolved in drafting the rule. More than95 percent of the comments were favorabletoward establishing roadless areas inour National Forests. Unfortunately, inthe eight years since the inception of theRoadless Rule, it has been challenged incourt on a number of occasions, and thefederal government has been deliberatelyrecalcitrant to defend against thosechallenges — up until now.President Obama and his administrationhave recently taken a step toward protectionof these areas. On May 28, the Departmentof Agriculture issued an interim directiverequiring secretarial-level review of anyprojects that might be inconsistent withthe Roadless Area Conservation Rule.This, in essence, is a time-out for thelegal challenges. Additionally, Sen. JeffBingaman and Reps. Martin Heinrichand Ben Ray Luján have all signed on asoriginal co-sponsors of the Roadless AreaConservation Act of 2009. This legislationwould make the roadless rule the law andensure permanent protection for wildareas of our National Forests and thevast wildlife, recreation, and economicbenefits they provide. I urge our entirecongressional delegation to support theact vigorously, and I urge everyone to takea moment to think about how NationalForests contribute to our lives in so manyways, and how they are a priceless legacyto our future generations. Kathy Holian is a Santa Fe Countycommissioner in District 4. She lives inSanta Fe.

Page 8FALL 2009El legado de Otero Mesa“Thousands of New Mexico ranchers, hunters andconservationists, regardless of party affiliation, are opposed to oiland gas leasing at Otero Mesa.” - Governor Bill Richardson (January 2005)It’s not often that you get to work on anexciting campaign like the one to protectAmerica’s wildest grassland—OteroMesa. It is even more uncommon to finda true champion for a place such as this, achampion like the one we’ve had in GovernorBill Richardson (D-NM).In 2002, when he was running for his firstterm as governor, Bill Richardson wrote aletter to the Bureau of Land Management(BLM) requesting that the agency conducta new Wilderness inventory of Otero Mesa.The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance haddone its own comprehensive fieldwork,finding that 500,000 acres of this grasslandqualified for Wilderness designation. Yetthe BLM had only formally recognized twosmall areas for Wilderness status within thebroader 1.2 million-acre area.Richardson’s request for a new Wildernessinventory by the BLM was a bold step, but itwas only the beginning.In February of 2003, the newly electedgovernor wrote a letter to then secretaryof the interior Gale Norton, expressing hisopposition to opening Otero Mesa to drillingand stating that “any future developmentwould have to include the designation of asignificant wilderness area.” The governorwent on to add that he would “remainopposed to any drilling in this area unlessthe BLM conducts a new wilderness study.”In late January 2004, Governor Richardsonmade a surprise appearance at the OteroMesa public forum, which was held at theKiMo Theater in downtown Albuquerque.Halfway through the event, the governorgot up on stage in front of 700 people andsigned an executive order directing all stateagencies to work to conserve and protect theresources of Otero Mesa.“The federal government just got noticethat, if they want to drill in Otero Mesa, thisgovernor and this state are going to fightthem,” said Mr. Richardson.In March of 2004, the governor submitteda Consistency Review & RecommendedChanges to the agency. In this comprehensiveand lengthy document, the governoroutlined the case for preserving Otero Mesaand highlighted key errors in the agency’sdrilling plans. The governor also proposeda new alternative that would establish aNational Conservation Area in Otero Mesa.Despite the vast chorus that was calling forprotecting Otero Mesa, in January of 2005the BLM released its final plan for drilling,and the results were not pretty. Close to 90percent of the region would be available forleasing and development, with a piecemeal10 percent remaining closed. This wasobviously neither balanced nor prudent,and, as the facts would later demonstrate, itwas also arbitrary and capricious.In response to the BLM’s lopsided drillingplan, the governor stated that “the state isgoing to fight this with everything we’ve got,”and in April of 2005, the state of New Mexicofiled a lawsuit in conjunction with the NewMexico Wilderness Alliance against thefederal government over Otero Mesa. Thiswas the first time in history that the stateof New Mexico sued the federal governmentover a public lands issue, and it was thecatalyst that led to the landmark decisionissued by the United States Court of Appealsfor the Tenth Circuit in April of 2009.Without the strong leadership of GovernorBill Richardson, and the tireless effortsof other, unsung, champions within stategovernment, Otero Mesa could very well beoverrun with oil and gas development. It isalso important to remember that the citizensof this great state are the ones who helpedto push our leaders to take an active role insafeguarding this wild grassland.We wholeheartedly thank GovernorRichardson for being a vigorous defender ofOtero Mesa and working to leave a lastinglegacy of wildness for future generations.Otero, Etc.Area of Critical EnvironmentalConcern (ACEC)10th Circuit Court of AppealsDecision – The Landmark VictoryAs reported in our last newsletter(New Mexico Wild! Summer 2009), theCoalition for Otero Mesa, submitted anACEC nomination to the Bureau of LandManagement, recommending that 600,000acres of this 1.2 million acre area bedesignated as critical Chihuahuan desertgrassland habitat.This occurred in June of 2008 and todate, we have heard very little on what theagency intends to do with this nomination,although they have expressed somepositive views about the concept.Consequently, our ACEC nomination wassubmitted during the agency’s Tri-CountyManagement Plan for Otero, Sierra, andDona Ana Counties, before the 10th CircuitCourt of Appeals issued its landmarkdecision in the Otero Mesa litigation.A draft of the Tri-County ManagementPlan might be available to the public forcomment in spring 2010.On April 28, 2009, the 10th Circuit U.S.Court of Appeals issued its decision invalidatingthe Bureau of Land Management’sdrilling plan for Otero Mesa.The court rejected the BLM’s position thatthere were no significant risks to the SaltBasin Aquifer, which contains millions ofacre-feet of potable water, from oil and gas,noting that the agency had not reviewed“relevant data” and characterized theinformation included in the agency’s owndocumentation as “point[ing] uniformlyin the opposite direction from the agency’sdetermination, we cannot defer to thatdetermination.”Further, the court required the BLMto thoroughly examine the potentialdestruction of fragile desert grasslandsfrom its proposed management approach,which was not included in the original draftprovided to the public. In dismissing theagency’s claim that wildlife habitat wouldnot be affected by a complete change inapproach, the court analogized the BLM’sapproach as claiming “that analyzingthe likely impacts of building a dirt roadalong the edge of an ecosystem excusesan agency from analyzing the impactsof building a four-lane highway straightdown the middle, simply because the typeof impact—habitat disturbance—is thesame under either scenario.”As of the publication of this article, we arestill waiting to hear back from the BLM onhow they intend to comply with the courtsdecision. STAY TUNED!!

New Mexico WILD! Page 9Impacts to Real People:Why the 1872 MiningLaw Needs Reformby Claire WilcoxPalms sweaty and chest tight, I introducedmyself to the woman next to me,and she said, “I know, I’m your neighbor.”I apologized, told her I was tense, asmany of us were. It was June 11, 2009, ata public hearing in the Town Hall of Rico,Colorado. Rico: population range 200500,altitude approximately 8,825 feet, nestledin 12,000+ foot peaks among aspen andspruce, surrounded by miles of some ofthe most spectacular undeveloped alpinewilderness in the country. The hearingwas an opportunity for the Dolores Countycommissioners to hear from Marc Levin,of Outlook Mining Resources, which hadapplied to explore for and mine molybdenumabout one mile up Silver Creekfrom the town of Rico, about 4,000 feetbelow the ground surface. It was also anopportunity for the commissioners to hearfrom the Rico public about its views on theapplication. Our fates were in the handsof the Dolores County commissioners—three individuals, all of whom live in adifferent town, and whom many of usdon’t know personally. The hours aheadwould determine the course of history forus. I cared desperately about the outcome,as I felt this proposal was threatening myhome.Mr. Levin spoke first. During his half-hourpresentation, he spoke of using “justa ventilation shaft in the Silver Creekdrainage during the mining phase” and“minimal traffic during the explorationphase.” The symbol of his company isa columbine flower, representing theminimal environmental impact of hiswork. He stated that there would be littleimpact on the quality of the water, despitethe fact that the initial mining operationswould take place near the SilverCreek drainage, Rico’s source of drinkingwater. He also asserted that the ore wouldnot be removed by open pit (which is thestandard way that Molybdenum is minedin other places) and would take place upto ten miles away. He said that it wouldbe so expensive to begin the process … toexplore … that the actual mining mightnot happen for more than a decade. Fora moment, I felt seduced by it; he almosthad me convinced that I’d never notice thepresence of any mining at all, despite thefact that it was a mile from my home. Yethe used so many likely’s and probably’sduring his presentation, and his proposals,both written and verbal, were so vaguethat ultimately I grew even more nervousbecause of the false sense of reassurancethat they gave me. I was afraid that thecommissioners would buy in. For all Iknew, he would get a thirty-year blankslatepermit and then turn around and sellto another company that would do what itpleased.But the commissioners impressed me,asking good questions about where hewanted to mill, how he would proposeto keep the water clean, what exactly theexploration process entailed, exposing thatit was a more costly and invasiveprocess than I had otherwiseimagined: that it would costabout a million dollars per holeto drill; that each patch, of whichthere would be at least fifteen,would be about fifty by fifty feetin size; that from each initialhole would stem other holes, likea root system; and that manywould be on public land, wherehe imagined he would removethe ore if it was found, etc. Theyfurther exposed that Levindidn’t have a concrete plan; thatthe mill might go up along theDolores River scenic Hwy 145;that his potential ore removalsite couldn’t be specified,because he hadn’t “contactedthe rancher yet.” I watched theirfaces closely as he talked, andespecially as he spoke aboutthe potential financial benefitsto Dolores County (200300 jobs; 1520million dollars annual payroll), since Iknew this might be the hook that wouldultimately reel them in. I couldn’t readthem.Thirty-three members of the public signedup to speak. The floors creaked as peoplemoved forward to share their concerns.“I’m more afraid the floor is going to fallin than that he’s going to get rights tomine,” my neighbor whispered. But I feltdifferent. I was scared. But I was alsoamazed by the eloquence, clarity, intelligence,and, above all, the unity of the townvoice. Presentation after presentation citedpractical concerns, mentioning wildlife,water purity, proposed access routes forthe mining operations (through town),trails access, lack of detail in the proposal,violation of county codes, potential effecton downstream irrigation water foragriculture, lack of clarity about how thecompany would irrigate the project, its nothaving yet obtained state permits, lack ofemergency services. Residents stated thatthey didn’t want Rico to change, citingfirsthand experience of boom and bustmining economy, and asserting that theywanted Rico to develop not along the linesof its not-so-distant past (mining havingleft less than fifty years ago, the town stillrecovering and cleaning up from pastmining damage), but as a residential,family-oriented community. The townmanager was soft-spoken and relentless.The attorney was unshakable and legallyfirm, and 100 percent behind Rico,protecting the rights of its citizens againstthe potential damage from an application.The meeting went very late—past 1:00AM—and one of the speakers offered aroom at the hotel to the commissioners.Rico was friendly, open, intelligent, andfirm in its stance: we love Rico the way itis, and we beg that you don’t approve theapplication as it stands.I left the meeting a bit early (at 12:30 AM),feeling impressed, but still uncertainabout the way the commissioners wouldvote. Would they choose the potential forminor, short-term economic reward overenvironmental and water protection? Didthe fears and happiness of a town whoseyear-round population gets just above200, in a county with a population of1,986, really matter to them? The next day,by e-mail, I heard the great and surprisingnews: the commissioners had votedthe application down. Within a month,however, Outlook Resources filed a lawsuitagainst the Dolores County commissionersbecause of their decision, and confidentialdiscussions are underway between the twoentities. The outcome of these discussionsis still unknown.Last week, I went backpacking along theColorado Trail just northwest of Durango,which overlooks much of the land thatwould likely be accessed for mining. Fromthis trail, the Needles and Grenadiers, theLizardhead Wilderness, the La Sals, andLa Platas are visible. Much of this land ispublic land, undeveloped. Mountain lion,bobcat, coyote, elk, and deer roam acrossmiles of this territory. I could envisionmultiple metal structures; more roadsand traffic; increased air dust, decreasingvisibility; and, perhaps even worse, anopen pit that could be seen from here; andI felt horrified. It’s uncivilized that theMining Act of 1872 stands valid to thisday, and that public lands are still easilymineable. There are so few places leftthat are truly pristine. It’s only a matterof time before Rico, its citizens, and thespectacular gifts that surround it arethreatened again. Whatever we can doto act now, today, would be well advised,before our last remaining beautiful placesare destroyed.

Page 10FALL 2009The Human Footprint:A Tool for Wilderness Protectionby Miranda GrayGIS CoordinatorA lot of wilderness can still be found inNew Mexico, and to recognize it requiresa hard look at where wilderness is not.The human footprint refers to the extentof our disturbance of the land. A modelof the human footprint serves to highlightplaces most untrammeled, natural,and undeveloped. This GIS analysis isan estimate of the cumulative humanfootprint in New Mexico, attributable tomodern human settlement, human access,human land use, and electrical powerinfrastructure.The final human footprint map is asynthesis of ten datasets, weighted andcombined in such a way as to reflect arelative contribution to land conversionand biodiversity loss. GIS becomes anespecially important support tool forwilderness protection when its scientificresults are readily understood—mainlyin the form of simple, good-looking maps.With a robust database of defen¬sibledata, the possibilities for GIS analysis forwilderness support become equally robust,as do the possibilities for wildernessprotection. While the human footprint canitself serve as a useful tool for conservationplanning and public awareness, it can alsobe used for further analysis, such as:• Prioritization of wilderness-quality landsfor wilderness protection and restorationwork• Refinement of habitat suitability modelsto incorporate species-specific response tohuman land use• Easy replication of the model with anynew dataMiningMines have the potential to cause significantlocalized damage through directhabitat removal and the contaminationof local water sources. New Mexico isa lead mining state with significantproduction of coal, copper, potash, andmolybdenum. Mining activity is mostpronounced in areas with large reservesof these commodities: the San Juan Basincoal district, Tyrone and Chino coppermines in Grant County, the Carlsbadpotash district in Eddy County, and theQuesta molybdenum mine and mill inTaos County.Oil & GasOil and gas wells are scored to reflectmostly localized impacts on biodiversityas a result of habitat alteration and theassociated risks of spillage, leaks, andemissions at the well site. The combinedpressure of densely roaded areas canfurther fragment habitat and open upremote areas to increased human access,which is accounted for by a high scorefor producing oil and gas leases. Most oftoday’s oil production occurs in the NewMexico portion of the Permian Basinin southeast New Mexico. Natural gasextraction is concentrated in the San JuanBasin in northwest New Mexico.Human Settlement & AccessHuman settlement and access hascaused significant biodiversity loss;sprawling neighborhoods permanentlyreplace natural habitat, and roadsand other transport corridors causehabitat fragmentation, increase wildlifemortality, and provide access to habitatsthat were formally remote from humanencroachment. Human settlement overthe years has also altered predator-preyinteractions and in general set naturalecological systems off balance. Settlementpressures were evaluated by populationdensity, housing density, and thedistinction of rural vs. urban in the 2000census. Access was evaluated by a multilevelclassification of road data to capturevarying degrees of use, infrastructure,and edge-effects.Large DamsThe Human Footprint accounted for 105dams larger than 15 meters throughoutNew Mexico. Alterations of a river’s flowimpacts aquatic and semi-aquatic speciesby changing water temperature, waterlevels, sediment and nutrient levels,while dams themselves act as a barrierto wildlife movement. Human Footprintscores accounted for large dam sites, aswell as the further-reaching impacts bothdownstream and upstream of the site.Livestock GrazingBecause New Mexico has a long historyof livestock grazing and presumably onlyan extremely small percentage of land hasnot been grazed, it would be difficult toquantify the all-pervasive footprint of thispractice. For the purposes of this map, weassigned a small footprint value to activegrazing allotments on the basis that grazedlands may still qualify for wilderness.Invasive PlantsThe invasive plant species footprint isanother of those subtle but serious threatsto biodiversity and native habitat regimes.The invasive plants that are well-establishedin New Mexico out-compete nativeplants for water and space, and spreadquickly on the trail of human disturbance.GIS data for invasive plant dispersal inNew Mexico is far from complete, but thismodel incorporates what data does exist.Crops AgricultureIn our arid environment, water used inlarge-scale irrigation largely evaporates,and the percentage that does find its wayback to streams is increasingly ladenwith pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.Invasive plants find a good home inareas designed for plant growth, makingagricultural lands sources of invasiveplant dispersal. Industrial Agriculturein New Mexico is focused in Doña AnaCounty and east-central NM.Data sources for this map came from:U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. GeologicalSurvey (USGS); Environmental SystemsResearch Institute (ESRI); New MexicoEnergy, Minerals, and Natural ResourcesDepartment (NM EMNRD); PetroleumRecovery Research Center; NationalInventory of Dams; Nationalatlas.gov; and Southwest ReGAP. The modelborrowed methodology from the article“Rescaling the Human Footprint: A tool forconser¬vation planning at an ecoregionalscale,” which appeared in Landscape andUrban Planning, Volume 87.What is GIS?Miranda Gray is GIS specialistfor the New Mexico WildernessAlliance. She has been with theorganization since 2007. Shesits in the far back corner of theoffice, cooking up models andmaps in NMWA’s state-of-theartGIS laboratory. Kurt Menkehelped coordinate NMWA’sfirst GIS activities in 1999 andhas since started up his ownconservation GIS nonprofit,BirdsEyeViewGIS. He continuesto contribute his invaluable GISexpertise to the New MexicoWilderness Alliance.Those are the people; now here’sa much-needed introduction toGraphic Information SystemsAt its most basic level, GIS is the modernway we make maps, but it is much morethan that. GIS is a rapidly growing technologicalfield that is now incorporated intothe daily work flow of a growing numberof government agencies, organizations,businesses, and universities. Broken downinto its essential components, it consistsof a computer, software, spatial data, andsomeone who knows how to use it all.Spatial data is the backbone of the entiresystem. This is information that identifiesthe geographic locality and associatedattributes of features on the Earth’ssurface. If our dataset consists of lakeboundaries, the attributes might includelake names, depths of water, or whethera lake is perennial or ephemeral. Thecombination of spatial data and attributesallows us to query information by locationand by attributes. For instance, we maywish to identify all lakes in New Mexicodeeper than thirty feet. Or, we may wishto compare the attributes of lakes above10,000 feet.GIS is different from GPS (GlobalPositioning Systems). GPS communicateswith satellites to tell us precisely whereon Earth we are. For a GIS professional,GPS is a means to collect the coordinatesof spatial data, which can then be used inGIS. For instance, GPS could collect thecoordinates of a user-created route, andwe can use GIS to determine whether thatroute is encroaching on a wilderness area.With GIS one can overlay these differentmapped features as layers stacked on topof one another. This structure allows usto see associations and patterns betweenmultiple data layers and allows us to beginto answer more interesting questions,such as, “What grazing allotments coverthe Pecos Wilderness?” Working withmultiple data layers also allows us to derivenew GIS data layers. For instance, we canmodel potential habitat for jaguars bymerging such factors as elevation, terrainruggedness, road density, populationdensity, and available prey in a logicalscheme.Another key component for collecting GISdata is conducting on-the-ground surveysand inventories. This is a critical elementin fact-checking what is actually on theground and provides us with the ability to“defend” our data if ever challenged.With modern GIS we can conduct verysophisticated analyses that would havebeen nearly impossible in the age of papermaps. It is a tool with which we can analyzeand model what is happening spatially onthe planet. It then also provides a means toeasily produce custom maps that highlightthe answers to geographic questions suchas these:Where are the best dispersal corridors forcougars in New Mexico?What is the human footprint on thelandscape?Where are the best alternative energysites, and which of those areas containimportant habitat?The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance isin constant need of volunteers to help outwith our GIS program. If you’re interestedin helping us gather data from field work,or you have a knack for plugging thesedatasets into the GIS system, please contactMiranda Gray (Miranda@nmwild.org) tolearn about how you can GET INVOLVED!Continue reading to see how GIS is used toprotect New Mexico’s natural heritage.

New Mexico WILD! Page 11The Human Footprint onNew Mexicot h f n m C O L O R A D OA R I Z O N AO K L A H O M A T E X A S60 300 60MilesMap by Miranda GrayM E X I C OMost WildLeast Wild0 -77 -1414 -2323 -3232 -4242 -5454 -6767 -100Designated Wilderness

Page 12FALL 2009Organ Mountains-Desert Peaksby Stephen CapraExecutive DirectorSouthern New Mexico is home to someof our state’s richest, wildest, and mostremote lands—from Carlsbad Caverns inthe east, past Otero Mesa, just west of FortBliss, into the Organ Mountains, thenfolding into the incomparable Big HatchetMountains, and finally sprawling intoArizona, the biologically rich Pellincillos.Since 2005, we have been focused onprotecting lands around the rapidlygrowing community of Las Cruces.However, if you speak to some of ourBoard members the fight has gone on formore than thirty years. During the pastfour years, we have looked at old, frayedmaps, spent countless hours doing GISand hundreds of hours of on-the-groundfield checking.The community of Las Cruces hasexploded in growth in recent years. It hasmade headlines as a community worthretiring to. People have come from acrossthe country, and new schools are beingbuilt; million-dollar homes are beingpunched in near the base of the OrganMountains. To the south, plans for morethan 30,000 homes are in the works, to thenorth, the Space Port. Therefore, the timefor wilderness was now—now or never.We will also push hard to see the strongestpossible Wilderness proposal pass. Wefeel strongly that the wilderness proposalin Doña Ana Country has been completelyvetted, with every conceivable party ableto weigh in on the proposal. As a result,many changes to the proposal, includingroads, cherry stems, and whole areas ofwilderness were removed to ensure accessis maintained for ranchers and to addressother issues. However, as the proposalmoves forward, a small subset of radicalranchers and off-road vehicle enthusiastshave attempted to fight all wildernessprotections and encourage large-scaleland sell offs of public land. We simplywill not allow that to occur, and we willcontinue to ask for your help and support.HeroesIf you have ever been involved in acampaign, you find people of all typesthat come together for a common goal.When it works right there is a sense ofmagic that comes from the intensity ofthe interaction. That magic has beenon display for some time in Doña AnaCounty. The heroes in this case beginwith Senators Bingaman and Udall forinvesting the time and energy to get thisproposal introduced and to truly get itright. But frankly, this proposal wouldhave never come to fruition without theendless hours and tireless effort of ourtwo Las Cruces staffers, Jeff Steinbornand Nathan Small. Back in 2005, we had agoal: Wilderness in Doña Ana County. Webegan to plan, but it was these two stafferswho met with elected officials, many inthe business community, and countlessmeetings with ranchers, sportsmen, andcommunity groups. The list is as endlessas were the meetings.In 2001, we held a focus group in LasCruces, where one of the questions askedwas, “What are public lands to you?” Theanswer most people responded with wasrestrooms on the side of the interstate. Inour 2009 polling, 79 percent of the people

New Mexico WILD! Page 13in the area supported our Wildernessproposal. That is an amazing accomplishment.In the time both Jeff andNathan worked on this campaign, Jeffwas also elected as a State Representativeand Nathan became the youngest citycouncilor in Las Cruces history.During these times, our incredible staffalso led countless outings to BroadCanyon, opening many people in thecommunity to the wonders of this desertcanyon—from the petroglyphs that linethe canyon walls to the spectacular vistasrevealing the valley below. On countlessSaturdays and Sundays, they have takenpeople, from Scout troops to Catholicschool groups, and one time a Methodistyouth group from Kansas, across thesespecial lands on foot and horseback.Still, we are far from the finish line withthis campaign., Their work to this pointin creating and maintaining such astrong and diverse alliance for the OrganMountainsDesert Peaks Wilderness, andtheir personal passion for these lands, iswhy we are enjoying such an ambitiousproposal.However, no campaign is taken to thislevel without the many unsung heroesthat play such a pivotal role in its development.That begins with the sportsmancommunity in Doña Ana County. Peoplelike Sandy Schemnitz, former Chair ofthe Wildlife Department y at NMSU, anavid quail hunter and world championdog trainer who supports our Wildernessefforts. Sandy has met with congressionalleaders, testified before city councils, andspoken to people in the community aboutthe need to protect these lands. But thereare other sportsmen, like John Moen, whoat first were leery of Wilderness designationbut became convinced that suchprotections were in the best interests ofthe community. John would go back toWashington and tell our congressionaldelegation how important this proposalwas to the community. He wrote lettersand went into the field to look closely atthe lands covered by the proposal andwould comment on changes and work tohelp ensure that the bill was introduced.Without the support of people like John,this bill would still be a fantasy. Withtheir support and the countless hours theyinvested, we are now moving forward.The Hispano Chamber of Commerce isanother group whose support for ourwilderness proposal has been vital toits success. Early on, it worked with ourorganization and came out in supportof the proposal. That was an importantmilestone for our efforts and may havehelped bring other business groups intothe campaign, giving us an importantvoice in framing the debate. The HispanoChamber continues to work with ourcoalition, and will be an important partof an exciting Wilderness Economicsconference that will take place in LasCruces on December 5th.There are other unsung heroes, likePat Buls and Don Patterson of the BackCountry Horsemen. They have been tocountless meetings with our congressionaldelegation and taken many groups on tripsinto the areas targeted by our proposals.Pat has written poetry and articles aboutwilderness and our proposal, and Donhas traveled north for editorial boardmeetings at the Albuquerque Journaland has always maintained a smile anda sense of humor, no matter how seriousthe moment.Then there are people like Joel Hoffmanand Kay Shade. Every time we had a toughresolution to get passed or a need to bringmembers out to an important congressionalmeeting, these two super volunteersspent hours, calling and e-mailing andmaking sure that, in the end, we had thepeople to make the case for Wilderness.As Hillary Clinton was fond of saying, ittakes a village. It takes a community ofpeople to push forward to ensure a qualityof life for themselves and for generationsyet to come.As the recent Ken Burns series onnational parks made clear, no matterhow spectacular the landscape, no matterhow important the wildlife, there remainpeople focused solely on the present, ontheir own needs and special interests, notthose of the greater community. Burnsfocused on our victories, not the landsthat were lost to dams, stupidity, andgreed. Nor the wildlife slaughtered byignorance. The fight to protect wildernessremains just that—a fight. For some, theconcept of protected federal lands smellsof socialism. For most of us, it reflectsthought, vision, and a respect for land,water, and wildlife.The LandIf you live in Las Cruces, then you understandthat the Organ Mountains are thesoul of your community. They are thesentry that stands over the communitieseast side. They are the mountain rangethat the full moon climbs up to frame thecity. It is a mountain range that is craggyand tall, filled with canyons, wildflowers,and wild cactus species such as claret cup,queen of the night, and horse crippler.It is a mountain that absorbs the heat ofthe Chihuahuan desert while providingshelter for mule deer, badger, mountainlions, and Montezuma quail, to name justa few.The Potrillos are a landscape that astronautsonce trained on for moon landing.It is a wild and rolling land, filled, inplaces, with rising cinder cones. I recalla camping trip several years ago wherewe camped on the east side of the EastPotrillo mountains. As evening began totake hold, and the baking sun began toset, the sounds of life started to rise. Herethe song of the common poorwill and thehoot of great horned owls began to fill thedry, quiet air. With evening descending,we sat quietly listening to the sound ofnearby coyotes as the Milky Way tookform above.To the north are lands that few havewalked - the Las Uvas and Broad Canyon.In a good rain year, the Uvas can be lush,with grassy meadows, some perennialwater, and a coolness in the evening thatlets you know you are at a slightly higherelevation, removed from the stark andheated desert floor. You can walk up drycanyons, filled with minerals and rocksthat lend color and definition to therugged land.Nearby is Broad Canyon—a special place,and one that originally was not consideredfor Wilderness designation. Hiking intoBroad Canyon, you start by following alarge, dry riverbed. It is a must to be alert,however, as you may pass close to a blacktailedrattlesnake.As you walk, you will see rock formationsthat are pink with rich mineral content,and the walls reveal stories of generationspast. The rock art is impressive, butso are the nests of red-tailed hawks, thewhistle of a western screech owl; the echoof your voice off the canyon walls; andthe deer, javalina, and coyote prints thatdot the sandy washes. The canyon, too, iscooler—a relief from the summer heat.As you continue to walk, the greatness ofthis land becomes clear. Each wildernessunit reflects a personality and anecological difference. But collectively theyrepresent a spectrum of environments, allof them wild. They are “untrammeled,”as the Wilderness Act defines wilderness.They are awe-inspiring to those whotake the time to travel through them andsense the silence of wild lands, those who…continued on page 23

Page 14FALL 2009Cougar Corridors of New MexicoBy Kurt MenkeHabitat fragmentation isnow widely recognized asone of the leading causesof species extinction.The four million-milenetwork of roads we haveconstructed in Americahas allowed unprecedentedmobility for human traveland commerce. Thesesame roads, and thedevelopments associatedwith them, however, havenegatively affected themobility and survivalof wildlife by creating“fracture zones” betweensuitable habitats. Animalsfollowing their instinctualmovement patterns oftenencounter development androads as they seek food,water, mates, and territory.The environmental impactof roadways extends farbeyond the edge of thepavement. This “roadeffectzone” is estimated tobe fifteen to twenty timesas large as the actual pavedright of way itself. One ofthe unintended adverseconsequences of habitatfragmentation is that thisprocess effectively createssmaller, more isolatedhabitat patches and wildlifepopulations. Isolatedpopulations are morevulnerable, less resilient inthe face of natural disturbances,and thus have ahigher probability of localextinction. As growinghuman infrastructurefragments the landscape, itbecomes less permeable towildlife movement. Permeabilityis a measure of howeasily an animal can crossthe landscape.To model a corridor, onemust first identify the areasto connect. For this study, Iused a combination of theresults of the 2003 CriticalMass Workshop carnivoreroadkill data and a cougarhabitat suitability model to identify thepatches of habitat to connect. The 2003Critical Mass Workshop resulted in theidentification of four Critical Risk HighwaySegments, thirteen High Risk Segmentsand fourteen Moderate Risk Segments.These were based on the knowledge ofthe attendees and represented knownanimal-vehicle collision hot spots. It wasdecided that corridors should be modeledacross each of the four Critical HighwaySegments and many of the High andModerate Highway Segments where theyserve to generate a connected landscapefor cougars in the state. Cougar and othercarnivore roadkill records were also usedto inform the decision on where to modelcorridors. In total, twenty-six corridorswere modeled. Several corridors showedstrong correlations to carnivore roadkillrecords.It should be noted that these are consideredpotential corridors. While many showstrong relationships to existing roadkilldata, they should only be used as anindication of where on-the-ground studiesshould be undertaken and as an initialfocus for such studies.This study was funded by the NewMexico Department of Game and FishShare with Wildlife Program. The fullreport can be downloaded at: http://www.birdseyeviewgis.com/downloads.html

New Mexico WILD! Page 15Jaguar Habitat in New MexicoBy Kurt MenkeHistorically, jaguars once roamed northto Santa Fe, west into California, and eastas far as Mississippi and Louisiana. Today,the northern extent of their range hasbeen greatly reduced. In recent years therehave been increasingly regular sightingsin southeast Arizona and occasionalsightings in southwest New Mexico. Thenorthernmost documented breedingpopulation lives about one hundredmiles south of the U.S.–Mexico border inSonora. The first step in protecting vitalhabitat for these cats in the United Statesis identifying where it is.This map shows the results of a modeldeveloped to identify potential jaguarhabitat in New Mexico. This analysis wasdone in coordination with the JaguarConservation Team, an interagency teamtasked with studying jaguar conservationin the United States. The study area wasdefined as areas within fifty miles ofreliable jaguar sightings. We includedonly those sightings that were reportedwith sufficient precision that we wereable to map their locations reliably. Themodel focused on five habitat variablesdocumented to be important in definingjaguar habitat. These were populationdensity, road density, distance to water,prey availability, terrain ruggedness, andMadrean evergreen forest. These wereweighted, with the help of expert opinion,and combined.The model predicted two areas as havingthe highest probability of being able tosupport jaguars in New Mexico. Theseareas were the Peloncillo and AnimasMountains in far southwestern NewMexico, and the river canyon and adjacentareas of the Gila and San Francisco Rivers.Very little is known about jaguars in thenorthern end of their range. Therefore,we did not define these two areas as“suitable” for breeding populations ofChupadera PeakWilderness DesignationInterior Secretary Ken Salazar has notifiedCongress that he intends to include 140acres donated to Bosque del ApacheNational Wildlife Refuge into the adjacentChupadera Wilderness. Notification wentto Congress on July 15; the Wilderness Actrequires 60 days notice to the President ofthe Senate and the Speaker of the Housebefore donated land can be incorporatedinto existing wilderness.The land - Chupadera Peak -- waspurchased and then donated by the Friendsof the Bosque del Apache NWR. This isthe first time that the Fish and WildlifeService has accepted a land donation forinclusion into a designated wilderness.jaguars, nor were slightly less suitablehabitats classified as “unsuitable.” Wemerely labeled them as most suitable andless suitable. We hope that the results ofthis study will be combined with similarCHACO CANYON VICTORY!For the past several years our organizationhas been hard at work on protectingChaco Canyon National Historic Park.Our proposal includes getting more than20,000 acres of wilderness designated inthe park. Today, the park continues to bethreatened by oil and gas development onits boundaries.In late September we learned of plansto auction off eight leases right on theboundary of the park. Obviously, we werevery concerned about drilling so close tosuch a national treasure.After working closely with the Governor’soffice, the congressional delegation, andthe State Director of the BLM, we wereefforts in Arizona and Mexico to help further evaluate the connectivity of suitablehabitats and their ability to support a jaguar population in the border region.The full report can be downloaded at:http://www.azgfd.gov/pdfs/w_c/jaguar/JagRpt4%20doc.pdfable to get these eight leases pulledfrom the October oil and gas leasesale.Chaco Canyon National HistoricPark is one of the most spectacularareas in New Mexico. Its combinationof natural beauty andcultural significance justifiesits World Heritage Site status,making it beloved by visitors theworld over.Today we have the protectionof Chaco Canyon intact andthe ability to continue workingtowards our wilderness proposal,understanding that we’re not goingto have oil and gas development onthe perimeter of this park.

Page 16FALL 2009New Mexico Wilderness Alliance2009 Wilderness OutdoorConnection LeadershipProgram ActivitiesThe Wilderness Outdoor ConnectionLeadership Program (WOCLP) youthgroup had an exciting summer with lotsof projects and activities for the youthof northern New Mexico. One of the firstactivities was a trip in February to CarsonNational Forest, where the group took tothe hills and did a snowshoeing expedition.This trip was a first snowshoeingexperience for all of the kids.In April the group went out to visitthe proposed El Rio Grande Del NorteNational Conservation Area in TaosCounty. The tour included a drive aroundthe northern end of Ute Mountain to theRio Grande Gorge. The group viewed adrop of 200 feet at the rim of the Gorge onthe northern boundary of the NCA nearthe Colorado Border. The students thenwent to La Junta Point, where the RedRiver and the Rio Grande come together.The drop at this location from the rimof the Gorge to the rivers below is 800feet. The members of the group all sawfirsthand the beauty of the area and thereason why this New Mexico jewel shouldbe preserved. Each student wrote a letterof support to Congressman Ben Lujan andSenator Jeff Bingaman, advocating gettingS874 through Congress.In May the group visited the VallesCaldera. On this trip they joined withthirty other youths from northern NewMexico who toured the Caldera. Theyheard a presentation by the wildlifebiologist from the Valles Caldera about theelk herds that exist in the area. The treatfor the kids at the Caldera was the searchfor fallen antlers the elk shed each spring.In June the youth participated in thenorth Pecos Wilderness Service Project.The students had the opportunity to workwith the recreation coordinator from thePeñasco Ranger District on a trail maintenanceproject, which included the installation ofbollards on a trail to prevent off-highwayvehicle (OHV) access to an existing, closedtrail. They were briefed on the effects ofOHV use on forest land.Our biggest project took place in July, whenNMWA and the Albuquerque WildlifeFederation partnered to do a joint projectaround volunteer service work and youtheducation in the Valle Vidal McCrystalCampground Area. NMWA headed theyouth activities for the weekend, whichincluded groups from all over northernNew Mexico. The groups that participatedin the event were the NMWA WildernessOutdoor Connection Leadership Groupfrom Mora and Questa, the RockyMountain Youth Corp group out of Taos,the northern New Mexico SembrandoSemilla Youth Group, the New MexicoAcequia Association, and the Fit in TaosYouth Leadership Group. In total twentysevenstudents participated in the event.Events included an ecological presentationby the Fitness in Taos leadership; a hikeled by Wild Earth Llama AdventuresTakea Llama to Lunch; team building andgroup activities for youth led by the RockyMountain Youth Corp; and storytellingaround the campfire. On one of theevenings there were leave-no-trace ethicsdiscussions around the campfire thatengaged the students in talking about theenvironment and the importance of landand water conservation.The highlight of the trip was the llamahike—a three-mile trek up McCrystalCreek to the archeological site of theMcCrystal Place, where the McCrystalfamily once lived and ranched in theValle Vidal. The history and importanceof watershed management in the areawas shared with the students. There wasdiscussion about why the Valle VidalCoalition was put into place and the workthat it did back in 2006 in preventing oiland gas development in the area.The AWF and NMWA split up into groups,conducting several on-the-ground serviceprojects in conjunction with the youthactivities. We would like to thank NMWA,AWF, U.S. Forest ServiceQuesta RangerDistrict, the New Mexico Acequia Association,the Sembrando Semilla YouthGroup, the Taos Rocky Mountain YouthCorp, Wild Earth Llama Adventures, andFit in Taos for participating in the event.Organ Mountains Sites Deserve To Be SavedAlbuquerque Journal Oct. 4, 2009EDITORIALThe Organ Mountains provide a dramaticbackdrop to the vibrant and growingcommunity of Las Cruces, the state'ssecond largest city, much as the Sandias doto Albuquerque. More than 30 years ago,at the behest of now retired U.S. Sen. PeteDomenici, the Sandias were designated asa protected wilderness area.Now, our U.S. senators, Tom Udall andJeff Bingaman, have introduced the OrganMountains-Desert Peaks WildernessAct. It would designate 259,000 acresas wilderness and create a 100,850-acreconservation area around the Organ andDoña Ana Mountains and parts of BroadCanyon. The Bureau of Land Managementwould manage the land to protect it fromdevelopment, but current uses, such ashunting and grazing, would continue.The area has been under study since 2006,when Domenici proposed protecting morethan 200,000 acres of federal land in DoñaAna County as wilderness, creating a35,000-acre conservation area around theOrgan Mountains and allowing the BLMto sell off about 65,000 acres. It didn'tfly at the time, and years of negotiationsensued.Now a fairly broad consensus has beenreached by some interests — conservationists,hunters, business people,hikers, local governments and even someranchers — that the areas should beprotected, although other ranchers andoff-road enthusiasts still have concernsover access.The bill is expected to be heard thisweek in the Senate Energy and NaturalResources Committee, which Bingamanchairs. This is a rare opportunity to setaside some natural resource gems for theenjoyment of generations to come.

New Mexico WILD! Page 17West Texas Sojournby Steve WestStaff ScientistEeveryone (even those who have neverbeen there) knows a lot about The LoneStar State. But not all of it is well known,especially that west wedge located betweensouthern New Mexico and northernMexico. The least populated part of thestate has the only two national parks inTexas and also has a national historicsite, a national memorial, a national trail,a wild and scenic river, as well as severalstate parks and other lands set aside forwildlife and/or recreation. While Texashas a higher percentage of privatelyowned land than any other state, thereare multiple opportunities in west Texasfor enjoying wilderness, hiking, camping,exploring, and virtually any other outdooractivity in which one could be interested.The gems in west Texas are the twonational parks, and the New MexicoWilderness Alliance is deeply involvedin both those areas. NMWA met with BigBend’s superintendent in March to discussthe potential for Wilderness there, wherenone currently exists, at least not legislatively.Big Bend has just over 800,000acres (about 1,250 square miles) and isthe best and largest preserved area in theChihuahuan Desert north of Mexico. BigBend has had a Wilderness plan gatheringdust for over twenty years. The timewasn’t right, and sometimes it takes timeto gather public support for Wilderness.Now is the time. With a wildernessfriendlyCongress and president and withlocal support for Wilderness, it may beonly months before Big Bend joins over700 other areas in the country that haveWilderness designation. The proposalwould mean that about two-thirds of BigBend would be Wilderness—where now,none of it is!Why is Wilderness right for Big Bend?Wilderness designation would protectthose special places that bring people tovisit the park today. Big Bend is as uniqueas any park in America. The uniquenesshere that deserves the protection of aWilderness designation includes morebirds than any other national park;species found here and nowhere else in thecountry—some, nowhere else on Earth.Wilderness would preserve the flavor andsense of what the area was like when thefirst Europeans walked across the land.Wilderness in Big Bend would also drawneeded attention to the conservation ofdesert areas. Establishing Wilderness inthis park would provide an example ofhow land can be preserved and managedfor the future and would, one hopes, bringabout both greater cooperation across theborder and additional protection for landsto the south. NMWA is actively involvedin pushing for Wilderness and buildingWilderness support in Big Bend NationalPark.To the north is a park with which moreNew Mexicans are familiar, but that isentirely in Texas: Guadalupe MountainsNational Park. Designated in 1972, thepark was established to protect a largeportion of the exposed, fossilized CapitanReef, one of the best fossil reefs in theworld. Geologists from around the worldhave visited the area for decades to learnabout the area, and they continue to do sotoday, though most visitors come to thepark for a wider variety of reasons.The biggest attraction at the park is theOctober-November hikes into McKittrickCanyon to see the fall colors of the maplesand other trees. Running along thecanyon bottom and adding to the pleasantsounds of a fall day is McKittrick Creek,the largest water source in the Guadalupes.To the south is Guadalupe Peak,at 8,749 feet the highest point in Texas.While the peak is the lowest of any of thestate high points in the West, the viewfrom the top of Guadalupe Peak is hardto describe. To the west are the gypsumdunes, on the west boundary of the park,as well as the Cornudas Mountains, andOtero Mesa. To the east and south are theDelaware Mountains, the Sierra DiabloMountains, and, to the far south, theDavis Mountains—another special areain Texas.While one drives along the highwaybetween Carlsbad and El Paso, thesouth end of the Guadalupes looks likea large, imposing, and even barren cliffof limestone. Inside the park, however,are numerous canyons and hiking trails,as well as spotted owls, black bears, andabout 1,000 species of plants, includingseveral orchids. And wilderness—lots ofit. Park plans are to expand Wildernessareas and, once completed, GuadalupeMountains will have one of the highestWilderness percentages of any nationalpark. NMWA is also working to supportthis expansion by coordinating with thepark and building local support.While Texas attracts many superlatives,many of the best are justified by these twonational parks. They both preserve areasvital to protecting wildlife and uniqueplant communities, and it is in Wildernessareas that this is best done. Proposalsto increase Wilderness in GuadalupeMountains and establish it at Big Bendwill not close any roads or deny any accesscurrently available. Work by NMWA andother organizations will help to makeconservation (and Wilderness) a maincomponent of land management in oneof the most special corners of the UnitedStates.THE TEXAS I NITIA TIVEWhen we talk about preserving wildlandsand wildlife, it is foolish to stop atartificial boundaries such as state lines.For this reason, NMWA is expanding itsefforts into west Texas and elsewhere.Trans-Pecos Texas (that area west of thePecos River) is home to two national parksof great value—Guadalupe Mountainsand Big Bend. Together, the two parkscontain almost 900,000 acres. At just over800,000 acres, however, Big Bend containsnot a single square mile of designatedWilderness!NMWA is actively supporting additionsto the current Wilderness in GuadalupeMountains and has been working formonths to promote Wilderness inBig Bend. None of this will be easy orinexpensive to accomplish. We are askingfor supporters of wilderness and wildlifein west Texas to donate to a special “TexasFund” that will support our efforts to thesouth.For those who donate $50 or more, wewill send you a copy of The GuadalupeMountains Symposium. NMWA wasgiven about one hundred copies of thisexcellent work, which is the product ofa symposium held in Carlsbad in 1998.The book contains over fifty chapters onvarious aspects of Guadalupe MountainsNational Park and nearby areas. Thearticles were written by the presenters atthe symposium, and there are chapters onresource management, biology, culturalresources, ecology, geology, history, interpretation,social science, and other fields.Some of the titles are: “Mountain LionEcology and Population Trends in theTrans-Pecos Region of Texas,” “Historicand Archaeological Investigations ofApache War Sites,” “Permian Extinctions:A Fusulinacean’s Way of Life and Death,”and “The Butterfield Overland Stagecoachthrough Guadalupe Pass.” No matter whatyour interests, there are articles in thesymposium proceedings that will get yourattention.The money donated to the Texas Fund willassist NMWA in protecting and promotingwilderness in west Texas. When youdonate, please specify that it is for theTexas Fund and state whether or not youwould like a copy of the book. Supplies arelimited, so please move quickly on thisone before we run out of these books.

Page 18FALL 2009Connecting Exhibitions:Grasslands and Separating Speciesby Mary Anne ReddingThis fall, 516 ARTS is hosting theconcurrent exhibitions Grasslandsand Separating Species as part of thelarge collaboration called LAND/ART(www.landartnm.org). As the curator, Ideveloped this two-part project startingwith the work of photographer MichaelP. Berman, who has an unbrokenconnection to the land and art making.He has a long involvement with the NewMexico Wilderness Alliance; longer is hisinvolvement with the grasslands of thesouthwestern deserts that he calls home.It is appropriate that he is one of thespeakers at this year’s NMWA conferencefocusing on the grasslands. His work inthis exhibition focuses on the Chihuahuangrasslands of New Mexico, Texas andnorthern Mexico.by Tom GuralnickThe LAND/ART project spans grasslandsto Antarctica in one day on Saturday,October 24. Following the NMWAconference 11am-3pm, come Downtownto the KiMo Theater, Richard Levy Galleryand 516 ARTS for more arts events andexhibitions focused on the environment.One of the highlights of the six-monthLAND/ART series is the performance ofDJ Spooky on October 24. While highlyregarded as a writer and conceptual artist,Paul D. Miller is probably best knownunder the moniker of his constructedpersona, “DJ Spooky That SubliminalKid.” In that role, Miller has remixedand recorded with a panoply of artistsranging from Metallica to Steve Reichto Killah Priest and has performed in awide variety of situations throughout theworld. His work crosses boundaries andmerges media and ideas with an inventivebraininess that merges musical, culturaland environmental concerns in a unique,mind-bending mix.Rather than making site-specific sculptureto insert into the landscape like theoriginal artists of the Land Art movement,Berman creates gallery installations thattranslate his intensive experiences in theland. It would be nearly impossible formost people to walk his walk. He makestime to look, to be in the violent desertlands on both sides of the border, selfsufficientand alone, walking for weeks,sometimes a month at a time. The land iswhat’s important to him — a metaphorfor consciousness, what he feels art shouldalso be.In his essay in the exhibition catalog(published by Radius Books, radiusbooks.org), William deBuys describes howBerman’s process makes him a ”poet ofplace.” He says, “On foot (Berman) lugs hisview camera down washes and up ridgeswhere no trails exist; sometimes he has aplan, sometimes he hasn’t. He hunts theangle and moment that shape the visualspeech of the land into a clear declarativesentence… These wordless sentences arethe poems he hauls back to his studio andcommits to paper.”Although vastly different in theirapproaches and the resulting imagery,Michael Berman and artists David Taylor,Dana Fritz, Krista Elrick and Jo Whaleyin Separating Species, visually investigatewhat happens when species are separated,whether in the wilderness, in protectedwildlife refuges, urban zoos or otherartificially created environments, or evenacross political, economic and culturalborders. Grasslands and SeparatingDJ Spooky explores vanishingenvironment in multimediaperformanceHis large-scale, multimedia work, TerraNova: Sinfonia Antarctica, is an acousticportrait of a rapidly changing continent,translating his first-person encounterwith the harsh, dynamic landscapeof Antarctica into visual andsonic portraits. In Terra Nova,Miller captured the acousticqualities of Antarctic ice formsin field recordings, reflectinga changing — even vanishing— environment under duress.In addition to video projectionsand DJ Spooky on turntables, theperformance will also featurelocal chamber musicians, LindaVik, violin; Katie Harlow, cello;and Debbie Briggs, piano.Presenters of Terra Nova inAlbuquerque are the OutpostPerformance Space, an intimate,nonprofit, community-basedPerforming Arts Centerpresenting everything fromjazz to experimental, to folk &Species are permeated with a passionfor revealing wildness and increasing aglobal understanding of community toinclude grasslands, birds, butterflies andmoths, animals, rocks and ridges, riversand people. As Terry Tempest Williams,the honored speaker at last year’s NMWAconference says: “We need another wayof being in the world. We can learn tolive more deeply, more fully in place, oureyes wide open to the wild. We don’t haveto develop every acre in sight or drill foroil simply because it’s there. Restraint isa virtue we have yet to cultivate.” Truthroots music and points in between, and516 ARTS, a museum-style gallery inDowntown Albuquerque that focuses onadventurous arts programs and collaborativeprojects. As part of his residency inAlbuquerque, DJ Spooky will give a lectureto the high school students at AlbuquerqueAcademy.The concert on October 24 will be followedby a reception with DJ Spooky across thestreet at the Richard Levy Gallery (514Central SW) which features the exhibitiontelling is also virtuous. The images inGrasslands and Separating Species tellmultiple truths and reveal multiplecomplexities.Mary Anne Redding is the Curator atthe Palace of the Governors/New MexicoHistory Museum.Grasslands / Separating Species is on viewOctober 3 – December 12 at 516 ARTS inDowntown Albuquerque. For more information,please visit www.516arts.org orcall 505-242-1445.Erika Blumenfeld: Early Findings:Artifacts from The Polar Project (www.levygallery.com), and an Open House nextdoor at 516 ARTS (516 Central Ave. SW)which features the exhibitions Grasslandsand Separating Species (www.516arts.org). For information on the performance,call 505-268-0044 or visit www.outpostspace.org.Tom Guralnick is the Founder/ExecutiveDirector of the Outpost Performance Spacein Albuquerque.

New Mexico WILD! Page 19Our view:Our wilderness around LasCruces deserves protectionPhotos Make Great Gifts!ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT NMWA!Las Cruces Sun-NewsEDITORIAL09/26/2009For some three decades now, the mostpristine areas of the Organ Mountainsand other natural treasurers just outsideLas Cruces have been regulated under afederal designation that was intended tobe temporary -- a wilderness study area.It seems to us there has been plenty oftime for study, now it's time for action.Last week, New Mexico's two senators,Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, introduceda bill that would designate 259,000 acresas wilderness and place another 100,000acres as a national conservation area.And on Tuesday, the Doña Ana CountyCommission threw its support behind themeasure.Introduction of the bill elicited the samearguments from the same adversaries thatwe've been hearing for years. Rancherswho work leased land in the designatedareas are concerned that a wildernessdesignation could hamper their operations.They worry that they would restrictwater projects, limit access to their herdsand stock tanks and prevent them frommaking needed improvements to theiroperations.We fully appreciate the importance ofranching to a diversified county economyand have no desire to see those operationdiminished. If we believed a wildernessdesignation would have the dire consequencesthat have been predicted, we'dhave second thoughts about offering ourendorsement.In fact, we see no reason why wildernessand ranching can't co-exist. The federaldesignation has specific provisionsdesigned to carve out the exemptionsranchers need to run their operations. Webelieve local ranchers would be betterservedworking with Bingaman and Udallto ensure that their needs are protectedunder the bill now being considered,rather than fighting to defeat the bill.Without protection, these precious landswill be lost to the urban sprawl that willsurely come to our area in the years ahead.With wilderness protection, they will bepreserved to be enjoyed by future generations.We commend Bingaman and Udall forintroducing this important legislation,and urge all those who treasure thesespecial areas to make your voices heard.=www = willisarts = comWild! Imageswww.ImagesForEnvironment.orgACCEPTING HOLIDAYORDERS NOW!WILD! GUIDECraig Chapman 505-843-8696or Craig@nmwild.orgObama puts support behindwilderness measureBeautiful Wedding ImagryHandmade Wedding AlbumsFine Art Prints and FramingRelieve...joint discomfort . neck, back, & hip painAlzheimer’s symptoms . headaches . stress & anxietyBy Steve Ramirez Sun-News reporter10/10/2009Support for the Organ Mountains-DesertPeaks Wilderness Act continues to grow,as the Obama administration has nowoffered its support to the legislationintended to protect the mountain rangejust east of Las Cruces and other scenicareas in Doña Ana County."Passage of this legislation will ensurethat generations of New Mexicans and allAmericans will be able to witness a goldeneagle soar over the Sierra de las Uvas, hikethe landmark Organ Mountains, or huntin the volcanic outcroppings of the PotrilloMountains," said Marcilynn A. Burke,deputy director for the Bureau of LandManagement. "We welcome this opportunityto enhance protection for some ofAmerica's treasured landscapes."The Obama administration endorsedthe legislation at a U.S. Senate hearingThursday in Washington, D.C. Resolutionsin support of the legislation writtenby Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall,both D-N.M., to protect the Organs havealready been adopted by the city of LasCruces, town of Mesilla and Do-a AnaCounty governments. Gov. Bill Richardsonhas also thrown in his support for the bill.The legislation would protect 259,000acres of wilderness and 100,000 acres ofNational Conservation Area. These areaswould be managed in ways that protectthe landscape from development whilepreserving current uses - such as huntingand grazing.The bill also releases 16,350 acres alongthe southern border that had previouslybeen designated as so-called "WildernessStudy Area." This will provide increasedflexibility for border law enforcement.

the LAND/ART project andNew Mexico Wilderness Alliance presentsgrasslands2009 New MexicoWilderness Conferencefeaturing otero mesaPHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL BERMANwithCharles bowden & michael bermanOctober 24, 2009 • 11am to 3pmbosque school, Budagher Hall, albuquerqueregistration $15 includes lunchwww.LandArtNM.orgaREGISTER ONLINEwww.NMWILD.orgor call 505-843-8696MICHAEL BERMAN landscape PHOTOGRAPHERCHARLES BOWDENauthorAvailable Soon…2010WILD!GUIDEIt’s handy for any outdoorenthusiasts, and at under $10,it makes the perfect gift forall your friends and familywho love the Wild Side of life!ACCEPTING HOLIDAY ORDERS NOW!Page 20Call Craig Chapman 505-843-8696 orCraig@nmwild.orgFALL 2009

CONGRESSIONAL CONTACTSNew Mexico has a long standing traditionof leaders who have fought for conservationmeasures and worked to establishlaws that recognized and treasured ourwilderness ethics. Whether at the city,county, state, or congressional level, thesechampions have stood up for and defendedthe values that safeguard our naturallegacy and future quality of life.Former New Mexico Senator Clinton P.Anderson was an ardent supporter andadvocate of the 1964 Wilderness Act. TheWilderness Act itself began right herein The Land of Enchantment, with AldoLeopold understanding the simple grace ofwhat “thinking like a mountain” meant.Retired Senator Pete V. Domenici wasinstrumental in passing legislation thatprotected places like the Sandia MountainWilderness, Rio Chama Wilderness, andApache Kid Wilderness.As a congressman, Senator Tom Udallworked to successfully pass legislation forthe Ojito Wilderness, and most recently,the Sabinoso Wilderness just east of LasVegas, NM.Senator Jeff Bingaman, who also has along-standing tradition of supportingwilderness designation, has recentlyintroduced the Organ Mountains – DesertPeaks Wilderness Act, along with SenatorUdall. Additionally, Senator Bingamanhas submitted the El Rio Grande del NorteNational Conservation Area Act of 2009.Combined, these two bills will protect over700,000 acres of public land. These twoinitiatives represent the largest amountof proposed protected public land in NewMexico history.Congressman Martin Heinrich,Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, andCongressman Harry Teague all votedfor the Omnibus Lands Bill of 2009,which formally designated the SabinosoWilderness, as well as the Fort UnionNational Monument, Snowy – River Cavenear Fort Stanton.As New Mexicans, and those whocare about the vast beauty of our state, weshould be thankful for the leadership thatwe have been afforded throughout ourhistory and present state of affairs.Today, we have an opportunity to continuethis natural legacy. Please take the timeto write a letter or make a phone call toour congressional delegation, thankingthem for upholding our conservationand wilderness ethics. More often thannot, we tend to express our frustrationsand dissatisfaction, but it’s time for us togive credit were credit is do, and thankour congressional, state, county and cityleaders for their vision and steadfastsupport of wilderness preservation.Do something positive for ourwild public lands, and thank our leadersfor ensuring that we have a natural legacyto pass on to future generations.Senator Jeff BingamanWeb Site: bingaman.senate.govemail: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov703 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington Office:Washington, D.C. 20510Phone: (202) 224-5521Fax: (202) 224-2852Albuquerque505-346-6601625 Silver Ave. SW, Suite 130Albuquerque, NM 87102Las CrucesPhone: (575) 523-6561Loretto Town Centre, Suite 148505 South Main StreetLas Cruces, NM 88001Las VegasPhone: (505) 454-8824118 Bridge Street, PO Box 1977Las Vegas, NM 87701RoswellPhone: (575) 622-7113200 East Fourth Street, Suite 300Roswell, NM 88201Santa FePhone: (505) 988-6647119 East Marcy, Suite 101Santa Fe, NM 87501Senator Tom UdallWeb Site: tomudall.senate.govE-mail: Contact Via ‘Web Form.’Washington Office:Phone: (202) 224-6621Fax: (202) 228-3261Room: B40D Dirksen BuildingWashington, DC 20510AlbuquerquePhone: (505) 346-6791Fax: (505) 346-6720201 3rd Street, NW, #710Albuquerque, NM 87102Las CrucesPhone: (505) 526-5475Fax: (505) 523-6589505 South Main Street, Suite 118Las Cruces, NM 88001RoswellPhone: (505) 623-6170Fax: (505) 625-2547140 Federal BuildingRoswell, NM 88201Santa FePhone: (505) 988-6511Fax: (505) 988-6514120 South Federal Place, #302Santa Fe, NM 87501Harry Teague, Congressional District 2Room: 1007 Longworth House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515Phone: (202) 225-2365Fax: (202) 225-9599Martin Heinrich, Congressional District 1Room: 1505 Longworth House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515Phone: (202) 225-6316Fax: (202) 225-4975Main District Office:20 First Plaza, Suite 603Albuquerque, NM 87102Phone: (505) 346-6781Fax: (505) 346-6723Ben Ray Lujan, Congressional District 3Room: 502 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515Phone: (202) 225-6190Fax: (202) 226-1331Main District Office:811 St. Michaels Drive, Suite 104Santa Fe, NM 87505Phone: (505) 984-8950Fax: (505) 986-5047Join New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Today! You’ll not only helppreserve New Mexico’s Wild Places for your own enjoyment… butyou’ll help ensure that future generations may enjoy them too.YES! I want to be a member of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance!!! My contribution will go towards thecontinued protection and wilderness designation of New Mexico’s natural heritage.$25 – Individual $100 – Contributing Other $__________$30 – Family $500 – Lifetime THIS IS A GIFT MEMBERSHIP FROM ____________________$50 – Supporting $10 – Student/SeniorName __________________________________________ Phone____________________________Street _______________________________________ E-mail_______________________________City, State, Zip ______________________________________________________________________Mail yourTax DeductibleDoñations to:New MexicoWilderness AlliancePO Box 25464Albuquerque, NM87125-0464Questions?505/843-8696New Mexico WILD! Page 21

keepers of the wild flameadd your voice and sound to the call of the wild.EVENTSLAND/ARTwww.landartnm.orgAre you a New Mexican musician who has writtena song or other musical piece honoring or inspiredby the wild? Would you like to donate it for a CDto support environmental causes? The vision is oneof a multi-cultural tool for education, fundraisingand inspiration. If you are interested in this projector wish to submit your music for consideration,please contact us:Madeline Aron (505) 265-7927 or madeline@swcp.com“The wild’s call connects us all, when wedare to deeply feel.” from “The Wild Calls”, by Madeline Aron10/3, 2pm: Panel Discussion with Guggenheim Fellows, 516 ARTS10/21, 7pm: Lannan Readings & Conversations: Rebecca Solnit, The Lensic10/24, 11am-3pm: NMWA Conference: Charles Bowden & Michael P. BermanBosque School10/24, 7:30pm: DJ Spooky: Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica, KiMo Theatre11/21, 7:30pm: Conversation with David Abram: Discourse of the Birds, 516 ARTSGRASSLANDS / SEPARATING SPECIESMichael P. Berman, Krista Elrick, Dana Fritz, David Taylor, Jo Whaleycurated by Mary Anne Redding, 516 ARTSExhibition catalog with essays by William deBuys and Rebecca Solnitpublished by Radius Books, radiusbooks.orgLAND/ART is a collaboration exploring land-based artorganized by 516 ARTS, June - November 2009“I’d like my children to be ableto enjoy the beautiful wildlandscapes of New Mexico.”“…my husband and I havedecided to leave a bequest toNew Mexico Wilderness Alliance.”“I’d like to know that aspopulation increases andglobal warming changestheir world, our specialwilderness will remainand wildlife will flourish.I was thinking about thiswhen my husband andI sat down to talk aboutwhat to do with our estate.Of course family is first.Page 22But, then I realized thatthere was more too.I care about the futureof our special places inthe world and want tomake sure my childrenget to enjoy it too. Plus, Iwanted to set an examplefor our family of whatit might look like toFALL 2009care for our world.That is why my husbandand I have decided to leavea bequest to New MexicoWilderness Alliance.”To find out how, contact us:Tisha Broska, Development Director(505) 843-8696 or tisha@nmwild.org

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks…continued from page 12take the opportunity to sleep beneath astar-filled sky or watch their reflectionon a full-moon night, deep in the canyonwalls.Tom WoottenWhen the New Mexico WildernessAlliance was founded, one of our foundingBoard Members was a real Old Schoolgentleman named Tom Wootten. Tomwas an investment banker by trade whospent many years in the Kansas City area.His childhood, however, had been spenton the eastern plains of New Mexico, andhis passion revolved around wild landsand the many fascinating plants of theChihuahuan desert. Later in life, Tom andhis wife Eleanor returned to New Mexico.They first moved to Las Cruces, whereTom opened a native plant store. Hespent his time hiking the West Potrillosand lands northwest of Lordsburg andconstantly meeting with the Bureau ofLand Management, working to createAreas of Critical Environmental Concern(ACEC)—a protection administered bythe agency. Tom also began a foundation,T & E, Enterprises, whose main purposewas to supply graduate students fundingas they worked to earn advanced degreesin land management and environmentalstudies.Two years ago Tom passed away suddenlyat the family’s home in Cliff, New Mexico,leaving a real void in our organizationand in conservation efforts across ourstate. His many personal studies ofnative plants and his efforts to protectlands are Tom’s living legacy. We remainstrongly convinced that a fitting tributeto this selfless conservationist wouldbe the naming of a wilderness, in thearea he cared so much about—the WestPotrillos. To name this area after Tom(“the Tom Wootten Wilderness”) wouldnot be unprecedented. More than fiftywilderness areas in the United Statesare named after people, some famous,some known only locally. We continue toencourage our congressional delegation tosupport the naming of this Wilderness inTom’s memory.Economic ImpactFor the city of Las Cruces, already on theradar for those looking for an affordableretirement community, the designationof more than 400,000 acres of publicland will only add to its value as a placewith real recreational opportunities.In addition, those in the businesscommunity will be able to point to theserecreational opportunities as a magnetfor attracting companies looking torelocate and offer their employees realquality of life amenities. In December,we will be sponsoring along with theHispano Chamber of Commerce de LasCruces a half-day Wilderness Economicsconference. It will be a chance to bringtogether many facets of the businesscommunity along with groups like theHeadwaters Economics Institute (groupsthat have studied the affects of conservationon communities across the West)to help the community best use conservationto their economic advantage. AsOscar Vasquez Butler, a Doña Ana CountyCommissioner made clear in his testimonybefore the Senate Committee. “This landpreservation, protects so much for ourcommunity, but also acts as an economicengine of sorts because of the draw it willhave on people and businesses.”The Fight That RemainsAfter more than thirty years of struggle,we have a Wilderness bill for southernNew Mexico. Getting the bill introducedis just the first step, however. Because ofphotos make excellent gifts!the anti-environment efforts of SenatorTom Coburn (R-OK), any legislationthat passes will have to be part of a largeomnibus package of Wilderness billsthat come from across the United States.His constant badgering of all Wildernessproposals means we can not move thisbill on its merits alone. Instead, it willbe tied to bills that often contain controversialfunding for projects in other states.The handful of inflexible ranching andoff-road vehicle activists will continue tofight all wilderness protections, as well asdisseminate misleading and inaccurateinformation about its effects. Unfortunately,such has always been the case inthe story of conservation in America, andone of the main reasons why groups suchas the New Mexico Wilderness Allianceare so important, as is the support andparticipation of citizens fighting for theirfuture and these wild and beautiful lands.National SecurityThey continue to pound away on the ideathat illegal immigrants will be flowingthrough the land covered by our proposalin the West Potrillos. This, despite thefact they we released close to two mileson the border so that the border patrolwould have full access. And despite thefact that we have a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with the border patrol thatallows them access to any area where theyperceive a threat—something that theWild! ImagesALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT NMWA!www.ImagesForEnvironment.orgsenators’ offices hammered out in orderto remove any concerns. Furthermore, thearea is rugged, and there is no history ofthese areas being a hotbed of transborderactivities.Slow the Process DownThis has been a rallying cry. But it ignoresthe more than thirty years that people haveworked to get these areas protected, andthe numerous hours spent by the staffsof Senators Bingaman and Udall to findconsensus and compromise. They haveworked with the ranching community tomake certain that ranchers had the accessand boundaries they were comfortablewith. Some ranchers understand that theproposed legislation will help their operationscontinue in perpetuity.ConclusionThis is an important moment for NewMexico. We remain last in the amount ofprotected public lands among Westernstates—dead last. This proposal,combined with our efforts in the northwith El Rio Grande del Norte, have putus on track to protect more than 700,000acres of public land in our state. We arefollowing in the footsteps of so many whocame before us. So many who understoodthe value of protecting land, not just fortheir quality of life, but as an act of preservationof the asset we treasure most, ourenvironment. We are such a rich nation,yet we remain in a constant whirlwind ofgrowth—overachieving and demandingmore material gain.Yet, as you walk up Broad Canyon, as theevening light begins to fade, you can hearthe single note of the common nighthawkand sense its presence. Fall colors beginto adorn the cottonwoods. If anythingcan be called perfect, it is this. The cost ofpreservation is simply your engagementand support against the many forces thatdo not believe that these American lands,in their wild and perfect state, belong tous all. Like the many great public landsbefore them, it is our responsibility toprotect this wilderness, and to finally calltheir bluff.New Mexico WILD! Page 23

Page 24ALBUQUERQUE NEW MEXICO 87125FALL 2009New MexicoWilderness AllianceP.O. Box 25464Albuquerque, NM 87125Do you need to renew? Check your membershipexpiration date located above your name and address.NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDPERMIT NO. 426Cover photo by Mike Grovesmikegrovesphotography.com