TAOS COUNTY, N.M. — From 3,000 feet in the air, the Rio Grande below
carves a ragged gash through a vast expanse of sage brush covered
table-lands stretching as far as the eye can see. Far below, beyond
sight, elk and pronghorn forage among the sage brush, while eagles,
falcons and hawks nest in the gorge.
With development to the south and east, and recent memories of a push
for natural gas drilling across the mountains in the Carson National
Forest's Valle Vidal, a New Mexico conservation group and New Mexico's
Democratic senator hope to designate this area as a national
conservation area — 20 years after a similar effort failed.
But this time there appears to be broad support for the idea.
Over the past few months, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
and staffers from Sen. Jeff Bingaman's (D-N.M.) office have been making
the rounds in Taos County, drumming up support for a proposal to
designate 303,000 acres in northern New Mexico as the Taos County
National Conservation Area.
Language is still being drafted, but the proposal is likely to
include provisions to establish two new wilderness areas within the
conservation area's boundaries totaling about 24,000 acres,
encompassing Ute Mountain, one of northern New Mexico's most prominent
landmarks, and the Rio San Antonio Gorge.
Grazing, hunting and other existing uses would continue within
the boundaries of the national conservation area, but energy
development and other extractive uses would be off-limits. An existing
mine east of Ute Mountain would be excluded from the boundaries of the
area, most of which encompasses land administered by the Bureau of Land
Management.
While there are no immediate threats of development to the
area, Jim O'Donnell of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance said that
technological advancements have made potential drilling areas in the
West more attractive, demonstrating a need for preservationists to be
proactive in protecting areas important to conservation and recreation.
Ten years ago, O'Donnell said, few thought that such areas as
Colorado's Roan Plateau or the Valle Vidal in New Mexico could be
successfully developed. "What could we see 10 years from now? Let's
think proactively. These are the places that should be off-limits, and
these are the areas where development can occur," he said.
Sam DesGeorges, field manager for BLM's Taos office, said the
agency would support a proposal that protects existing uses important
to the local community, such as firewood gathering and hunting. All
indications are that any bill introduced by Bingaman would include
those assurances, he added.
The conservation area proposal "highlights the multiple uses
here and the values those areas have for the local community, and for
people who come here from out of state to access that area for hunting
and fishing," DesGeorges said.
The agency is currently revising its land-use plan for the
area and would incorporate requirements from such a bill, such as
withdrawal of the lands from mineral development, into that process, he
said.
Jude McCartin of Bingaman's office said staffers are working
on draft legislation, which might be introduced before the end of this
session. She emphasized that Bingaman wants to make sure that any
legislative proposal is endorsed by the local community.
"Senator Bingaman believes that it's important to have broad
support for initiatives like this before he moves forward in Congress,"
McCartin said.
Local governments and businesses have backed the proposal, but
some ranchers in the area are concerned about the added layer of
federal control that would come with a National Conservation Area
designation. "We'd love to see 100 percent local support, but it's a
good question whether a small minority of people have the right to hold
up what a large majority wants," O'Donnell said.
In the past, wilderness preservation campaigns have often
ignored private landowners, resulting in opposition to wilderness
bills.
Support from the governor
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) unsuccessfully pushed for
the area to be protected when he was a congressman in the 1980s. Last
month, Richardson sent a letter to Bingaman expressing his support for
the proposal. "This is wild land, important to the culture and
character of our state and vital to the economy of northern New
Mexico," he wrote. "I urge swift introduction for this legislation and
even swifter passage."
The new proposal is half the size of Richardson's measure in
the 1980s. O'Donnell said that is because some of the land has been
sold off for private development in the ensuing decades, underscoring
the need for permanent protection of the remaining area.
Veronica Rodgriquez, northern regional director for Sen. Pete
Domenici's (R) office, who flew over the area with reporters and local
officials Monday, said New Mexico's senior senator is working with
Bingaman's staff to discuss the idea with private landowners but has
not decided whether to support a legislative proposal.
Gabe Romero, chair of the Taos County Commission, said the
commissioners had not taken an official position on the proposal yetbut
offered his support for protecting the area. "I think it's a good
idea," he said after seeing the area from the air. "It's long overdue,
and I think it's something the commission should be supportive of."
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