WildernessProtection - New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

Ute MountainRoadless Rule UpdateAfter years of giving lip serviceto upholding the RoadlessRule while consistently working toundermine it, the Bush Administrationhas finally admitted that ithas no intention of protecting ourroadless national forests. Havingrepeatedly failed to defend theregulations in court, and havingalready exempted Alaska’s magnificentTongass National Forest fromprotection, the Bush Administrationis now throwing the door wideopen to unlimited exploitation ofnational forests in every state.Under provisions announced onJuly 12, 2004, governors who wantto preserve our nation’s wildest forestsmust petition the federal governmentfor permission, with noassurance that their petitions willbe accepted. In states where governorsare not committed to protectingpristine forests from loggingand mining, the roadless rule willsimply fade away.This unwise proposal wouldupend our long tradition of consistentlyapplying the same lawsand standards across the country.National laws govern National Forests.These National Forests belongto all Americans and this proposalwould result in different rules formanaging National Forests in everystate.The proposed rule was justrecently published in the FederalRegister and is available atwww.fs.fed.us. There is a 60-daypublic comment period on the proposedrule. Please write commentson the proposed rule, using the followingtalking:• This proposal eliminates thenational protections affordedto these last wild places by theRoadless Area Conservation Ruleand leaves the management ofthese federal public lands thatbelong to all Americans in thehands of select state politicians.• The Administration’s announcementshows its willingness toignore public participation and citizeninvolvement. The proposalwould undermine the RoadlessRule – a public policy overwhelminglysupported by Americans thatwas developed over many yearsand is backed by law and soundscience.• Allowing governors to “opt –in”for roadless protection, essentiallyeliminates any thought of nationalprotections for these wild roadlessareas. Governors will immediatelyand continuously be pressured bylogging and mining interests not toseek roadless protections so as toopen up these national forests forcommodity development. Somewill not be able to resist putting perceivedshort-term benefits ahead ofsound stewardship and the public’sbest interests.Comments can be mailed to:New Mexico Wilderness AllianceAttn: Content Analysis Team202 Central SE, Suite 101Albuquerque, NM 87102Or faxed to 505-843-8697Or emailed to nathan@nmwild.orgTo learn more about the RoadlessConservation Rule, visit the NewMexico Wilderness Alliance website:www.nmwild.org or call us at505-843-8696 to learn how youcan get involved and help save ourroadless National Forests.This year, the Bureau of LandManagement has an opportunityto acquire 6,420 acres ofland at Ute Mountain along the RioGrande Wild & Scenic River (WSR.)An appropriation of $2.7 millionfrom the Land and Water ConservationFund (LWCF) through the FY2005 Interior Appropriations bill isneeded to preserve this land.The northern stretch of the RioGrande constitutes one of the mostsignificant and heavily used recreationareas in the state of NewMexico. Ute Mountain is a prehistoricvolcanic mountain borderingthe Rio Grande WSR in northernNew Mexico. This area providescritical riparian and breeding habitatfor peregrine falcon, goldeneagle, brown trout, and the federally-listedendangered southwesternwillow flycatcher and threatenedbald eagle. Acquisition of theproperty will protect the naturalTrappingonNew Mexico’sPublic LandsDid you know that it is legalin New Mexico for trappersto place leg-hold traps andstrangling snares on our publiclands? Trappers are allowed toset an unlimited number of hiddentraps without any posted warningsor limit to the number of animalskilled. With pelt prices on therise, we are seeing more traps onour public lands. Legal traps can belarge enough to close on a humanfoot and certainly are a threat todogs accompanying hikers. GameDepartment officials seem tobelieve that the relatively few trappershave a greater right to theiractivity than unsuspecting recreationusers.The Department of Game andFish is now accepting written commentson trapping regulations andneeds to hear from concernedhikers, campers, wildlife watchersresources of this critical area andfurther enhance recreational opportunitiesCongress is about to makeimportant decisions on LWCF projectfunding for the coming year.The President’s budget proposal forFY 2005 includes $2.7 million forUte Mountain and the Rio GrandeWSR. It is very important that youurge your members of Congressto support this project and securethe funding earmark in the InteriorAppropriations bill. Last year,despite many Congressional fundingrequests, the House InteriorAppropriations Subcommittee didnot include funding for specificLWCF projects in the appropriationsbill, but the Senate did. It is crucialthat funding for Ute Mountainappear in both bills this year!See page 19 for more contacts.and dog owners. Let the Departmentknow that the public wouldrather have a chance to see a livebobcat or fox than to encounter,or be harmed by, a leg-hold trapor snare on public land. Also letthem know that the current regulationsallowing trappers to setunlimited numbers of traps andkill unlimited numbers of animalsis poor wildlife managementpolicy. For more information go towww.nmwild.org.Send your comments bySeptember 10th:1) Via EMAIL, along with your nameand address to notraps@gilanet.com2) Via MAIL to: Bruce Thompson, Director,Department of Game and Fish, POBox 25112, Santa Fe, NM 87504New Mexico WILD!Page 13