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07/12/10 Local (Douglass) Ranchers Concerns About Border Crime (KOLD News 13 video)
Ranchers Speak Out at Border Town Hall (KVOA TV Video)
Ranchers Calling for More Agents (The Westerner)
Sunday Shootout in Juarez Leaves Three Cartel Gunmen Dead (The Westerner)
Border Patrol Officers Fire on SUV at Zaragoza Bridge (The Westerner)
Good Fences, Good Neighbors (The Westerner)
07/11/10 Are Heads Missing in Arizona?  (The Westerner - warning... GRAPHIC)
Memo to Milbank: You're a Head Behind the Facts on Arizona Border Decapitations  (Washington Examiner)
Memo Reveals Refuge Officers' Struggle to Secure Lands Along Southwest Border  (The Westerner)
07/10/10 Memo Reveals Refuge Officers' Struggle to Secure Lands Along Southwest Border  (Fox News)
Border Violence Spills Over to Farms & Ranches (News New Mexico)
Pinal County is Ground Zero for Smuggling VIDEO (Sean Hannity)
Fire Fighting Along the Border Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  (Part 3 has the most information related to illegal immigration impacts)
07/09/10 Border-crosser Shot in Back Near Rio Rico
Fish & Wildlife Service Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge - Borderland Challenges report from 2006
Fish & Wildlife Service Memo on Border Law Enforcement on Refuge System Lands in the Southwest
Bingaman on Immigration and Wilderness (Las Cruces Bulletin)
Border Violence Spills Onto Mexican Ranches, Farms
Kyl & McCain - Government is Failing Border Residents
Cattle Can Be a Conservation Tool
07/08/10 Bill Would Limit Presidents Monument Efforts
Environmental Law's Greatest Tragedy
Give Most Federal Lands to Montana DNRC
New Mexico Seeks Feds' Help on Off-Road Vehicles
07/07/10 Indian Reservations Becoming Drug Pipelines?
Second Wave of Independent Border-Watchers Target Arizona (Fox News)
Fox News Surveys Arizona-Mexico Border
El Paso Sector Interactive Border Map
Monument Plan Will Hurt Landscape, Local Economy  (The Westerner)
DeGette May Adjust Wilderness Proposal in Carbondale Area  (The Westerner)
Sen. Bingaman's Wilderness Bill Makes the Border Safer (News New Mexico)
Designing the Perfect Drug Smuggling Corridor (News New Mexico)
07/06/10 Arizona's Closed Federal Parkland is a No-Man's Land
Arizona Sheriff Gets Death Threats Over New Law (Fox News)
More Than Immigration at Stake on Border
Drug Gangs Terrorize Residents in Small Mexican Villages on Arizona's Doorstep
12 People Killed During Elections in Juarez
Drug War Casts Shadow Over Mexico Elections
Officials Make Arrests in US Consulate Deaths
Mexican Authorities: Federal Agents Could Have Fired Bullets That Struck City Hall
Shootout At El Paso City Hall
Arizona Dems Contest Obama's Assertions on Border Security
Wells Fargo, Wachovia Involved in Numerous Mexican Drug Laundering Schemes
07/05/10 New PFPOWH Video - Designing the Perfect Drug Smuggling Corridor
Mexican Drug Trafficking (New York Times)
National Drug Intelligence Center National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment 2010
Mexico Under Siege - It's A War (Los Angeles Times)
Government Must Secure Our Borders
07/03/10 Arizona's Closed Federal Parkland is a No-Man's Land (Fox News)
Drug Cartels Threaten to Kill a U.S. Border Patrol Agent Over Independence Day Weekend
Gov. Brewer: If The President Won't Enforce the Law, Arizona Will (Greta Van Susteren)
Gov. Brewer Interview - Part 1, Part 2
Fox News Poll: Secure the Border First
Mexico: Gang Leader Says U.S. Consulate Infiltrated
Mexican Drug Cartels Issue Threat to Arizona Cops
US-Mexican Border Security Continues to Deteriorate, Officials Say (Washington Examiner)
Drug Cartels Smuggling Illegals Create Security Risk, Officials Say  (Washington Examiner)
07/02/10 Southern Border Could Get Much Worse
Wilderness Will Obstruct Securing US Border
21 Killed in Shootout Near US Border
21 Killed in Shootout Between Drug, Migrant Trafficking Gangs Near AZ Border  (Fox News)
Mexico Offers Armored Cars, Security Details for Candidates After Candidate Killed
Update: Raul Sabori Among 30 Dead, 40 Wounded? (BorderReporter)
21 Due in Gun Battle Near US Border
Prosecutor Shot Dead in Mexican Border City
Five Mexican Governors Have Received Death Threats
Ballistics Tests Run: Workers at City Hall Unfazed by Shots That Hit Building
Gunfire from Juarez Usually  Heard, Not Seen
'Cross-Border Gunfire' Raises Texas Security Fears
Official Says 'Gamble' on 'Virtual' Fence Didn't Pay Off
Republicans Blast Obama's Immigration Speech
07/01/10 Feds Say Arrests of Illegal Immigrants Are Down, But Problems Still Remain
New Threat on Mexican Border
Brewer: 'Disturbing' That Feds Spend More on Mexico Than Border Guard
Battle for Arizona - Meet the Man Who Would be Arizona Governor
National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers - letter to Congressmen, Senators
Johnson Wants to Meet With Upset Ranchers
06/30/10 Fewer Troops Coming to NM Border Than in Previous Deployment
The Arizona-Mexico Border: An Update
Gunfire From Mexico Pelts El Paso City Hall, Enters Office
Mexico: Where Bullets Are Intimidating the Ballot
Inside the Tunnel: Boys Used in Drug-Smuggling Route
Obama Not Running For The Border  (video)
No Serious Attempt to Security the Border (Fox News video)
With the Debate Over Arizona's Illegal Immigration Raging On, Why Isn't Obama Running to the Border - Greta Van Susteren
Brewer Slams Administration Over Smuggler Warning Signs in AZ Desert
Letter from Governor Brewer to President Barack Obama Regarding Border Security
Border Facts - Governor Jan Brewer
Eighty Mile Swath of Arizona Surrendered to Cartels
Border War Continues - Sheriff Paul Babeu on Fox Business
06/29/10 Albuquerque Journal - More Wilderness = More Crime
Governors Criticize Obama's Border Security Plan
Mexican Governor Candidate Killed by Gunmen, Calderon Says Assassination Tied to Drug Gang Violence
Killing Escalates Mexico Drug War
524 Guard Soldiers Headed to Arizona-Mexico Border
Decision on Guard Troops Criticized - 72 for NM
Narco Tunnel Found in El Paso: Drug Route Runs 130 Feet Under Rio Grande
Fox News - The Southern Front interactive border map
A Sound Question About Wilderness Designations
Why Wasn't Schultz Pass Thinned?
06/28/10 New PFPOWH Video: The Inaequacy of a 5 Mile Buffer for Border Security
Don't Shackle Border With Wilderness Bill
It's Your Land...
Congresswoman Raises Red Flag on Hezbollah-Cartel Nexus on U.S. Border
Mexican Cops Retreat as Violence Rages On
Mexico Mayham: Drug Violence Claims 20
Dem Lawmakers Feel the Heat on Border Security
Five Gunmen Killed Near Border in Cuidad Mier Battle
Armed Assailants Fire Shots at Televisa Offices in Northern Mexico
Famed Mexican Singer Gunned Down in Border State
AZ Gov Jan Brewer's Smart New Border Ad
06/27/10 Sun News - Wilderness Bill Must Allow For Border Security
06/26/10 Congresswoman Raises Red Flag on Hezbollah-Cartel Nexus on U.S. Border
Video - The Inadequacy of a 5 Mile Buffer for Border Security
Hannity - Rancher Catches Illegals on Video
ABC Nightline: Broken Border: Ft. Hancock, TX: Feds Abandon Americans to Mexican Violence
Jan Brewer - Warning Signs Are Not Enough
06/25/10 The Inadequacy of a 5 Mile Buffer for Border Security
Border City Police in the Crosshairs (Greta Van Susteren)
Blogs for Borders USA
06/24/10 Border War Continues (Sheriff Paul Babeu, Pinal County, AZ)
Mexican Drug Lords on American Soil
The Killing Fields
U.S. Predator Drones to Surveil Mexican Border
Mexican Gangs Maintain Permanent Lookout Bases in Hills of Arizona
Napolitano Highlights Steps to Secure Border
US To Deploy Drones to Shore Up Border With Mexico
Reduced Overtime Stymies Border Patrol
06/23/10 Rob Bishop Talks With Fox News' Harris Faulkner About Border Security
Mexican Gangs Maintain Permanent Lookout Bases in Hills of Arizona
Drug Cartels Threaten U.S. City Police Department
Obama Requests $600 Million for Border Security
War Over The Border: White House Says Kyl is Lying About Security; AZ Senator Stands His Ground
Obama Tells Kyl: I Won't Secure Border B/C Republicans Will Have No Reason to Support "Comprehensive Immigration Reform"
Arinzona's Senators Tour Border, Hold Town Hall
Five Federal Lands in Arizona Have Travel Warnings In Place
Mexican Drug Cartel Warns Police Officers in Arizona Border Town to 'Look the Other Way'
BLM Southern Arizona Project to Mitigate Environmental Damages Resulting from Illegal Immigration
06/22/10 Video - Headlines on Federal Lands and our UNSECURE BORDER
Video - Rape Tree Followup - A Look At The Numbers
Border Patrol Charged Millions for Habitat Damage, Republicans Say Enough 'Extortion'
Drug Cartel Activity Threatens Texas Water Supplies, Lawmaker Says
District Court Says Forest Service Exceeded Incidental Take of Salmonids, Also Finds That Grazing Permittees Must be Heard During Consultation Process
A Line in the Sand: Confronting The Threat at the SW Border, House Committee on Homeland Security
06/21/10 Congressman Rob Bishop Speaking on Border Concerns on Federal Lands - DO NOT MISS THIS
Transcript of Bishop's Speech
Violence Prompts Strong Warning at Arizona Monument
Mayor of Mexican Border Town Assassinated
11 Killed in Shootout Between Mexican Soldiers and Suspected Drug Traffickers
U.S.-Mexican Border Security Continues to Deteriorate, Officials Say
Border Patrol Navigating Reams of Regulation to Secure Federal Land
Rep. Bishop Speaks on Border Security Concerns on Federal Lands
Costly Efforts to Secure Border Not Paying Off
$1.25 Million to Save Rodents in Crime-Infested Border State
Many U.S. Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges & Public Lands Are Too Dangerous For U.S. Public To Use
Two More Americans Found Dead in the Arizona Desert
06/20/10 Five Federal Lands in Arizona Have Travel Warnings In Place
Drug Cartel Issues Threat to Off-Duty Nogales Police Officers
Why Felipe Calderon Hates Arizona's Anti-illegal Immigration Law
06/19/10 Congressman Rob Bishop Speaking on Border Concerns on Federal Lands - DO NOT MISS THIS
Border Patrol Navigating Reams of Regulations to Secure Federal Land
Fox News Highlights Major Loophole in Securing Our Southern Border
HR 5016 - Securing Our Border on Federal Lands.  A bill introduced: "To prohibit the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture from taking action on public lands which impede border security on such lands, and for other purposes."
View the Republicans Natural Resources Committee Overview of Securing our Border on Federal Lands
Drug Cartel Violence Along Open Southern Border Endangers Drinking Water Supplies
06/18/10 'First Line of Defense' - Southern NM Rancher Between Border Battles  Page 1   Page 2
Section of Arizona Wildlife Refuge Closed Since 2006 Due to Safety Concerns
US Parkland Bordering Mexico, Shut Since 2006, Remains Off-Limits As Violence Escalates
Lawmaker Warns Parks Takeover by Mexican Cartels, Illegals 'Intensifying'
Security Worries Overshadow U.S.-Mexico Park Plan
Slain Arizona Rancher Told Family Illegal Alien Needed Help
06/17/10 Smuggling Violence Prompts Stronger Warning to Visitors at National Monument South of Phoenix
Federal Regs on Environment May Be Hindering Border Security, Lawmakers Say
Uptick In Violence Forces Closing of Parkland Along Mexico Border to Americans
Escalating Violence Prompts Change in USDA's Border Inspections
Recon Balloon That Could Aid Border Patrols Is Put In a Holding Pattern
Murdered Arizona Rancher Shot Multiple Times, Autopsy Finds
Mexico's Bloodshed Worsens as Hundreds Die in Last 7 Days
06/16/10 Fox News - U.S. Closes Park Land Along Mexico Border to Americans
Portion of US Wildlife Refuge Closed Due to Violent Border Activity
Pinal County Sheriff: Mexican Drug Cartels Now Control Parts of Arizona
Pinal County Sheriff Asks Obama for Troops
U.S. Government Giving Parts of Arizona Back to Mexico
Borderland Beat - Pinal County Sheriff: Mexican Drug Cartels Now Control Parts of Arizona
BorderFire Report - US Gov Giving Parts of Arizona Back to Mexico
Cartels Smuggle U.S. Drug Money Back to Mexico in Cash, Study Finds
06/15/10 Videos On What Is Really Happening On Our Border With Mexico
06/14/10 Unlike Bingaman, Simpson Seeks and Gets Consensus on Wilderness Bill
Hickenlooper Sides With Ranchers on Pinion Canyon
Candidates to Present Views on Pinion Canyon Expansion
06/12/10 Criminal Activity Continues to Rise on Federal Lands
House Republican Warnings Ignored as Arizona Sheriff Deputy Shot by Drug Smugglers on Federal Wilderness Lands
New Updated Version of How The West Was Lost documentary
Pinal County Deaths Tied to Mexican Drug Wars
Murder In Smuggling Corridor
06/11/10 Video:  Border Wilderness - Too Dangerous For The Public
Video:  Wilderness Threatens Border Security
Lawsuit Targets Harmful Public-lands Livestock Subsidy
06/10/10 Cowboy Down: Rob Krentz's Family Talk About the Life and Death of the Murdered Arizona Rancher
Rancher Krentz Was Shot Multiple Times
Wilderness Proposal Meant to Ease Concerns
06/08/10 Donald Ham - Wilderness - Border Patrol Should Provide a Rebuttal
2 Bodies Found in Pinal County Desert (Wilderness)
Mexico Mass Grave in Abandoned Mine Has 55 Bodies
6 Bodies Found in Cave, 3 With Hearts Cut Out
2 Found Shot Dead Near Illegal Border Crossing in Arizona
FBI Investigates Shooting of 2 by Border Agents
Forest Service Issues New Wilderness Filming Rules
From Guns to Butter in Juarez
06/07/10 The Western Watersheds Project's Assault on Family Ranchers
Stats Don't Reflect Border Fear
Border Ranchers React To White House Meeting
Rancher Has Close-Up View of Immigration Debate
06/03/10 The Battle for Arizona
06/02/10 Video: The Price Of Admission - Wilderness Rape Trees
Border Security to Include Livestock Inspectors
Border Security Implications of Proposed Wilderness
Wilderness Misinformation
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Arizona Endangered Species from Cattle Grazing
05/31/10 Sheriff Deputies to Accompany Livestock Scale Inspectors
Illegal Immigrants Gravitate Toward Arizona Border
Armed Mexican Pirates Terrorize Texas Lake
05/30/10 Americans Fleeing Border Invasion
ESA - It's Not About Saving Species - It's About Spending Taxpayer Money and Making Some Groups Wealthy
05/28/10 Obama's Border Security Plan Falls Short, Ranchers Say
Face of Fear at the Border
Southern Arizona Rancher Testifies Before Congress
Rehberg Wants to Unlock Gates, Allow Border Control Vehicles in Non-motorized Areas
Protecting Endangered Species Interfering with Border Security
Feds Issue Terror Watch for the Texas/Mexico Border
Signs Point to Administration Plan to Lock Up 13M Acres of Federal Land
05/27/10 Friends of Murdered Rancher React to More Troops on the Border
Mexico Tells US How to Use Troops - US Says Troops Won't Be USed to Stop Illegal Immigration
NM Guard to be Part of Border Effort
05/26/10 Obama to Send 1,200 Guard Troops to Mexico Border
Bishop: More Border Troops Won't Work if They're Blocked
Senate GOP: Border Troops Could Lead to Immigration Compromise
05/25/10 DOI Safe Borders Initiative - a VERY interesting read
05/24/10 County Passes Ordinance Opposing Designation of Otero Mesa as a National Monument
Phil Krentz: "I Just Don't Know What's Around The Next Bend"
Foreign Terrorists Bread U.S. Border
Trash On The Border
05/23/10 Foreign 'terrorists' Breach U.S. Border - Illegals Coming from Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen
Homeland Security Alert: Terror Suspect May Be Headed to Texas Through Mexico
Brewer Says Stimulus Will Be Used On The Border
Northern Mexico Shootout Kill 2 Police, 7 Gunmen
4 Decapitated Bodies Found in Northern Mexico
U.S. Applauds Record Extraditions From Mexico, But Drug War Violence Continues
Mexican Students Enrolling in U.S. Schools to Escape Violence
Why is it So Hard to Flee Mexico's Drug War?
05/21/10 Sheriff Dever Believes Suspect Will Be Identified in Krentz Murder
Officers Say Drug, Immigrant Smuggling Surging at NM Border
Representative Bishop on Wilderness and the Border
Govt met with Environmentalists on Land Protection
05/20/10 Video - " Trash On The Border"
Congressman Rob Bishop - " Federal Policies Enable Border Violence"
Illegal Traffickers Destroy The Wilderness
05/19/10

WSBTV Channel 2, Altanta, GA - "Investigation of U.S. Border Security"
Part 1 http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23438021/index.html
Part 2 http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23438712/index.html
OTM (Other Than Mexican) reports - Page 1, Page 2

05/17/10 Radios Meant for Ranchers Are Still In Storage
Mexico Shaken by Abduction and Feared Murder of Top Politician
Small Mobile Units Emerge as Potent Border-Watch Tool
Lawmakers Expect Revised Border Violence Plan from Calderon Visit
Combat Operations in the Border Zone
05/16/10 Death on the Border, But Washington Refuses to Act
Drug Violence Hits Mexican Candidates - Gangs Kidnap, Kill to Control Elections
Former Mexican Governor Said to Help Get Drugs to U.S.
Former Mexican Presidential Candidate Goes Missing
At Least 18 Killed in Northern Mexico
A Forceful Call for Change From El Paso
O'odham Police Bust Coke-Smuggling Ring
More Horses Needed to Secure the Border
Homeland Security: Drones to Help Track U.S. Border in Summer
Channel 2 Investigates U.S. Border Security
U.S. Embassy Confirms Arizona Man Found Dead in Northern Mexico; 3 Detained in Case
05/12/10 NY Times - Side by Side, but Divided Over Immigration
Albuquerque Examiner - 5 Reasons to Carry Guns in our National Parks
El Paso Times - Border Violence: Wounded Men Cross Rio Grande, Sent to El Paso Hospital
GOP-ers Bristle at Feds' Land Plan
05/09/10 Udall Questions Officials About Increased Border Violence, and I Question Udall
Pelosi: It's Cheaper to Treat Teens for Drug Use Than Interdict Drugs At Border
Twelve Killed in Juarez Since Friday Afternoon
Gunmen Kill 1 At Wedding In Juarez, Kidnap 3, Including Groom
Police Chief, 5 Others Slain In Border State
US Extends Travel Warning For Mexico
Texas Senators Stress Need to Stop Mexican Violence From Spreading to U.S.
Border Violence Affecting Trade, Congressmen Say
05/06/10 Democrats thwart Rep. Rob Bishop's move to obtain 'national monument' documents
05/05/10 Warnings Ignored as Arizona Sheriff Deputy Shot  by Drug Smugglers on Federal Wilderness Lands
Border Patrol Agent Union Strongly Supports Bill to Improve Border Security on Public Lands
Border Policies Continue to Jeopardize National Security
KSVP Interview With Erik Ness, New Mexico Farm Bureau on Border Issues
05/04/10 Latest Violence Spasm Claims 25 Lives Near Mexico-US Border
New Report On Rancher's Killer Irks Cochise Sheriff
Update From Chochise County, AZ
Mexico's Illegals Laws Tougher Than Arizona's
Obama's Border Breakdown
Hearings Revive Border Violence Debate As Troops Requested
Armed Narco-Terrorists Caught On Tape Where Arizona Deputy Shot On Friday
A Border-Area Home Invasion Has Forced Residents To Take Action
04/04/10 Grijalva Declines To Answer, Walks Away When Asked If He's Committed To Sealing Border Against Drug Traffic
Senator Sylvia Allen Responds to SB1070
05/02/10 Deputy Shot; Illegal Immigrants Suspected
17 Caught in Search for Ariz. Deputy's Attackers
Drug Violence Kills 14 in Mexico Border State
Women - Victims of Silence And Invisibility Along U.S., Mexican Borders
Mexico's Crime Syndicates Increasingly Target Authorities In Drug War's New Phase
Border States Deal With More Illegal Immigrant Crime Than Most, Data Suggests
Mexico: The Real War Next Door
How Arizona Became Center of Immigration Debate
04/29/10 Why is Ken Salazar Hiding Memo on New Monuments, Wilderness Areas?
The Krentz Bonfire
Justice Department: Three Border Patrol Agents Assaulted Per Day; Someone Kidnapped Every 35 Hours in Phoenix
Border "Secure as Ever", DHS Chief Says
04/28/10 Earth Day Predictions from 1970 - a very interesting read!
Wildland Fire Leadership Council
Death of a Rancher
Giffords Town Hall Focuses on Border
Aerial Drone Will Fly on Texas Border Soon, Napolitano Says
04/27/10 Praising Arizona (In Border Battle)
Hidden Gems Wilderness Unsafe
Lawsuit to Be Launched to Protect Endagered Species in Arizona and New Mexico National Forests
04/26/10 Police Ambushed in Juarez; 8 People Killed
Gunmen Kill 4, Wound Top Security Official in Michoacan
Arrests in Killings of Consulate Worker, 2 Others
Ciudad Juarez: War Against Los Zetas, Along the Gulf and Into America
"Murder City: Cuidad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields" by Charles Bowden
Sen. Cornyn Says Feds Have Failed, Offers Support for Local Law Enforcement
U.S. Training Mexican Feds
Violence Temporarily Closes Camargo Bridge
Suspected Drug Runner, Worker Square Off With Guns
04/25/10 Sen. Cornyn Says Feds Have Failed, Offers Support for Local Law Enforcement
04/24/10 John Hummer: Significant Consequences of Proposed Border Wilderness
04/23/10 Burglary Suspect May Have Info in Krentz Killing
Arizona Gov. Calls for More Border Protection
Cattle Ranchers are Some of the World's Real Environmentalists
04/22/10

Wilderness on the Border 4/22/10 - 9 Articles on Border Violence
Why Ranchers Fear for Their Safety, and What Lawmakers Want
Arizona Sheriff Says Cops Are Being Killed by Illegal Aliens; Joins Call for U.S. Troops at Border
Napolitano Cites Actions Since Death of Robert Krentz

04/19/10 State Must Organize to Fight Cross-Border Crime
Securing the Border is the First Priority
04/18/10

The Wilderness Border and its Implications on American Security

04/17/10 Las Cruces Sun News - Border Security Proposals Worthy of Investigation
Las Cruces TEA Party Brochure on Border Security and the Krentz Murder
04/15/10 Let Border Patrol in Wilderness Areas, Bishop Says
Fox News - GOP Reps Offer Bill to Ban Interior Dept From Hindering Border Agents
Arizona Ranchers Urge Crackdown on Border Violence
Wilderness on the Border 4/15/10 - 6 Articles on Border Violence
04/13/10 There Won't Be Another Guy Like Robert Krentz
Arizona Ranchers Caught Up in Mexican Drug Violence
A Bordertown Drug-Murder Mystery
Southern Arizona Ranchers Demand Action
Rancher's Death Prompts Challenge to Cell Phone Companies
Two Earlier Video Reports on Border Death

New Nature Conservancy Atlas Aims to Show the State of the World's Ecosystems
04/12/10 Wilderness On The Border - 9 Articles on Mexican Border Violence
Our Lawless Mexican Border - Wall Street Journal
Las Cruces Sun News - " Let's Beef Up Border to Prevent More Violence"
Schiff Calls for Review of U.S. Forest Service's Nighttime Flying Policy

Landowners Win Lawsuit Seeking Colorado's Appraiser Files
Idaho Rancher May Lose Grazing Permit
04/09/10 Las Cruces Bulletin - " Stormwater Authority Sought - Task Force recommends a regional approach to watershed issues" and Part 2
04/08/10 Krentz Services/Memorial/Reward
LC Sun News - " Fears of Repeat of 2006 Flooding Spur Talk of Control Authority"
Off-roaders in Search of Trails
Judge Hears Grazing Arguments
04/06/10 Mexico Drug Gangs Turn Weapons on Army
2 Children Killed in Mexico Border State Shootout
Mexican Cartels Cannot be Defeated, Drug Lord Says
2nd Mexican Helicopter Sighted in U.S. Airspace
A Growing Border Crisis is Opportunity for Terrorists
Armed Men Storm Mexico Border Prison to Free 13 Inmates
Mexican Army Sending Four Helicopters to Border
Fleeing Violence, More Mexicans Seek U.S. Asylum
04/05/10 Ranchers Alarmed by Killing Near Border - NY Times
Border Fence Under Renewed Fire After Rancher Killing
04/04/10 Krentz family statement
Feds Have Fiddled Too Long as Border Security Failed
Why the Silence From Janet Napolitano About Putting Troops on the Border
Arizona  AG: Rancher's Slaying the Work of Cartels
Rancher Robert Krentz Didn't Deserve to Die on His Own Land in the USA
Border Security Debate Intensifies in Arizona
Mexican Border Town on High Alert as Mexican Drug Cartels Threaten to Start Killing Children
Journals of Texas Students Reveal Horrors Across the Border
Border Security: What is the Appropriate Response?
Border Drug War: Violence Wears on Valley of Juarez Residents
04/03/10 Death and Dishonor in Cochise County
04/02/10 The Krentz Tragedy - Murder on the Border
Giffords Holds Ranchers' Meeting
Luna Co. Sheriff Calls Meeting on Border Security
Border Patrol Agent Urges Calm as Fears in Texas Town Rise
GOP Lawmaker Calls for Hearing Into Border Security After Rancher's Murder
Mexicans Facing Drug War Violence Could Seek Political Asylum in U.S.
Mexico Asks More U.S. Cooperation on Border Violence
Janet Napolitano Lied
White House Responds to Guard Deployment Call
Las Cruces Bulletin - " Arizona Death Heightens Concerns in Border Area"
04/01/10 New Mexico Boosts Law Enforcement On Border
Violent Mexican Gangs Pose Risk to Americans 
States Boost Border Security as Pleas to Washington Go Unmet 
Richardson Orders National Guard to Patrol Mexican Border
Rancher Warns of Growing Border Danger 
Border Lawmakers: Humanitarian Aid Just the Start in Fighting Drug Violence 
Slain Arizona Rancher Mourned by Friends, Neighbors 
Rancher's Killing Draws Citizens, Officials 
Rancher's Murder Prompts Town Hall In Apache 
Robert N. Krentz, Jr. - June 3, 1951 - March 27, 2010 
03/31/10 Fox News & Local TV Video Coverage of Krentz Murder  
Many Ranchers Will Be Cautious  
Reward Offered As Ranchers Arm Themselves in Wake of Murder
NM Rancher Concerned With Border Safety, Video Report
The Westerner - Politicians Respond, I Comment 
Las Cruces Sun News - "Bootheel Murder Spurs Call for Greater USBP Presence", "Governor Steps Up Security Along Border"
03/30/10 Cochise Ranch Area Outraged by Killing
Arizona Reacts to Murder of Douglass Rancher
Bootheel Murder Spurs Call for Greater USBP Presence
Border Patrol Officers Avert "Booby Traps" in NM, Seize Drugs
NM Delegation's Response
Krentz Family: Homeland Heros
03/30/10 Gov Approves Use of Eminent Domain to Take Federal Land
03/30/10 White House Outdoors Conference to Urge Conservation, Quell Rumors
03/30/10 Michelle Malkin - "The death of an Arizona rancher"
03/29/10 The Westerner - Cochise County Arizona Rancher Rob Krentz is murdered on his borderlands ranch, presumably by a drug smuggler.  Our deepest condolences go out to his family.  Fox News - "Arizona Rancher's Killing Sparks Calls to Beef Up Border Security", "Arizona Rancher Found Dead on Property"
03/28/10 The Westerner - "Wilderness on the Border 3/28/10 - 10 Articles on Border Violence"
03/20/10 Alamogordo Daily News - "Feds discuss county land - Gov. Richardson urges protection for Otero Mesa" - "Otero County Commissioner Ronny Rardin briefly commented on the governor's request. His view is that making Otero Mesa into a national park could affect Otero County residents' land use rights.  "You have government, like the federal government, coming down on county land without considering our land use," Rardin said."
03/18/10 "Wilderness on the Border 3/18/10 - 8 Articles on Border Violence"
03/18/10 "Salazar touts beefed-up border security; Bishop calls it a 'photo op'"
03/16/10 "100's of emergency 9-1-1 calls follow cartel shootout (watch and listen to two video reports)"
03/16/10 The Westerner - "Interior Sec., Ariz. congressman visit border"
03/16/10 The Westerner - "Salazar to tour dangerous border area"
03/13/10 Salt Lake Tribune - "Salazar to tour dangerous border area - Utah congressman calls on Interior boss to do more to help patrols." -  "Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will tour the U.S.-Mexico border Saturday at a national monument that has been deemed so dangerous more than half is closed to the public.... DHS and the Interior and Agriculture departments signed an agreement in 2006 that allows border agents to access sensitive public lands in pursuit of immigrants or criminal suspects, but Bishop contends that those patrols still are being hampered."
03/13/10 The Westerner - "Wilderness on the Border - 12 More Articles on Border Violence"
03/13/10 Natural Resources Committee - "As Secretary Salazar Visits Border, Dept of Interior Must Stop Obstructing Border Patrol"
03/13/10 Natural Resources Committee - "850,000 Acres & 34 Wilderness Area Designations = No Access, No Jobs, No Recreation for Coloradans"
03/13/10 Fox News - "Federal land grab on the way?"
03/11/10 Glenn Beck - "Land Grab By the Federal Government" -
03/11/10 Salt Lake Tribune - "Senate approves bill to condemn federal land"
03/11/10 "MTS Standard" - "No plans for new national monuments in Montana"
03/11/10 Aspen Times - "Forest Service assesses effects of Wilderness on firefighting" - "Turning Basalt Mountain into Wilderness wouldn't prohibit firefighting there but it would eliminate opportunities to reduce dead trees and fuels that have built up for decades, the top official in the White River National Forest said Wednesday. ... Fire Chief Scott Thompson said that, with all due respect to the Forest Service, the written rules and the application of rules aren't always the same. Written rules that appear to provide flexibility can actually provide an extra hurdle."
03/11/10 The Nation - "The Wrong Kind of Green"
03/11/10 The Westerner - "New Green Curriculum Unveiled for USDA Forest Service Job Corps"
03/11/10 Testimony added on S 1689 from Bud Hettinga and Kent Evans
03/05/10 The Westerner - "Wilderness On The Border - 8 Articles on Border Violence"
03/04/10 Salt Lake Tribune - "Utah House mounts new federal lands challenge", and LA Times - "In Utah, a move to seize federal land"
03/04/10 Washington Times - Demint - "White House Land Grab - Proposal to seize land would favor animals over Americans"
02/28/10 The Westerner - "Wilderness On The Border 2" - more articles and news on border/wilderness issues.
02/27/10 The Westerner - Wilderness On The Border - a collection of articles and news on border/wilderness issues.  "Al Qaeda eyes bio attack from Mexico", "Mexican Police Capture 18 Tons of Stolen Explosives Headed to U.S. Border", "Battle against Mexico's Drug Lords Could Threaten America", "Thousands of Mexicans Come to El Paso Fleeing Violence in Mexico", "270 Somalies Illegally Enter Across Mexican Border".
02/27/10 Save the Trails article "Enviro Litigation Gravy" - "Reports show Enviro Groups like the Wilderness Society, Forest Guardians and Center for Biological Diversity have been paid over $4 BILLION of your tax dollars to file lawsuits from 2003-2007."
02/25/10 Las Cruces Bulletin - "Wilderness Bill Debated - Opposing sides pack hearing on legislation"
02/24/10 Las Cruces TEA Party testimony submitted for S 1689 - Las Cruces TEA Party, Attachments 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
02/23/10 Letter to the editor by Jerry Schickedanz "Wilderness for the Country Club"
02/23/10 "Judge rejects suit to block wilderness landings" - "The use of helicopters for any other purpose would be extremely difficult to justify under the Wilderness Act," Winmill wrote in his 12-page ruling."  "Given that this project is allowed to proceed, the next project will be extraordinarily difficult to justify," the judge wrote.
02/22/10 "Wilderness Bill Could Lead to Increased Drug and Human Trafficking Across Border"
02/19/10 Las Cruces Bulletin - "Wilderness bill gets local debate" Page 1, Page 2
Las Cruces Bulletin - "Wilderness opponents come to BIA-SNM" - "We can't have wilderness in the Potrillos, and we can't have wilderness on the border"
02/19/10 PFPOWH Coalition supporting alternative to Wilderness grows to over 800 businesses and organizations.
02/19/10 Billings Gazette - "Chorus of Protest - Critics of secret BLM meetings share diverse backgrounds, conflicting interests"
02/18/10 Fox News - "Obama Eyes Western Land for National Monuments, Angering Some"
02/18/10 NMSU Roundup - "TEA Party protests federal wilderness act"
02/18/10 Otero Residents Forum - "S 1689 Wilderness Opens Portal to Crime, Drugs and More Invasion"
02/18/10 Buffalo Bulletin - "Commissioners oppose Rock Creek Wilderness" - "“We consulted Forest Service officials, and officials at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute on the effects of wilderness designation.”  Domek said that the study concluded that in instances of wilderness designation in areas similar to Rock Creek visitor usage actually declined after designation."
02/17/10 "Pearce comments Bingaman for holding overdue field hearings"
02/17/10 Doyle Pruitt - "Creation of an eco-terrorist" and "Understanding wilderness meaning needed"
02/15/10 The Westerner - "Hundreds attend congressional field hearing about wilderness areas"
Las Cruces Sun News coverage
02/13/10 "Wilderness Bill Field Heaing in Las Cruces" by Steve Pearce  This page also contains a guest column written by Mr. Pearce for the Artesia Daily Press on the Wilderness issue.
02/13/10 The Westerner - "Internal DOI Document; Secret Plan to Create 14 National Monuments?  $Billions for Land Acquisition"
02/13/10 National Rifle Association - "Congressional Field Hearing to Consider Significant Wilderness Expansion"
02/13/10 Las Cruces Sun News - "Bingaman to host wilderness hearing"
02/13/10 Las Cruces Sun News - "Federal ruling saps some favor from Chile Challenge"
02/10/10 "Environmentalists to lose land linked to preserve" - "An environmental group stands to lose land linked to its signature Idaho wildlife preserve because federal land managers contend they've been misled over how the site would be managed."
02/08/10 Doyle Pruitt blog - "Wilderness Area Fabrications and Lies"
02/05/10 Washington Examiner - "Turf battle endangers national security and the environment"
01/17/09 "Las Cruces Deserves a Field Hearing on the Wilderness Bill" by Steve Pearce
01/06/10 National Geographic begins the new series "Border Wars" this Sunday, 7pm.
12/19/09 "Billions paid to Enviro Litigants" - "... eight environmental groups have filed at least 1596 federal court cases against the federal government.  Every one of the groups are tax exempt, non-profit organizations.  Every one of those groups receives attorney fees for suing the federal government from the federal government."
12/13/09 Las Cruces Sun News letter to the editor by Richard Johnson, former supervisor on the Gila National Forest, "Organs don't fit original concept of Wilderness"
12/13/09 Las Cruces Bulletin - "Chamber Supports Wilderness Areas" by David McCollum
12/11/09 Tuscon Weekly - "Threats and Degradation - A congressman uncovers two buried studies showing the impacts of illegal immigration, smuggling"
12/11/09 Salt Lake Tribune - "Documents identify terrorism threat in border gaps"
12/02/09 LOCAL COMMUNITY REQUESTS FIELD HEARING ON S.1689:  Read the Letter  from local community leaders requesting a field hearing.
12/02/09 Las Cruces TEA Party "print & mail postcards" on S.1689.
11/24/09 Las Cruces Sun News - "Wilderness bill opponents map out alternative plan". 
11/20/09 Center for Immigration Studies - "Immigration and Crime - Assessing a Conflicted Issue"
11/19/09 Fox News - "Green organizations suing Uncle Sam" - Environmentalists using taxpayer dollars to sue the government.
11/18/09 Salt Lake Tribune - "Bishop: Environmental rules impeding border security"
11/16/09 Washington Times - "Environmental laws put gaps in Mexico border security" - "The conflict between the environment and border security has raged for the past decade as better enforcement in urban areas has pushed the flow of illegal immigrants into Arizona and straight into some of the nation's most remote and fragile desert.  A major problem is wilderness - lands deemed so pristine that they should be maintained in that condition, free of man-made structures.  ... According to e-mails obtained by Mr. Bishop, Park Service officials at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and at the Denver office that oversees the park said they will not allow the Border Patrol to place electronic surveillance towers on parts of the park that are designated wilderness. ... In one 2008 e-mail, officials tell the Homeland Security Department to "pursue alternative tower locations." In another 2008 memo, the superintendent of Organ Pipe says Park Service officials could reject towers even beyond wilderness areas if they deem the effects would spill over into wilderness. Organ Pipe has 32 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border on its land, and 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Officials have shut down much of the western side of the giant park, saying the threat of encounters with illegal immigrants and drug smugglers makes that land not safe enough for visitors."
11/13/09 Las Cruces Bulletin - "Wilderness Alternatives Sought"
10/29/09 Washington Times - "In Immigration War, Environment is a Neglected Casualty" - "Mark South, a former Forest Service employee who decades ago wrote the guidelines for some of the wilderness designations here, now thinks efforts to write new wilderness into law go too far.  "Tell me, which is doing more damage to the environment: the fence or the people coming through, the trails, the litter, the water bottles?" he said. "I think now, with what we're seeing along the border, trying to preserve anything beyond the existing laws now is pointless. Are wilderness needed? Yeah. How much is too much?" "
10/22/09 Some new information has been added to our "Reference & Research" page on environmentalism and eco-terrorism.
10/16/09 Las Cruces Bulletin article by Jerry Schickedanz  - "Why lock up so much acreage in Dona Ana County? - Many parcels fail to meet the original wilderness criteria"
10/08/09 Press release from hearing testimony:  "Chairman of Land Use Group Testifies Before Congress" - "Jerry Schickedanz told Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), who chairs the full Committee, that his organization wants the committee to hold official field hearings in Dona Ana County where the issue impacts hundreds of thousands of people and the future of the county.  “Senator your legislation will have a major impact on over 200,000 citizens and 560 square miles of our county.  We strongly suggest that this committee hold a hearing where the land and the people exist so that all interests and issues can be fully aired and discussed by the folks most affected,” Schickedanz said. The former NMSU Dean of Agriculture also told the committee that his organization has “grave concerns” about the proposed legislation which he said would jeopardize security on the U.S./Mexico border."
10/07/09 Westerner - "IG Finds BLM Employees Had Improper Ties to Greens"  - "Our investigative efforts revealed that communication between NLCS and a few specific NGOs in these circumstances gave the appearance of federal employees being less than objective and created the potential for conflicts of interest or violations of law,” the report states. “We also uncovered a general disregard for establishing and maintaining boundaries among the various entities.”
10/06/09 Las Cruces Sun News - "Hearing set for wilderness protection bill" - "Schickedanz said he plans to elaborate on concerns of his group, including that the opposition isn't made up of a handful of ranchers but includes 791 businesses and other groups from the community. He repeated a concern from the group that the legislation might hinder law enforcement access to any protected lands near the border.  Schickedanz said his group isn't opposed to protecting the Organ Mountains, but "we just feel there are other ways to protect the lands," such as through existing administrative procedures.  "You can provide some of the same protections, but not as severe as locking the lands up for access," he said."
10/04/09 Article for the Las Cruces Sun News by Dr. Jerry G. Schickedanz - "The true consequences of the Wilderness bill"
10/03/09 Track Bingaman's wilderness legislation on GovTrack
09/29/09 "Wilderness On The Border" - This presentation presents information obtained from a National Park Study and a Department of Interior Threat Assessment report about the devastating impacts of designated federal Wilderness on our country's southern border. 
09/25/09 "Administration Will Cut Border Patrol Deployed on U.S.-Mexico Border".  New Mexico is specifically described as a "ideal smuggling corridor" (see NM High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis and NM HIDTA Region Transportation Infrastructure)
09/22/09 "On The Border: Wilderness Causes Degraded Environmental Quality & Security"
09/19/09 Interesting commentary from Congressman Bishop (Utah) requesting information from DOI and DHS.
09/02/09 "Border Expert Explains Consequences of Illegal Immigration on the Environment" and related video from the Arizona border.
08/05/09 New Mexico Stockman "The Border and a Modern Cowboy"
07/17/09 National Day of the American Cowboy honors W.W. Cox family
07/03/09 DuBois Wyoming destroyed
06/26/09 Las Cruces Bulletin Guest Column - "A close look reveals problems with wilderness proposals - Open spaced best preserved by viability of ranches"
06/25/09 Wilderness & Border Security - An Amendment to Interior Appropriations
06/21/09 "NM Ranchrs worry that sick cows could cross to US", also on Fox News
06/20/09 New Mexico Stockman - "Implications of the Big Hatchet Mountain Wilderness Proposal"
06/16/09 "BLM completes major land swap with New Mexico"
06/12/09 "Colorado Landowners Tell Their Story"
06/09/09 Forest Service Cuts Grazing
06/09/09 Idaho Court Grazing Decision Adds to Economic Woes, Fails to See Whole Picture
05/22/09 Border Invasion
05/21/09 East Oregonian: "Environmentalists threaten livestock industry in state"
05/21/09 Aspen Times: "In bowels of Conundrum, poop bags for backpackers"
05/21/09 New West: "Hikers, Mountain bikers and Wilderness, Afterthoughts"
05/20/09 RANGE Magazine - "The Potrillos - The border and a fight for heritage"
05/01/09 New West - "Hikers, Wilderness Groups Should Re-think Mountain Biking", and part 2 - "Branding Wilderness Lite"
04/28/09 New Mexico Stockman - "Range Management - The Tools, Rules and Benefits of Grazing" by Christopher D. Allison
04/14/09 From an April 9, 2009 press release from the BLM - "BLM Cautions Public Regarding Border Violence" - "The international border with Mexico is becoming of increasing concern to the U.S. Government due to an increase in dangerous illegal activities and an escalating trend in border violence."
04/08/09 Forbes - "Public Land Mismanagement - Environmental, fiscal and economic irresponsibility in the name of protection"
04/08/09 Fresno Bee - "Cows create homes for tadpole shrimp"
04/01/09 Investors Business Daily: "Lost in an Energy Wilderness" - As Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., points out: "We are not suffering from a lack of wilderness areas in the United States. According to the Census Bureau, we have 106 million acres of developed land and 107 million acres of (officially declared) wilderness land."  Note: The Census Bureau defines "developed land" as land with more than 10 residents per square MILE.
03/30/09 White Sands International Film Festival Announces Program for 2009 - "Also included in the program is “How the West Was Lost,” a documentary about the locking up of 300,000 acres of New Mexican land, written and directed by Las Crucesan Erik Ness."  More information on this event coming soon!
03/27/09 Idaho Statesman - "Unlikely partners savor victory, but work's not done to protect Owyhee Canyonlands"
03/27/09 NY Times - "Polluters, Beware: These Eco-Police Officers Are for Real"
03/26/09 The Westerner: "House Votes to Protect 2 Million Acres of Wilderness",
"For local cattle grazers, bill may bring painful transition",
"Two more cows found mutilated"
03/26/09 High Country News - "Western Repubs remain split as Omni wilderness deals pass"
03/26/09 Campaign for America's Wilderness - "Congress Passes Major Public Lands Bill"  This site has a map of the areas.
03/26/09 New West - "Crapo's Public Lands Bill Passes"
03/23/09 New Mexico Stockman - "The Case for Rangeland Preservation Areas" - "Rangeland Preservation Area is an alternative federal land use designation that allows productive utilization with appropriate limitations.  It prescribes the allowable uses at a local level, which may be modified from ecosystem to ecosystem.  It differs from Wilderness by recognizing the presence of human activities, past, present, and future, in a resourceful and positive manner." - Jerry G. Schickedanz, Ph.D., Range Science, University of Arizona, NMSU College of Agriculture, Dean Emeritus
03/23/09 Silver City Sun News - "Group pushes for more Western wilderness"
03/23/09 NM Federal Lands Council - "Group pushes for more Gila wilderness, grazing buyout"
03/17/09 See The Westerner for current news updates on the Omnibus bill and other federal lands issues
03/10/09 NM Federal Lands Council - "NY Times: Extensive lands protection bill could thwart new energy development"
"Gray Wolf Will Lose Protection in Part of U.S."
03/10/09 Santa Fe New Mexican - "Valles Caldera: A turning point"
03/10/09 Salt Lake Tribune - "Bighorn battle could doom sheep ranchers"
03/10/09 "Wyoming Groups Unveil "Thank a Rancher" Campaign"
03/10/09 Articles by Judy Keeler on The Wildlands Project
03/03/09 NM Federal Lands Council - "Judge rules in southwest Idaho grazing case"
03/02/09 The Westerner - "Ranchers meet conservationists"
03/02/09 NM Federal Lands Council - "How do we manage to manage public lands?"
03/02/09 KansasCity.com - "Attempt to move Forest Service could spark turf war"
02/28/09 Las Cruces Bulletin - "Governmental Affairs Initiative works for members"
02/25/09 The Westerner - "The long road of contention: Forest Service gets an earful from county residents over Travel Management Plan"
02/24/09 The Westerner - "Salazar to implement $3 billion interior economic recovery plan"
"Forest Service, Elko County at odds over roads"
"Wilderness bill seeks to protect portion of San Gabriel Mountains"
"Glenwood Canyon eyed for protection; water users wary"
02/24/09 USA Today - "Mexican drug gangs wage war"
02/23/09 Westerner - "Rancher ruling adds to border debate"
02/23/09 NM Federal Land Council - "Nationalizing the cars and bikes of rock collectors - Pending Omnibus land bill's forfeiture provision has broad reach"
02/19/09 Los Angeles Times - "Border drug war is too close for comfort"
02/19/09 The Westerner: "Environmental provisions of stimulus bill", "Forestry's share of stimulus bill will go to jobs, fire prevention", "Stimulus Bill Promises Environmental, Public Lands Jobs", "Army removes Pinion Canyon manager", "Grazing bill seeks to cap value of state leases", "Ranchers in Colorado's Pinon Canyon fight a massive Army land grab", "Rancher cleared of violating rights of illegal immigrants"
02/19/09 Good Neighbor Law - "Stop! Read this before you get tangled in conservation easements"
02/17/09 Washington Times article - "Wildlife areas on border let in outlaws" - "Numerous Border Patrol agents interviewed by The Washington Times said drug smugglers and human traffickers are using ecologically diverse sanctuaries to evade law enforcement officials, whose access is limited in some areas to foot patrols and horseback.  Zack Taylor, a retired agent and supervisor who spent 26 years patrolling the Texas and Arizona border, said the creation of federally protected wilderness areas threatens to keep "the agency in a reactionary mode rather than proactively tackling the increasing dangers on the border."
02/16/09 Grand Junction Sentinel - ""Conservation Areas lauded to protect lands"
02/16/09 The Westerner - "122 Jurisdiction Questions Submitted to DOJ & DOI"
02/13/09 The Westerner - "Bill would designate 23M acres of wilderness"
"Nature Conservancy buys Idaho ranch"
"Green Enough?"
"Lawsuit Inc. strikes again"
"Clean Water Act and Nonpoint Source Pollution: Implications for Agriculture"
02/10/09 New Mexico Stockman - "An Alternative to Wilderness Designation"
02/10/09 The Westerner - "Environmental Protection, in Name Only"
"The Klamath Basin: The Tricky Business of Water Rights in the West"
"Conservation group plans to sue feds over Nevada water project"
02/09/09 The Westerner - "Oregon ranchers sue Forest Service in dispute over grazing"
"Forest Land Area from 1630 to 2002" - "The total forestland acreage has remained stable since 1900."
"Alliance with feds proposed" - "A plan to coordinate natural-resource planning between Flathead County and the U.S. Forest Service and ultimately make forest management more efficient was unveiled this week by the county's Natural Resource Committee. ... A process for federal and local government coordination is outlined in numerous federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, the committee noted. The letter to Barbouletos would formally "invoke" that under-utilized coordination process in those laws..."
02/08/09 The Westerner - "Catron County, Wolves & APWE" - "Americans for Preservation of the Western Environment (APWE). “Our object is two fold - educate the public in New Mexico about what the wolf program is doing to their state, and start a fund to help anyone who has legal problems related to the wolf program,” he said. “We have presentations we take to schools, civic groups, business organizations and sporting clubs. We haven’t been turned away yet.” Included in the presentations are the facts and figures that have been causing Wehrheim, his friends, and neighbors so much frustration. “The wolf program has cost the American taxpayer $303,000 per wolf."  See the Americans for Preservation of the Western Environment website for more information.
02/08/09 Heath Haussamen - "Land commissioner says Steinborn wants his job" - "Responding to lawmakers' reform bills, Lyons says 'anti-growth' agenda includes electing Steinborn as land commissioner in 2010"
02/07/09 The Westerner - "Environmental concerns roadblock to renewable energy"
02/06/09 The Westerner - "Pending GAO Study on Off-Highway Vehicles Fatally Flawed"
02/06/09 Conservation System Alliance - maps of the NLCS and a breakdown of local impacts.  Here is the information on New Mexico.
02/06/09 MSNBC - "Woman gets 22 years for eco-terror crime"
02/05/09 The Westerner - "National Landscape Conservation System"
02/05/09 USDA 2007 Census of Agriculture released.
02/05/09 Blue Ribbon Coalition - "Difficult Challenges Ahead"
02/04/09 Napa Valley Register - "Environmental costs have real impact"
02/04/09 Palm Beach Post - "Two get jail time for FPL protest" and "Picketers argue jail sentence for FPL protesters too harsh", TC Palm - "FPL power plant protesters sentenced Monday". - "Members of Everglades Earth First! and the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition said sentences handed down Monday by County Judge Laura Johnson to protesters Panagioti Tsolkas and Lynne Purvis were excessive. Tsolkas was given a 60-day jail sentence and Purvis was given 30."
02/03/09 The Westerner - "Ecoterrorists & the bugs of war", "Two Utah counties lose again in monument grazing fight" - "Two southern Utah counties have lost another round in their fight to reverse the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's decision to allow conservation groups to buy grazing allotments on the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.", "Trial begins for Douglas rancher, 16 undocumented immigrants"
02/02/09 The Westerner - "Judge rules bear-attack suit can proceed", "Two children should be limit, says green guru"
01/30/09 The Westerner - "Salazar to take preservation nationwide", "Salazar vows review of Interior scandals" and "County suing federal government to get road"
01/29/09 Boise Weekly - "Unlikely Allies - Owyhees Initiative unites warring factions"
01/27/09 Salt Lake Tribune - "Kane County, BLM can't agree on road-maintenance solution - 'Mad as hell' - Commissioner says court took away right to maintain roads on bureau lands"
01/27/09 The Westerner - "Ag Secretary's News Conference", "Stimulus Policy and Western Politics", "DOD - The Largest Landlord in the World", and "Change Agenda for Animals"
01/27/09 "Silver City Paper to Tour Ranches"
01/27/09 Sacramento Bee - "Environmentalists push for massive north-state conservation area"
01/27/09 NPR - "Nature Conservancy Fights Planned Border Fence"
01/25/09 Capital Press - "Monumental end to grazing near Soda Mountain - Federal legislation sets stage for buyout of ranchers' permits"
01/25/09 Open Market - "Land Grab Bill: Senators Check Principles at the Door"
01/25/09 Choteau Acantha - "Coalition seeks more protection for Front"
01/25/09 Santa Fe New Mexican - "Conservation bill great, but cut out the pork"
01/25/09 Grand Junction Free Press - "Grand Junction area ranchers ruminate Dominguez, Escalante proposal"
01/25/09 CS Monitor - "Could cows heal the West? - By grazing them in a way that mimics the pattern of wild herbivores, advocates say, rangeland improves."
01/16/09 New York Times - "Interior Department Nominee Pledges Reform"
01/16/09 RGJ.com - "Through the back door..."
01/16/09 New Mexico Stockman - "Dona Ana County Wilderness - Proposal at adds with current ecological science"
01/16/09 Las Cruces Sun News - "Senate approves wilderness bill, 73-21"
01/16/09 Salt Lake Tribune - "Bush administration funds wilderness purchase"
01/15/09 Las Vegas Review Journal - "Editorial: It will be nice for them to know... Pork-filled 'wilderess' bill gets Senate approval"
01/15/09 Millard County Chronicle Progress - "U.S. Senate moves to increase wilderness lands"
01/15/09 Idyllwild Town Crier - "Senate moves wilderness bill forward"
01/15/09 AP Texas News - "Settlement reached over critical habitat in NM"
01/14/09 Summit Daily News (CO) - "Colorado Senators propose land-protection bills"
01/14/09 Rocky Mountain News - "Environmental groups appeal to Obama for shift in land use"
01/14/09 Las Cruces Sun News - "Robledos national monument on track"
01/13/09 Summit Daily (CO) - "Colorado Senators propose land-protection bills"
01/13/09 NM Federal Lands Council - "Wilderness bill moves forward in the Senate"
01/13/09 Heath Haussamen - "A new delegation, a new chance for wilderness"
01/13/09 LC Sun News - "Wilderness bill moves forward in the Senate"
01/13/09 Idaho Statesman - "Crapo nears validation for his patience on the Owyhee collaborative process"
01/13/09 Philadelphia Inquirer - "Wilderness protection plan clears hurdles in Senate"
01/12/09 Las Cruces Sun News - "Partisan friction mars Senate wilderness bill", and "Wilderness bill moves forward in the Senate", Silver City Sun News - "Wilderness bill moves forward in the Senate"
01/12/09 Santa Fe New Mexican - "Partisan wrangling mars Senate wilderness bill"  Similar article at KOAT Albuquerque and KDBC El Paso.
01/12/09 Greely CO Tribune - "Controversy clouds wilderness bill"
01/09/09 The Westerner - "Lands Bill Update From Senator Coburn"
01/09/09 Arizona Daily Star - "Loaded, concealed guns become legal in national parks"
01/09/09 Colorado Independent - "Grijalva, Dombeck to push Obama administration for national roadless rule"
01/09/09 News Blaze - "Congress Moves to Protect American Wilderness"
01/08/09 "Congress Gets an Early Start to a Banner Year for Wilderness"
01/08/09 News Blaze - "Groups protest first road built in border Wilderness area"
01/08/09 "New Regulations Proposed for Valles Caldera"
01/06/09 Recordnet.com - "Grazing dustup brewing in Lode - Stanislaus National Forest set to renew several allotments"
01/06/09 Salt Lake Tribune - "Land-auction meddler has a new plan"
01/06/09 Rhinelander Daily News - "Man sentenced to jail for role in attack on Forest Service facility"
01/04/09 Alamogordo Daily News letter to the editor by Charles Dennett - "Isn't it time to discuss options other than wilderness areas?"
01/04/09 Del Albright, BlueRibbon Ambassador - "A New President!  Now What?"
12/30/08 Washington Post - "Californians Shape Up as Force on Environmental Policy"
12/30/08 Summit Daily News - "Bidder said it was easy to rig government auction" - "Tim DeChristopher, 27, a University of Utah economics student and environmental activist, showed his driver’s license, picked up bidding paddle No. 70 and quietly seated himself in the bidding hall on Friday.  He snapped up 22,500 acres of parcels between Arches and Canyonlands national parks that he doesn’t plan to develop or even pay for. He also drove up prices on other bids by hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Nobody else has infiltrated a government auction to cause so much turmoil, according to officials at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management."
12/30/08 Wyoming Tribune - "Environmentalists petition EPA over ozone concern"
12/29/08 Deseret News - "Oil drilling possible in wilderness study areas"
12/23/08 Las Cruces Sun News - "Election alters wilderness fight outlook"
12/22/08 Agusta Chronicle - "Foreign pot growers ruining U.S. parks - Armed illegals are killing wildlife and poisoning the environment"
12/22/08 New West - "What to Expect When Ken Salazar Takes the Interior"
12/18/08 See The Westerner for a collection of articles on the appointment of Senator Ken Salizar as the Secretary of Interior.
12/17/08 New Mexico Stockman article by Dr. Jerry G. Schickedanz, Dean Emeritus College of Agriculture and Home Economics, NMSU - "What are the True Costs of Wilderness?" - "Every proposal must be scrutinized for its true cost to the citizens.  The protection of lands is one thing, but associated risks to national security and public safety stemming from reduced ability to protect the border is another, even greater, concern."
12/17/08 "Wilderness Act Hijacked" by William Rice.
12/17/08 KTVZ.com - "FBI boosts reward for Central Oregon eco-terrorists"
12/16/08 AP - "Report: Endangered species decisions tainted" - "A high-ranking Interior Department official tainted nearly every decision made on the protection of endangered species over five years, a new inspector general report finds, concluding she exerted improper political interference on many more rulings than previously thought."  Click here for the full report.
12/13/08 The Case for Rangeland Preservation Areas - an overview of this new and innovative land use designation.
12/03/08 KTAR - "Ranchers using plan to help endangered species"
12/01/08 RANGE Magazine article "The Gila Wilderness and a Ranch Family History" - This article tells the story of how federal Wilderness designation affected the Peter McKindree Shelley ranching family and gives the reader a good understanding of the true impacts of federal Wilderness designation.
12/01/08 There are numerous articles of interest on The Westerner, so instead of linking to each article separately, here is a link directly to The Westerner.
12/01/08 Billings Gazette - "Wilderness creation opposed - Big Horn Basin counties submit comments on BLM plan" - "If grazing is reduced, "the highest value of these lands ... is to sell to developers and 'hobby' ranchers," they wrote. "With large ranches being subdivided into smaller tracts, many unintended consequences emerge. Our wildlife corridors and habitat are forever altered. We are witnessing urban sprawl creeping into these special places, and our landscapes and viewsheds are being chewed up by housing, roads and rural businesses at alarming rates."  Protecting ranches means protecting open spaces, the commissions stated.  "Ranchers and farmers can be great stewards of the land," they said. "The benefits of keeping working landscapes from being subdivided and developed should be considered in the (plan)."
12/01/08 United for a Sovereign America - "BP Local 2544: Raul Grijalva for Secretary of the Interior?" - "Putting Grijalva in charge of the Department of Interior would be a disaster for border security."
12/01/08 Reno Gazette Journal - "Two Cents Worth: Fighting for survival; Stakeholder 'reality' frustrations are understandable"
11/25/08 Idaho Statesman - "Property Rights Guru Fathered Unlikely Wilderness Bill"
11/25/08 Ag Week - "Technology reduces ag's environmental footprint"
11/25/08 Gallup Independent - "Final version of federal energy corridor plan released"
11/24/08 Arizona Republic - "Contention growing over public lands"
11/24/08 Grand Forks Herald - "Wolves, elk destroy farmers' animals, property"
11/24/08 Oregon Live - "Tree-sitters: Remote sits prove to be less effective"
11/24/08 "[US Forest Service] Arson Investigator Suspected of Setting Fires"
11/24/08 Great Falls Tribune - "Program created to help keep an eye on forest land"
11/23/08 New West - "Fees Keeping People Off Their Land" - "The wild proliferation of new and increased recreation fees has contributed to a similar if not steeper decline in the public use of public forests. With this aggressive, if not abusive, fee-charging policy, Forest Service bosses have done a stellar job of discouraging people from using their own land, the national forests."
11/23/08 Western Business Roundtable - "Roundtable-Led Effort Backs Senate Leadership Down on Lame Duck Consideration of Omnibus Lands Bill" - “Certainly, for Westerners, there are always very real trade-offs involved with any public lands designation. We believe such bills need to be considered individually so each can evaluated carefully,” said Weygandt. "Bulk packaging of legislation has a checkered record for Congress. It doesn't work well on Appropriations bills. It certainly doesn't work on land designations, where such designations can mean the difference between economic health and peril for Western communities. We hope the 111th Congress will do this the right way, letting each of these measures rise or fall on their individual merits."
11/22/08 NM Business Weekly - "Greens thwart oil/gas development in sensitive areas"
11/22/08 Seattle PI - "New environmental cast in D.C. signaled by election today of Waxman, Stevens' defeat"
11/21/08 Idaho Statesman - "Wilderness bills will have new allies, new foes next year" - "Sen. Mike Crapo's Owyhee Canyonlands plan to protect 500,000 acres of wilderness and help ranchers in Owyhee County was one of more than 100 provisions in a sweeping lands bill now delayed until January. And Rep. Mike Simpson's proposal to protect 319,000 acres in the Boulder and White Cloud mountains in Central Idaho never even got a start in the Democratic-controlled House. ... The leader of The American Land Rights Association, a private property coalition that opposed the comprehensive lands bill, said Monday he would support the Owyhees bill if it were to be reintroduced separately.  "But for now, it must not be supported as part of the omnibus package," said Charles Cushman, executive director of the group."
11/21/08 Washington Post - "Changes to Species Act Are Said to Be Near"
11/21/08 KOAT Albuquerque - "Young Boy Recovers From Mountain Lion Attack" - "Family hopes state Game Commission will take action"
11/21/08 ABC - "FBI Ups Reward for Alleged Eco-Terrorists"
11/20/08 Oregon News - "Reward doubled in federal eco-terror investigation" - "The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives doubled their rewards this morning for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives for their roles in a string of arsons by the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front."
11/19/08 Oregon News - "National Forests See Fewer Visitors" - "Total forest visits dropped from 204.8 million in 2004 to 178.6million in 2007, a 13 percent decline."  One comment on this article stated: "Two things that have made me visit the national forests and parks less are: the seemingly unending volume of new rules, regulations and restrictions on what I can do and where I can do it; and, the fact that lots of the national forest trail head parking lots are now meth-head shopping centers where you are surprised if your vehicle is not broken into." and another commented "We don't go because our national forests in this state have a bad reputation for bad people....your car gets broken into if you go hiking/fishing,etc. We just don't feel safe anymore.".
11/19/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "EPA Proposes 'Cow Tax'"
11/19/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "Ranchers brace for change in Washington"
11/19/08 National Center for Public Policy Research - "New Poll Finds that Majority of African-Americans Oppose Public Lands Bill"
11/18/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "Owyhee Initiative Bill to be Presented in New Congress"
11/18/08 Washington Times - "Environmentalists' hysteria loses" - "Last Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court overturned a 9th U.S. Circuit injunction prohibiting certain Navy training exercises in the Pacific Ocean. The decision was a big win for the Navy and for America´s national security interests.  The court's ruling was an ever bigger victory for the role of common sense in the realm of environmental regulation."
11/17/08 Know the facts: Read the CRS (Congressional Research Service) Report for Congress on the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008: Senate Amendment 5662 as Submitted on Spetember 26, 2008.
11/17/08 "Highlighs of Senator Reid's Omnibus Lands Grab and Energy Restrictions Act Scheduled for Debate Next Month" - "Reid's Emergency Session on Congress to Focus on His Priorities, Not American's"
11/17/08 "Dr. Coburn Says Upcoming Special Session of Congress Should Focus on Economic Crisis, not Trivial Lands Bill" - "Federal Land Grab Bill Laden with Earmarks and Anti-Energy Exploration Provisions"
11/15/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "Threat of filibuster endangers lands bill"
11/15/08 Seattle Times - "Plan for Columbia Gorge wilderness looks dead" - "A massive lands bill that would have created new wilderness areas in five Western states — including a wilderness designation in Oregon at the Columbia River Gorge — is likely dead for the year, a victim of a filibuster threat in the Senate, supporters said Friday."
11/14/08 New Mexico Stockman - "Border Wilderness in the Potrillo Mountains?"
11/13/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "Property Rights Group Asks Members to Fight Crapo's Owyhee Bill"
11/13/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "Dorgan says Forest Service to scrub grassbank plan"
11/12/08 Las Vegas Sun - "On Gold Butte, a tug of war between access, protection - Plan to give area strict federal protection would also shut many out, critics say"
11/12/08 Oregon's KTVZ - "Threatening note found at Sisters-area logging site" - "The U.S. Forest Service is investigating a threatening note scrawled in red marker on a road grader at a logging site west of Sisters - signed with a heart and the letters ELF, which might indicate ties to the eco-terror group, the Earth Liberation Front."
11/11/08 Pueblo Chieftan - "Landowners urge action on [conservation] eastment"
11/11/08 Environment & Energy Daily - "BLM employees, advocacy groups worked together on lands bill, docs show"
11/09/08 UK Guardian - "Police warn of growing threat from eco-terrorists" - "Officers from a specialist unit dedicated to tackling domestic terrorism are monitoring an eco-movement called Earth First! which has advocates who state that cutting the Earth's population by 80 per cent will ease pressure on other species.  ...  Earth First! says its mission is 'about direct action to halt the destruction of the Earth' and advocates 'civil disobedience and monkeywrenching', tactics that include sabotage and disruptive behaviour. The movement has links to US environmental extremists which have waged a campaign of violence in America, including the firebombing of a string of 4x4 car dealerships in California in 2003 and alleged arson attacks on other property."
11/03/08 Gallup Independent - "Rift widens among area tribes, private landowners" - "Private landowners and businesses here have a double threat from state and federal traditional cultural property regulations. They are trying to stop the temporary designation of Mount Taylor as a traditional cultural property from becoming permanent, which they say has already violated their rights and stopped them from using their land for any commercial purposes. If made permanent, they say the Grants area economy will be destroyed."
11/03/08 Southern Oregon Mail Tribune - "Omnibus land act includes wilderness designations"
11/03/08 Billings Gazette - "Missoula County appeals to get forest papers" - "The U.S. Forest Service has withheld information sought by Missoula County officials as they looked into road easement negotiations conducted privately between the federal agency and Plum Creek Timber Co., the county said in documents Friday."
11/03/08 "1.1 million Utah acres of public land closed to off-highway vehicles"
11/03/08 Press Enterprise - "SB County supervisor wants Marines to expand into wilderness areas, not off-roading site"
10/30/08 PFPOWH Coalition reaches 750 businesses and organizations!  Click here to see the Coalition supporters.
10/30/08 New Scientist special report "How our economy is killing the Earth".  Comments on The Westerner blog related to this article state "There are either environmentalists who mistakenly believe free markets and property rights are harmful to the environment, or there are socialists who are using the environmental movement to bring about the government they want."  In a similar vein, see the article "Earth on course for eco 'crunch' - The planet is headed for an ecological "credit crunch", according to a report issued by conservation groups."
10/30/08 CATO Institute article "Global Warming Fantasies Meet Financial Contraction" - "Whoever is elected president, global warming legislation is going to be passed in Washington next year.  Legislation proposed by both John McCain and Barack Obama will require that the cost of energy to become so high that people will avoid using it. The serious question is: why would we do this in the current economic environment?"
10/29/08 "Forest Service needs saving from itself"
10/28/08 "Reid's Deadly Land Grab"
10/28/08 "Omnibus Land Package: More Energy Off Limits"
10/27/08 Fox News Junk Science - "Greens Aim to Take Us Forward to the Past" - "If you need more evidence that the Greens intend to destroy our standard of living, you need not look further than the Oct. 18 issue of New Scientist magazine — the cover of which reads, “The Folly of Growth: How to stop the economy killing the planet.”  The issue features eight articles that New Scientist editors believe justify their editorial entitled, “Why economic growth is killing the planet and what we can do about it.” ... The editorial concludes that “the science tells us that if we are serious about saving the Earth,” economic growth must be limited."
10/25/08 WL Tribune - "Green spaces, grasslands, are casualties of the ranching industry's woes"
10/25/08 The American Thinker - "The Green Religion"
10/25/08 "A Solution to Overgrazing - The Quivera Coalition brings together cattle ranchers and environmentalists to help preserve Western grasslands"
10/24/08 "Government Betrays Landowners with Conservation Easements"
10/23/08 Rio Grande Foundation article "Elected Officials on the Payrolls of Environmental Groups" - "Deanna Archuleta is Vice Chair of the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners and Southwest Regional Manager for The Wilderness Society. State Representative Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces is the Southern New Mexico Director for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NMWA). Las Cruces City Councilor Nathan Small is also on NMWA’s payroll as a “wilderness protection organizer.”  The mission of these groups is to influence public policy to preserve wilderness and other public lands."
10/23/08 "Public-lands affairs - Where the presidential candidates stand on public-lands issues"
10/23/08 Bismark Tribune - "Forest Service credibility at issue"
10/23/08 Mercury News - "Park bond stirs open space debate"
10/23/08 Mercury News - "Two horses shot dead in their corral in rural Livermore"
10/23/08 Las Cruces Sun News "WSMR remembers patriarch Robert C. Cox".  Read the speech delivered by Rob Cox at the dedication of the J.W. Cox Range Control Center from May of 2000.
10/23/08 Fox News "Hunters Discover Marijuana Farm Worth Millions in Utah Mountains"
10/21/08 Tulsa Today - "Dr. Coburn says land grab bill laden with earmarks and anti-energy" - Please read this informative article, and contact your Senators!  "U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement regarding the Senate Democrat Majority’s plan to devote a week or more of the Senate’s post-election special session debating a 1,082 page, $3 billion earmark-laden omnibus bill that expands federal land control over millions of acres of U.S. property, and restricts energy exploration over millions of acres of U.S. territory. “Congress’ approval ratings are at an all-time low because the American people understand that never before in our nation’s history have the priorities of the United States Congress been more at odds with the priorities of the American people.  The majority’s willingness to spend a week or more debating a lands bill loaded with frivolous projects and radical environmental provisions when we are facing our greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression is a case study in Congress’ misplaced priorities,” Dr. Coburn said. “While the Senate would prefer to pass this omnibus package after the election, the American people have a right to understand the Senate’s post-election agenda before they go to the polls,” Dr. Coburn said."  See also: "Highlights of Senator Reid's Omnibus Lands Grab and Energy Restrictions Act Scheduled for Debate Next Month"
10/21/08 Times-News - "Sen. Craig skeptical of grazing report" - "He said grazing could have decreased the extent of burning of riparian areas - often an eco-friendly interface between land and streams that provides wildlife habitat.  "Would grazing have helped that? Changed that scenario? More than likely it would've helped it some," Craig said, noting the lands take much longer than open space to recover. "If you use it responsibly, grazing is a substantial component in controlling the fuel loads in upland grazing lands that the state of Idaho is so well known for."
10/21/08 "Guilty Plea Entered in 2001 Eco-Terrorism Attempt at Michigan Technological"
10/21/08 Wall Street Journal - "U.S. Forest Service Turns to Cow Power"
10/17/08 News Canada - "Eco-terrorism feared in Alberta" - "The RCMP's national terrorism unit is investigating a second explosion along a sour gas pipeline in northern B.C., a "deliberate" act that has residents and workers in the region's growing oilpatch fearing more attacks."
10/16/08 The New Mexico Stockman ran a condensed version of this article in their October issue.  Here is the article in it's entirety: "The Gila Wilderness and a Ranch Family History"
10/16/08 Canada Free Press - "Eco-terror feared in pipeline blast" - "Eco-terrorism is feared as a possible motive after a bomb exploded on a natural gas pipeline owned by Calgary energy giant EnCana."
10/15/08 Silver City Sun News - "Forest Service needs your help fighting litter in the Gila" - "The Gila Wilderness is falling victim to illegal activity and the U.S. Forest Service needs the community's help to right the wrongs committed against it.  According to a prepared statement from the Forest Service, littering, illegal dumping, vandalism and irresponsible shooting are just a few of the abuses that the forest roads and wilderness takes from careless visitors."
10/15/08 Salt Lake Tribune - "Former BLM chief slams long-term plan"
10/13/08 "Anti-grazing activists take on BLM - Critics say grazing plan threatens some ecosystems"
10/13/08 Fox News - "Environmental Issues Take Back Seat in Economic Crisis"
10/13/08 AP - "3 BLM workers held at gunpoint at Nev. pot patch"
10/12/08 Fox News - "Officials: Mexican Pot Growers are Polluting American Wilderness" - "National forests and parks — long popular with Mexican marijuana-growing cartels — have become home to some of the most polluted pockets of wilderness in America because of the toxic chemicals needed to eke lucrative harvests from rocky mountainsides, federal officials said. ... "What's going on on public lands is a crisis at every level," said Forest Service agent Ron Pugh. "These are America's most precious resources, and they are being devastated by an unprecedented commercial enterprise conducted by armed foreign nationals. It is a huge mess." ... Scott Wanek, the western regional chief ranger for the National Park Service, said he believes the eradication efforts have touched only a small portion of the marijuana farms and that the environmental impact is much greater than anyone knows."
10/09/08 LC Sun News - "State Representative District 37: County Commissioner Challenges Freshman Rep"
10/08/08 Jackson Hole Star Tribune - "Congress probes BLM environmental review process"
10/08/08 Law.Com - "Supreme Court Argument Report: Environmental Groups Out on a Limb?"
10/08/08 "10th Circuit Dismisses NM Grassland Appeal as Moot" - "Nathan Newcomer, associate director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, said Wednesday the important thing is that the leases will not go forward, giving the group time to push for the area to be wilderness.  "What this does for us is give us an opportunity to recommend enhanced protection for the Nutt Grasslands, which in our opinion would be wilderness designation," he said."
10/03/08 Las Vegas Review Journal - "Gold Butte land bill too limiting" - "In regard to hunting, fishing and trapping, the bill initially reads, "Nothing in this title affects the jurisdiction of the State of Nevada with respect to fish and wildlife, including hunting, fishing and trapping in the conservation area." This might be enough to make most believe their hunting, fishing or trapping activities won't be curtailed if this bill is passed.  Then a few pages later comes the weasel clause: "The Secretary of Interior may designate, by regulation, areas in which, and establish periods during which, for reasons of public safety, administration, or compliance with applicable laws, no hunting, fishing, or trapping will be permitted in wilderness areas designated or expanded by this title."  This is the same kind of language that has enabled land managers to bypass the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and arbitrarily close public lands to public access. The bill goes on to say, "Except in cases of an emergency, the secretary shall make such designations in consultation with the appropriate agency of the State of Nevada." That "emergency clause" is the loophole that enabled the local BLM manager to close all nonpaved roads on the outskirts of Las Vegas to vehicle travel."
10/03/08 Reno Gazette Journal - "Congressman Heller tells Coalition for Public Access (CPA) wilderness should be designated sparingly, and in areas that actually deserve it"
09/28/08 World Net Daily article - "Enviro groups 'wolves in sheep's clothing'" - "A new investigation reveals charitable and environmental organizations claiming to be nonpartisan may be using donations to funnel money to Democratic Party politicians.  "Campaigns to 'save the cuddly animals' or 'protect the ancient forests' are really disguised efforts to raise money for Democratic political campaigns," Inhofe said while speaking on the Senate floor Saturday. "Environmental organizations have become experts at duplicitous activity, skirting laws up to the edge of illegality, and burying their political activities under the guise of nonprofit environmental improvement. ... Inhofe accused the environmental groups of "fleecing the American public's pockets," by using scare tactics to obtain donations for Democrats in an election year.  "We also find exhausting litigation, instigation of false claims, misleading science, and scare tactics to fool Americans into believing disastrous environmental scenarios that are untrue," Inhofe said."
09/27/08 GAO Report highlights - "Wildlife Refuges - Changes in Funding, Staffing, and Other Factors Create Concerns About Future Sustainability".  Click here for the full report.
09/26/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "Congress Should Shelve Public Lands Bill Due to Enviro Lobbying Scandal".  For a copy of the letter from the Western Business Roundtable to Senator Jeff Bingaman, click here.  For a letter from Americans for American Energy, click here.
09/26/08 Las Cruces Bulletin article with questions on candidate positions on the wilderness issue in Dona Ana County.  Page 1, Page 2  For information on the NM House of Representatives race, see Pg 1 and Pg 2 of the articles spotlighting the candidates.  
09/25/08 "More on IG Investigation of BLM NLCS Staff" - "The main groups involved appear to be the Wilderness Society and the National Wildlife Federation, a House GOP aide said. At some point NLCS officials had weekly meetings with these and other groups, often at the Wilderness Society's office, to coordinate lobbying strategy and messaging, the aide said.  E-mails show that NLCS officials requested environmental groups to write budget language, the aide added. E-mails also talk about coordinating lobbying efforts, setting up NLCS events, sending out draft memorandums for each other to review and preparing for congressional hearing.  The federal and advocacy officials exchanged resumes and job announcements in their respective organizations and BLM, the aide said. Travel documents are still being collected and reviewed and will be part of the investigation, the aide added."
More on NLCS Probe - "Congressional Probe of Enviro Groups Urged Over Lobbying Of Interior Department Agency" - "Potential illegal coordination between U.S. Interior Department officials and several national environmental groups, currently being investigated by the Interior Inspector General, should also be investigated by Congressional oversight committees, according to Americans for American Energy.  Americans for American Energy Wednesday asked U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chair of the House Resource Committee, and U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to convene oversight hearings on the matter."
09/24/08 Idaho Falls, ID KIDK.COM - "Cattle Shootings" - "In the last few months, cattle and horses have been shot in the back country. ... 'This is not someone needing food, this is someone killing for fun,' says Bonneville County Sheriff, Paul Wilde."
09/24/08 Salt Lake Tribune - "3 Utahns with animal-rights group claim they freed minks" - "Three Utah members of the Animal Liberation Front claimed credit Monday for breaking into a Kaysville farm early Sunday, destroying property and releasing thousands of minks.   A statement posted on the ALF Web site states that the group entered the farm, released the minks and destroyed all breeding records. It states that they destroyed an electrical fence, vandalized trucks and equipment and cut about 100 holes in the perimeter fence.  The FBI has labeled ALF a domestic terrorist organization. The group has resorted to arson and the use of explosives to protest what they call the exploitation of animals for fur, food and lab testing."
09/23/08 Salt Lake Tribune - "Bishop wants federal workers under scrutiny to 'step aside' for now" - "The Interior Department's inspector general has started a probe into inappropriate ties between environmental lobbyists and the National Landscape Conservation System, according to Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah.   Bishop - ranking member of the national parks, forests and public lands subcommittee - called for quick action and demanded that federal employees under scrutiny be removed, at least temporarily.   "The department must insist that any employee [under investigation for possible] violations of the anti-lobbying law step aside until the inspector general or the Justice Department has reviewed his or her conduct," Bishop said. 'We will not tolerate misconduct by public officials.' "
09/18/08 Committee on Natural Resources - "Inspector General Starts Investigation Into Improper Coordination Between NLCS Employees & Environmental Advocacy Organizations" - "Emails and other documents being reviewed by the Department show extensive coordination between top NLCS officials and lobbyists for environmental groups."
09/17/08 Reno Gazette Journal - "Grazing sheep to protect Carson City from wildfire"
09/16/08 New Mexico Stockman - "The Little Bill That Could, And Should, Become Law"
09/16/08 The Independent (England) - "Cleared: Jury decides that threat of global warming justifies breaking the law" - "The threat of global warming is so great that campaigners were justified in causing more than Ł35,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station, a jury decided yesterday. In a verdict that will have shocked ministers and energy companies the jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage."
09/15/08 Redding Record Searchlight - "Land board would amplify local voices"
09/13/08 Times Online (Britian) article - "Green activists 'are keeping Africa poor'" - "Western do-gooders are impoverishing Africa by promoting traditional farming at the expense of modern scientific agriculture, according to Britain's former chief scientist. ... “For example, Friends of the Earth in 1999 worried that drought-tolerant crops may have the potential to grow in habitats unavailable' to conventional crops. The priority of providing food to an area of the world in greatest need appears to not have been noted.  For decades, approaches to international development have been dominated by this well-meaning but fatally flawed doctrine.”
09/11/08 Tucson Weekly article "The Chiricahua Corridor" examines the damage to public lands, private property and local residents by illegal immigrants.  "Much of the badly impacted land, like Burro Springs, is in the 87,700-acre Chiricahua Wilderness. It offers a preview of what could be in store for the Tumacacori Highlands northeast of Nogales, if Rep. Raúl Grijalva gets his way and wins a wilderness designation for that land. Trash dumps will grow. Underbrush will expand. Trails won't be maintained. The land will fall out of the control of the people who should be managing it and under the control of those who don't belong there."  Illegal immigrants will go where the Border Patrol can't.  Designation of federal Wilderness and other "protective areas" along our borders makes it impossible for federal and local law enforcement to perform their duties.
09/09/08 Working Ranch Magazine article "Political Rancher".  Click here for the Working Ranch magazine website.
09/08/08 World Net Daily article "What Happened to Freedom?" - "With the advent of sustainable development and the notion of "smart growth," zoning has grown into comprehensive planning that encompasses the entire county, region and state. The people who promote comprehensive planning are convinced that a planned community, designed to protect the environment, is far more important than the private property rights of any individual member of the community. ... Sustainable development is social engineering, imposed and enforced by government.  This is what happened to freedom."
09/01/08 New - Quotes from the environmental community - understanding their position and philosophy.
08/29/08 Las Cruces Bulletin - "From the Chair - Chamber Works For You" - "The Chamber also took an interest in the protectino of our environment, wilderness areas and Western way of life by endorsing the innovative Ranchers' Proposal and adding a new agricultural committee."
08/29/08 Arizona Republic - "Time to fight invaders" - "If scriptwriters need ideas for a horror movie, they should check out the new statewide invasive-species management plan. Some of the descriptions of the non-native plants and animals threatening Arizona can make your skin crawl."
08/28/08 Las Cruces Sun News letter to the editor by Gene Wood, Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent (Ret.) - "What Price Wilderness" - "What price are we as American citizens prepared to pay for the ongoing efforts to open up additional wilderness designations along our southern border.  The El Paso Times, in a front page article dated Aug. 13 begins with this alarming statement "more than two dozen times a day, on average, the U.S. Northern Command is alerted to possible terrorists probing for "seams' that can be exploited for attacks on the homeland." ... I know of no better way to describe wilderness designations on our national borders except as a "seam." Historically, these designations have been eagerly exploited by human and drug smugglers as well as by thousands of unidentified individuals destined to various parts of our country. There is good reason to conclude that news of any new seam will be received with enthusiasm by those who would do our country harm. A more serious concern identified by NORTHCOM Deputy Commander Lt. General William Webster, Jr., revealed the chilling information that NORTHCOM responds to as many as 40 events in a 24-hour period. He further attested that any of those events could be a homeland security incident. How then do proponents of additional wilderness designations i.e.., an additional 325,000 acres in Dońa Ana County including areas adjacent to our southern boundary, justify this reckless effort to reduce our country's ability to defend itself?"
08/28/08 Blue Mountain Eagle (Oregon) - "Grazing lawsuits spawn talks"
08/28/08 "Lawsuit resurrects wilderness issue"
08/21/08 NM Federal Lands Council post "Ranchers seek Smith's help in grazing battle"
08/21/08 NM Federal Lands Council post "Editorial: Ranchers, county need solution to monitoring gap on national forest"
08/21/08 Wahpeton, ND Daily News article "Grazing Talks Bog Down"
08/19/08 New West article - "Co-Opting the Conservation Movement".  This article references another article on the Canyon Country Zephyr website - "The Greening of Wilderness - How the Mega-Rich are Co-opting Environmentalism & Turning IT into a Big Business"
08/19/08 ABC News "DEA Unearths Illegal Marijuana Operation in National Parks" - "Marijuana is being grown illegally on national park land in seven states ... The dealers hide the marijuana deep in the forest, on land often accessible only on foot."
08/19/08 Mercury News - "7 arrested in forest marijuana plantations" - "Authorities arrested seven people and seized about $20 million worth of marijuana in a series of raids on marijuana plantations in the San Bernardino National Forest, officials said Monday."
08/14/08 INFORUM News "Judge rules roadless ban violates federal laws" - "'The Forest Service, in an attempt to bolster an outgoing President’s environmental legacy, rammed through an environmental agenda that itself violates the country’s well-established environmental laws,' Brimmer wrote."
08/14/08 Fox News "Most Wanted: Josephine Sunshine Overaker on Eco-Terrorism Charges"
08/14/08 Wenatchee World article - "Fourth raid this month - Investigators say Mexican drug cartels behind pot farms" - "Moore noted, however, that the vast majority of marijuana operations in Chelan County are found on public lands."
08/13/08 Mario Burgos article "Martin Heinrich Appeals to EcoTerrorists(Scroll to the Monday, August 11, 2008 entry."...I find it very troubling that Martin Heinrich, candidate for New Mexico's 1st Congressional District, has a long history of accepting campaign funds from self-described EcoTerrorists. ... Just how far is Martin Heinrich willing to go to protect the environment? Apparently far enough to get EcoTerrorists Dave Foreman and Nancy Morton to open their wallets."
08/08/08 Las Cruces Bulletin - "Chamber of Commerce revives ag committee"
08/06/08

TCS Daily  - “Teddy Roosevelt vs. the Noisy Environmentalists” – I wished that they had actually stopped for a moment to read the memorial, especially the part where TR admonishes us that, "Conservation means development as much as it does protection." That's probably the thing that mob needed most (even more than "Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive.") Maybe if they came to understand that Teddy was not an early version of themselves; that the founders of their movement fought him, they might have a moment of self-doubt about whether the earth really should be put first. Teddy certainly didn't think so. He thought people came first.  Teddy was a conservationist, not a preservationist. Not surprisingly, this meant that he wanted to conserve natural resources, not preserve them."

08/06/08

Washington Times article “Border patrol agent held at gunpoint – Officers fear Mexican military encounters will turn violent

08/05/08 New Mexico Stockman article "New Mexico's 'Wilderness Advocates' - Their Faces and Their Agendas - An attempt to follow the old adage, to 'know who you are dealing with'".  This article is an eye opening look at some of the key players advocating federal Wilderness in New Mexico.
08/05/08 Las Cruces Sun News letter to the editor by Steve Wilmeth - "American Cowboy"
08/05/08 Miami Herald - "University researchers firebombed, animal rights activists blamed"
08/04/08 From the National Park Service - The following announcement is posed on the website for the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument: "Due to an increase in illegal border activity, all backcountry areas are closed indefinitely to both hiking and overnight camping. Please check with the staff at the Kris Eggle Visitor Center for current information.   We anticipate this will be a temporary closure, though we are not certain when we can expect areas to reopen."
08/04/08 Discovery Communications, Inc. "How Stuff Works" 6 part series - "How Eco-terrorism Works"
08/04/08 Helena IR - "Bison buffs aim to seed West with new herds"
08/02/08 Las Cruces Bulletin - Peggy Bogart Letter to the Editor - "Supports Pearce bill"
08/01/08 Las Cruces Bulletin - "All-American cowboy - For a lifetime of work, Frank DuBois is honored as our distinguished American cowboy for 2008" by Dave McCollum, and "Chamber honors Frank DuBois - Part 1, Part 2" by Marvin Tessneer
07/31/08 The Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) has two new articles available.   "New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce proposes innovative land-use legislation" and "Wilderness is a child of the 60's -- that never grew up".  These articles are re-printed with permission from the BlueRibbon Magazine.  Learn more about BlueRibbon Coalition at www.sharetrails.org.  Also see their most recent legislative alert.
07/30/08 AP - "Feds indict 3 in Wisconsin attack on US Forest Service" - "Three environmental activists were indicted on charges that they helped vandalize a U.S. Forest Service research station in northern Wisconsin, prosecutors said Tuesday.  A recently unsealed indictment said members of the Earth Liberation Front and Earth First damaged the property in Rhinelander in 2000 because they erroneously believed that scientists were performing genetic research on trees. ... ELF took responsibility, describing it as an attack on bioengineering. In a statement, the group said: "We are everywhere and nowhere and we are watching. For wildness and an end to industrial society.""  See also: Seattle Times "Feds indict 3 for attach on U.S. Forest Service" and "Olympia man indicted in Wisconsin for ELF forest vandalism"
07/30/08 Investor's Business Daily - "A Country at the Mercy of Environmentalists"
07/29/08 TAKE 5 MINUTES! - use the new letter writing tool provided by the Save The Trails organization to let your voice be heard on protecting the lands in Dona Ana County.
07/29/08 Investor's Business Daily - "Had Enough of Eco-Lobby's Energy Prices?"
07/29/08 Craig Daily Press - "Problems on the range"
07/28/08 Linebery Policy Center on Natural Resource Management - "Livestock Grazing on Public Lands: A National Treasure"
07/28/08 A new site - New Mexico Liberty - has been created.  The site states "A free & open discussion of governmental & private actions that affect the lives, liberties & economic well being of the state's citizens."
07/27/08 Las Cruces Sun-News letter to the editor by Ken Thiessen - "Stop the environmentalists"
07/25/08 Las Cruces Bulletin - "DuBois named county's top cowboy - Former Ag secretary to be honored Saturday"
07/25/08 Delta County Independent - "Commissioners support Dominguez-Escalante NCA, but rancher has questions"
07/24/08 KJCT8 news story and video - "Mountain bikers say they're being left out"
07/23/08 New West article by Rebecca Powell - "To Clean a Dirt Tank and the Real Loss"
07/23/08 Wall Street Journal - "The Lawnmower Men"
07/22/08 New West article by Rebecca Powell - "Wilderness, Wilderness Everywhere"
07/21/08 New Mexico Independent - "New Mexico jumps to No. 2 for immigration-crime prosectution, feds say."
07/21/08 The Oregonian - "Home home on the holistic range" - "The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just ordered the federal Bureau of Land Management to take a look -- again -- at how it's managing more than 4 million acres in eastern Oregon.  The court's message was clear: The BLM better bear in mind the rising wilderness values of our state's shrub-steppe range. "
07/21/08 Brookings - "Mountain Megas: America's Newest Metropolitan Places and a Federal Partnership to Help Them Prosper"  Related articles: New West "Report Analyzes Booming Megapolitan West", Arizona Republic - "Sun Corridor may be 'new heartland'" and "Panel to debate growth strategies for Valley"
07/21/08 KUTV.com - "Utah Court Says Rivers and Streams are Public, Regardless of Location" - "Utah's highest court has ruled that streams and rivers are public even where the land under them is privately owned."
07/19/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "'Storm Over Rangeland' still rages 17 years later"
07/18/08 NM Stockman article "The Wilderness Man (Likely) cometh!"
07/17/08 GET THE FACTS: View the map of identified BLM disposal lands in Dona Ana County.
07/17/08 Jim Scarantino article on Heath Haussamen blog - "Pearce's conservation bill: What's not to like? (Part 2)" - "So what’s not to like about Pearce’s bill? He’s found a way to protect Dońa Ana County’s open spaces while accommodating the needs of law enforcement, water authorities and agriculture. He has imposed restrictions on the BLM’s land-disposal process that give local governments funds for environmental projects and prohibit sales that violate local growth controls. Instead of spewing venom, environmentalists should be sitting down to try to work with him."
07/15/08 Frank DuBois named 2008 American Cowboy of Dona Ana County.  Celebration scheduled 7/26/08.
07/15/08 NEW - See our "Legislation Information & Facts" which provides a comprehensive overview of HR 6300.
07/15/08 Las Cruces Sun News - Jerry Schickedanz - "Wilderness debate clarification" - "I submit that if concerned citizens with open minds would read closely what is in HR 6300, they would find that the bill will provide for an orderly and agreed upon disposal of federal land and adequate protection for lands that are important for open space in Dońa Ana County. The bill will allow access for those who want to experience, use and recreate in these open spaces."
07/15/08 Haussamen blog - "McCain talks about wilderness, economy, immigration"
07/15/08 NM Federal Lands Council - "Court: Ore. land plan should consider wilderness" - "The bureau, the court said, insisted that its wilderness study ended in 1980 and didn't need to be reopened. A trial judge agreed.  But, the appeals court said, "Wilderness characteristics are not simply a checklist" to be used for a one-time inventory.  Instead, the court said, the bureau is obligated continuously to manage land with wilderness characteristics. It said that even if the Congress hadn't designated such land as wilderness, the bureau could protect it against damaging uses such as mining, grazing and off-road vehicle use."
07/15/08 "Pearce Opposes Ruling to Lock Up Grazing Lands" - "Out of desperation, farmers contacted U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce to intervene. Pearce said that besides wasting the farmer’s money, the government is forcing them to spend valuable fuel mowing areas instead of allowing the grazing.  "This is another case of out-of-state environmentalists trying to damage the New Mexico economy, New Mexico jobs and our rural culture,” Pearce said. “I’m committed to doing the right things for New Mexicans and to keep the government’s first promise to the farmers that they can and should be able to graze their lands."
07/14/08 CNSNews.com - "Environmental Bills Called Pretext to Loosen Border Security" - "Open-border advocates operating under the guise of environmentalism are prepared to push for legislation that could result in an accelerated flow of illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and human trafficking from Mexico into Arizona, according to law enforcement experts familiar with the terrain."
07/14/08 Daily Dispatch - "Forest Service official to focus on agency support for border issues"
07/13/08 Alamogordo News - "Heres the other side of Pearce's HR 6300"
07/13/08 Las Cruces Sun-News - "LOWV opposes Pearce wilderness bill".  Note: Unfortunately, the LOWV letter to the Sun-News contains many statements that are inaccurate and grossly misrepresent the language of HR 6300.  Please see our legislation page for the factual information about this bill and to read the actual language of HR 6300.
07/11/08 Michael Swickard "No Thought Left Behind" column from Heath Haussamen's blog - "Feathering nest activities by elected officials".   "I do not know Councilor Small nor have I spoken to him. I have no opinion about his role with the Wilderness Alliance. This is not a column about wilderness issues; it is about the legitimate role of elected officials in our society. The entire issue is: Can elected officials use their elected positions to enhance their financial positions? And whether their desire is to sell more houses or save more wilderness areas is irrelevant."  This column was also published in the Las Cruces Bulletin.
07/11/08 Economist article "Out of the wilderness - People are shunning the great outdoors.  Blame conservationists, not video games" - "Earlier this year a federal court ruled that the National Park Service must limit human use of Yosemite Valley. That may mean a daily cap on visitor numbers. If the park imposes one, the example is likely to spread across America. This will create pressure to solve environmental problems by turning more people away.  This is a shame, and a self-defeating exercise. America’s environmental movement emerged in the 19th century to push for national parks. In the 20th century it sold them to the public through photographs and writing. It now seems bent on driving people away from them."
07/11/08 "BLM asks for public comment regarding grazing on Ore. monument"
07/10/08 Oregon Mail Tribune - "BLM finds grazing harmful to protected monument" - "In a long-awaited assessment expected to be released today, the agency found that cattle grazing on the monument, created by presidential proclamation in 2000 to protect its rich biodiversity, does not meet the proclamation's intent, said Howard Hunter, the monument's assistant manager. ... Eleven ranchers currently hold grazing leases for 2,714 animal unit months on nine grazing allotments within the monument. ... The BLM's determination that cattle grazing harms the monument mirrors a study by environmental groups released last year. ... The agency's conclusion didn't surprise Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, which wants the cattle off the monument and federal wilderness designation for it. The proclamation language leaves the agency with no wiggle room if grazing is determined to be incompatible with the goals, he said.  "It's a national monument — not a national cow pasture," he said."
07/08/08 New West article by Rebecca Powell - "Small Defends Wilderness Proposal"
07/08/08 Las Vegas Review Journal Editorial - "Montana greens to loggers: Come back!"
07/08/08 Jackson Hole Star Tribune - "Public prompts changes in roadless plan"
07/08/08 The Hub - Ouray, Ridgway, Ouray County article - "CSA opposes wilderness"
07/07/08 Nathan Small, a paid wilderness advocate with the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, wrote an article for Heath Haussamen's blog, outlining the issues related to wilderness designation from his perspective. 

In the comments section, Michael Swickard writes "Hey Heath - Is Nathan Small a Las Cruces City Councilor or a Wilderness Alliance employee? While the column talks straight from the point of view of the Wilderness Alliance, he is an elected and paid Las Cruces City Councilor. The Las Cruces City Councilors represent the citizens 24/7. So, where is his fiduciary relationship, is it with the City of Las Cruces where he is paid a good sum of money or is it with the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance where he is also paid money?  It cannot be both. Much like in real estate an agent must decide the fiduciary relationship and not represent both sides of a transaction. Nothing of Nathan Small’s job with the Wilderness Alliance can seep into his job as city councilor or it is an ethics violation.  Since he always represents District 4, he must not publicly speak of Wilderness issues. And, he must recluse himself from all votes that have any bearing on areas of interest in his other job with the Wilderness Alliance. Otherwise, his election as city councilor is enriching his job at the Wilderness Alliance. Councilor Small can privately cheer on the Wilderness activities and work for them privately, but not publicly. I would hope this is his last statement about Wilderness issues while serving as a Las Cruces City Councilor. This column by Nathan Small appears to me to be an ethics violation." 

Jim Scarantino wrote "I will deal with what Mr. Small calls "truths" in my next column, when I go through the actual wording of Mr. Pearce's legislation rather than throwing rhetoric and hyperbole across the path of progress on this issue. As for Mr. Small's claims that I have misrepresented specific facts, I point out:
1) Two governments have switched from supporting the wilderness proposal, the village of Hatch and La Union Soil and Water Conservation District. The Dona Ana Wilderness Coalition, however, still includes La Union in its list of endorsers.
2) 712 business and 22 local, state and national organizations have endorsed the proposal of People for Preserving Our Western Heritage, including the chambers of commerce of Las Cruces and Hatch Valley. That is not a "shaky claim at best" of substantial support. By comparison, the most the paid organizers for the wilderness coalition ever amassed was a group of just over 200 businesses, some of whom have since written the wilderness coalition asking that their names be removed from their list.
3) Not mentioned in Mr. Small's article is the fact that when Dona Ana County, the city of Las Cruces and other governments were asked to endorse the wilderness proposal, no other ways for preserving Dona Ana County's open space, while avoiding conflicts with law enforcement, water authorities and agriculture, were presented. Indeed, an opposing position was not even present at some of those hearings.
Further, as two Hatch village trustees have written to the Congressional delegation and as Rep. Pearce has also pointed out, representations were made that the agricultural community, particularly ranchers, supported the wilderness proposal when that was untrue. Indeed, it is undisputed that the ranching community wasn't contacted until after the government resolutions had been obtained and the wilderness campaign had been underway for more than two years.  My next column on Rep. Pearce's conservation bill for Dona Ana County will appear in its regular schedule. An open and full debate on the two competing bills, rather than competing articles and/or press conferences, should be considered by both sides of this issue as a better way of making progress on this matter."

07/07/08 Las Cruces Sun-News - "Sabinoso moves closer to wilderness designation"
07/07/08 Arizona Daily Star - "Tower sites planned for protected public land - Virtual fence to run through Cabeza Prieta, Organ Pipe" - "Conditions at the refuge aren't ideal for the pronghorn.  In addition to being mired in a prolonged drought, the trash, trails and roads left behind by nearly a decade of heavy illegal-immigrant and drug-smuggling traffic have landed the refuge on two dubious lists in the past four years.  This year, a report by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility named Cabeza Prieta one of the 10 most imperiled national wildlife refuges in the country.  In 2004, Defenders of Wildlife named the refuge one of the 10 refuges most at risk."
07/07/08 AP - "5 arrested in Rainbow Family clash with feds" - "Officers began to leave the gathering site with the subject and were circled by more Rainbow participants that began to physically interfere," Vollmer said.  About 400 Rainbows surrounded the officers trying to leave, she said.  "The mob began to advance, throwing sticks and rocks at the officers," Vollmer said."
07/02/08 "Off the Leash" by Jim Scarantino - "Pearce's conservation bill: What's not to like?
07/02/08 New West article by Rebecca Powell - "People for Preservation of Our Western Heritage Catches Praise"
07/02/08 Durango Telegraph - "Coming under fire - Mismanagement of federal firefighting funds alleged"
07/01/08 New Mexico Independent - "Domenici's staffer blames wilderness group for lost opportunity"
07/01/08 New West - "New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Catches Blame"
07/01/08 FBI - "Putting Intel to Work Against ELF and ALF Terrorists" - "Together, eco-terrorists and animal rights extremists are one of the most serious domestic terrorism threats in the U.S. today."
07/01/08 World Net Daily - "Czech prez: Environmentalism is new communism" - Czech President Vaclav Klaus: "As someone who lived under communism for most of my life I feel obliged to say that the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity at the beginning of the 21st century is not communism or its various softer variants," said Klaus, responding to questions posed by the two lawmakers. "Communism was replaced by the threat of ambitious environmentalism."
06/30/08 Albuquerque Journal letter to the editor by Tom Cooper and Jodi Denning - "Protect N.M. Land and Its Many Uses" - "We can protect our land, our natural resources and our open space without federal wilderness designations. This proposal protects not only the land itself, but also the access to the land and the beneficial stewardship and use of the land."
06/30/08 "Additional Restrictions Announced in Sandias and Manzanos"
06/29/08 New Mexico Federal Lands Council - "Pearce Introduces Land Protection Measure - Plan based on community input, would result in a balanced approach" - "The issues are complex, and we have worked diligently to find a middle ground that is acceptable on all sides of the issue," said Pearce, a former small businessman. Over 700 businesses and organizations have formed a Coalition supporting this proposal. We believe it offers a compromise that would greatly benefit southern New Mexico and has great potential across the western states struggling with these issues for providing appropriate protection without creating unnecessary hardships on surrounding communities."
06/27/08 Congressman Steve Pearce letter to the editor, Las Cruces Sun-News - "Wilderness bill".  "The editorial ("Wilderness bill deepens gap between groups", 6/25/08) regarding my recent legislation establishing Rangeland Preservation Areas for Do-a Ana County ignores critical parts of the bill. ... The RPA bill combines conservation, limited use and public safety in a common sense way to preserve our landscape for future generations."
06/27/08 The Las Cruces Bulletin contained two pieces on the Dona Ana County wilderness issues, but their website does not allow for linking directly to articles.  Publisher David E. McCollum writes "Also heating up is the “wilderness ” issue in Dońa Ana County. U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce introduced House Resolution 6300. The proposed legislation parallels the recommendations put forth by area ranchers and is supported by more than 700 organizations and individuals. If approved, the bill will create new law regarding how we will protect our natural resources such as the Organ Mountains. Pearce’s proposal offers an alternative to the current wilderness protection designations that many local people feel may be too restrictive for our high desert area with vast open spaces. It will be interesting to watch the battle between the ranchers and those who support the creation of several wilderness areas in the county. The political rhetoric has already begun with the latter group implying that only through an official wilderness designation will our public lands be protected. On the other hand, the ranchers and Rep. Pearce contend that the new law will offer a more reasonable alternative to protecting the Organ Mountains and other public lands that should be preserved.  Both groups have noble intentions. Hopefully, they can find a way to sit down together and work out their differences."  There is also an article by Todd Dickson titled "Wilderness backers rally against Pearce bill - Ranching group praises legislation as a 'strong stand'".
06/27/08 Post from Haussamen blog "Udall says he can win in Pearce's 2nd District"
06/27/08 "Ousted Rural Families Fight for Heritage"
06/27/08 Silicon Valley Mercury News article "Biologists, ranchers hope cows will help lure back butterflies" - "The cows eat the invasive grasses but leave the native plants alone," said Craige Edgerton of the Silicon Valley Land Conservancy. "In order for the butterfly to survive, it needs cows."
06/27/08 Rocky Mountain News letters to the editor "Browns Canyon hardly a 'wilderness'" and "Canyon hasn't suffered".
06/26/08 New West article by Rebecca Powell - "More Than a Yes or No to Wilderness"
06/25/08 Cibola county Beacon - "Senator Domenici assails forest plans"
06/25/08 Jackson Hole News & Guide - "Forest may examing cattle fence in detail"
06/24/08 New Mexico Independent - "Property rights over preservation"
06/24/08 Albuquerque Journal - "Conservation groups bash Pearce's bill"
06/24/08 Las Cruces Sun News - "Pearce wilderness bill draws fire"
06/23/08 New West article by Rebecca Powell - "Pearce Submits People's Proposal to the House"   This is part 3 in a series.  The previous two installments are:  "For Some, Wilderness is Simple" and "A Biased Observer of the Dona Ana County Wilderness Debate".
06/23/08 See our "At a Glance Comparison Chart" - Federal Wilderness designations & Rangeland Preservation Areas.
06/23/08 PFPOWH Press Release "PEARCE SUBMITS INNOVATIVE LAND PROTECTION LEGISLATION --- Coalition of over 700 Businesses and Organizations Support Measure"
06/20/08 New West article by Rebecca Powell - "Overstatements and Mythical Ranchers"
06/20/08 NM Federal Lands Council post - "U.S. Forest Service cuts grazing on National Grasslands"
06/19/08 New West article (part two in a series) by Rebecca Powell - "For Some, Wilderness is Simple"
06/19/08 New Mexico Independent article "No Slam Dunk - Ex-New Mexico Wilderness Alliance staffer accuses Sen. Jeff Bingaman of being "one of the worst" for not delivering on a bill last year for a Taos County national conservation areas."
06/18/08 Las Cruces Sun News article "Trap laid for USBP uncovered on patrol path" - "U.S. Border Patrol agents have discovered a booby trap of thin wires stretched along a patrol road in a remote stretch of desert in southern New Mexico, and say it could injure or kill border patrol officers.  Saturday's discovery is the second wire trap found at the U.S.-Mexico border this year.  The trap — two sections of thin wire strung tight across the road — was spotted Saturday night by a local rancher, Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier said Tuesday."
06/17/08 New West article (the first article in a series) by Rebecca Powell - "A Biased Observer of the Dona Ana County Wilderness Debate".
06/16/08 Los Angeles Times article - "Nevada rancher wins property rights award - Forest Service took his water rights, judge says."
06/16/08 New Mexico Federal Lands council blog: "American Ranching Family Wins 17-Year Battle with the Federal Government - Landmark decision in Hage v U.S. Issued by Federal Court of Claims" - "An epic 17-year battle between an American ranching family and the federal government has ended in favor of the family. The estates of Wayne and Jean Hage can finally claim a Fifth Amendment precedent-setting property rights victory. The court ruled that the Hages owned the water rights, ditch rights of ways, and range improvements on the federal grazing allotments. The court made clear that the government has the right to authorize grazing, but does not have the right to prevent the plaintiff from accessing their water rights on federal lands. Loren A. Smith, Senior Judge for the US Court of Federal Claims said, "As government seeks to change its policies concerning the purpose and use of public lands, private landowners have a valid claim to preserve their vested rights...the notion of private property is fundamental to the existence of our Nation...if private property is taken for public use, those citizens should be justly compensated."
06/16/08 Las Vegas Review Journal - "At the time, they said he was crazy - Government loses case involving late Nevada rancher"
06/13/08 Range Magazine article "Dust Devils - Cynical Politics is the Hot Wind that Powers Environmental Radicals".  This article features information on Dave Foreman, founder of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.  "Dave Foreman is founder of EarthFirst, former lobbyist for the Wilderness Society, and author of 'A Field Guide to Monkey Wrenching and Ecodefense', that details how to sabotage equipment, industrial projects, roads and vehicles in the name of environmental protection.  Foreman is credited with saying: 'An Ice Age is coming and I welcome it as much-needed changing.  I see no solution to our ruination of earth except for a drastic reduction of the human population."  According to the June 2008 "Wild News" from the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance website, Mr. Foreman will be a featured speaker at their "Building Community Series" on June 17, 2008.
06/13/08 Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune article "Late Nevada rancher wins $4.2M after judge finds Forest Service took water rights".
06/10/08 The estate of Wayne Hage (Pine Creek Ranch in central Nevada) was awarded over 4 million dollars plus interest in the takings case.  The case was caused by the US Forest service actions, and was in US Court of Federal Claims, Case No. 91,1470L.  See the attached Decision for details.
06/10/08 Letter to the editor from the Hatch Citizen newspaper, written by Tom Cooper.
06/01/08 Nevada Appeal guest column "Nevadans should wake up and stop wilderness proposal" - "In the end, this really isn't about the loss of millions of acres of land that we all enjoy playing or working in, it is about the loss of LIBERTY, the right to determine our own destinies and the destiny of the land that we love and call home."
05/29/08 Fresno Bee - "Court rulings resolve little in packhorse flap - Neither side seems happyp with rules governing Sierra wilderness areas"
05/29/08 Oregon - "ONDA wins grazing injuction"
05/28/08 Bend Bulletin - "Millican ranch owners fight to put house on their land"
05/28/08 Utah KUTV.com - "Small Utah Town Takes on Federal Government Over Wetland Project"
05/28/08 Las Vegas Sun - "Wilderness road upgrade has to wait"
05/28/08 Range Magazine article "Best of Both Worlds" about the efforts by ranchers to protect lands in Dona Ana County.
05/28/08 Las Cruces Bulletin editorial by Tom Cooper - "Ranchers have no confidence in wilderness designation - Group disputed label as 'radical fringe ranchers', draws attention to growing coalition of support"
05/28/08 Silver City Sun-News editorial "Reasonable alternatives"
05/28/08 Grand Junction Sentinel article "Allard still uncertain on conservation area support"
05/28/08 Las Cruces Sun News editorial by Greg Carrasco - "Sounds like Reagan" - "Congressman Pearce understands that responsible utilization of natural resources includes protection for special areas. The PFPOWH proposal will protect areas from sale, development and mining. It would protect the San Andres and Organ Mountains from the state line on the south to the county line on the north, including the western foothills, while providing special protection to 300,000 acres in the Dońa Anas, Las Uvas, Robledos, Picacho Peak, Aden Lava Flow, and West Potrillos."
05/28/08 "Conservancy district sues NM Game and Fish over rodents"
05/28/08 Las Cruces Sun-News article "Senate candidates spar over Border Patrol funds"
05/28/08 Flathead Beacon article "Western Ranchers Fight for New Deal on Wilderness"
05/28/08 "Landowners Beware - the Government's Found a New Way to Control Your Land"
05/28/08 The Oregonian article "Wyden proposes Badlands wilderness area near Bend"
05/20/08 Alamogordo Daily News "Bingaman sponsors 'Cowboy' bill; passes in Senate" - "According to Bingaman, approximately 800,000 ranchers are in business across the country, with New Mexico ranchers having generated about $900 million in sales in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available. In terms of production, only dairies are a larger industry than ranching.  "Ranching plays an important role in New Mexico's economy and is an important part of the state's history," Bingaman said Tuesday. "This resolution pays tribute to the hard working men and women of the American West."
05/20/08 Las Cruces Sun News "NM judge to consider legality of endangered falcon decision"
05/20/08 Wyoming Star Tribune article "BLM struggles to find balance on Green Mountain allotment"
05/20/08 Gillette News Record article "BLM mulls grazing, drilling limits"
05/19/08 Center for Biological Diversity press release "In Precedent-setting Decision, Federal Court Denies County's Right to Build Roads Through National Monument"
05/17/08 Nevada RGJ article "Two Cents Worth: We're not alone in rejecting lands bill.  Is it possible we hayseeds don't know what's best for us?" - "Environmentalists and proponents of wilderness would have us believe that little ole Lyon and Mineral Counties are the only areas in the entire U.S. that have turned thumbs down to wilderness designations.  Not ture.  ...  While Lyon and Mineral county have not proposed a designation of their own, the battle raging here sounds all too familiar to the fight in New Mexico. Each and every county in Nevada will now take a closer look at future lands bills that include wilderness designations--thanks to Lyon and Mineral Counties."
05/16/08 BLM Announces Revisions to Handbook Designed to Make Environmental Reviews More Efficient
05/15/08 The new issue of RANGE Magazine has a 4 page article on People for Preserving Our Western Heritage.  As soon as the article is available on the RANGE website, we will provide a link to it.  In the meantime, if you aren't a subscriber, pick up a copy and check it out.
05/15/08 Las Vegas Review Journal Editorial "Desert critters and the Endangered Species Act"
05/11/08 Arizona Daily Star letter to the editor "Pima buys land, lots of land"
05/11/08 Idaho Statesman article "Owyhees bill hits new snag"
05/10/08 New Mexico Federal Lands Council article "Grazing Buyout/Wilderness/S.2833"
05/09/08 Seattle Times article "Bush signs Wild Sky wilderness bill in Washington state".  For some commentary, see the National Center for Public Policy Research blog May 8, 2008 entry.
05/09/08 Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties For Stable Economic Growth endorses the Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Act.
05/08/08 Las Cruces Sun News Letter to the Editor by Tom Mobley - "Balanced proposal" - "Which is more radical? Is it the dogmatic commitment to wilderness only? Or should we take an objective look at every area, see what needs to be protected, and then consider measures that provide the protection in a manner that allows sustainable management of natural resources and reasonable access to everyone?"
05/08/08 Oregonian article "Senate committee approves buyout of cattle ranchers" - "Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said he would introduce legislation in the next week to add federal payments to ranchers who give up their grazing rights. The original agreement called for federal money, but it was removed during Senate consideration.  Walden called it a "bait and switch" that shortchanges ranchers who are walking away from a valuable asset. ... The federal payment was deleted at the insistence of committee chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who worried about setting a precedent if federal money was used.  Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., also objected, arguing that using federal money to buy grazing rights could lead to a wholesale buyback that would seal federal lands from grazing."  Also see Southern Oregon's Mail Tribune article "Soda Mountain Wilderness bill clears key committee".

Click here for the language of the pertinent sections of the two bills.

05/08/08 Montana KTVQ - "Senate panel approves Idaho wilderness bill" - "The bill, introduced by Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, would create an 807-square-mile wilderness. It also would open 300 square miles of previously off-limit areas to motorized recreation, livestock grazing and other activities."
05/08/08 Investor's Business Daily article "Environmentalists still can't get it right"
05/08/08 Newsmax article "Conservationists, Developer Reach Major California Land Deal" - "A group of environmentalists and the owners of a large stretch of wilderness have reached a deal that would set aside the largest parcel of land for conservation in California history."  Note that the Tejon Ranch is PRIVATELY owned, not federally owned.  For information on the Tejon Ranch, go to their website.
05/07/08 Fox News article "Groups Struggle to Clean Up Mess Illegal Immigrants Leave Behind" - "The latest battle in the war on illegal immigration isn't over the smuggling of undocumented workers, it's over the trash they leave behind. ... In 2006 alone, more than 1.18 million pounds of trash was collected along the southern Arizona border... Arizona officials have spent approximately $4.4 million over five years to clean up the mess, that continues to build with each crossing. Nearly $1 million was spent for 2007 from a base BLM appropriation.  Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which covers most of the Arizona border, doesn't have statistics about how many people cross through each year, but on average, agents apprehend 1,500 people a day, with 378,000 undocumented immigrants caught in 2007 alone."
05/06/08 Las Cruces Sun News article "Lawmen tackle border security"
05/04/08 Reno Gazette Journal article "Two Cents Worth: Reid pledges to preserve agriculture, too - Senator will also honor our wishes opposing lands bill" - "U.S. Senator Harry Reid's office pledged again this week to honor the wishes of the Lyon County Commissioners in opposing wilderness and an all-encompassing lands bill. Senator John Ensign and Congressman Dean Heller have followed suit."
05/04/08 Western Horseman article "End of Trail" - "Across the United States, riding trails are at risk. More than ever, backcountry horsemen must compete with hikers, mountain bikers, ATV riders and others for public-land access. And, with increasingly restrictive—even anti-horse—regulations in some locales, trails on which riders were once welcome are now hostile environments for horsemen. ... The Shawnee National Forest covers more than 277,000 acres, south of Harrisburg, Illinois. Under its 2006 Forest Plan, the U.S. Forest Service enacted regulations in the Big Grand Pierre Creek, Eagle Creek, Lusk Creek and Upper Bay Creek watersheds to prohibit riders from leaving established trails, with a $5,000 fine and six-month imprisonment for violators."
04/29/08 Mesilla Valley CowBelles letter supporting the proposed Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Area Act.
04/29/08 Washington Post article "From Mexico, Drug Violence Spills Into U.S."
04/29/08 Drovers article "North of the border" about a rancher operating just north of the Mexico border in Arizona - “Their plight is terrible,” he says — the drug smugglers are another matter. “They’re dangerous people. I wouldn’t leave the house without a sidearm, just to protect myself if I get caught in the crossfire.” Besides the workers and the smugglers, bandits roam the border area, waiting for a chance to rob either group. It’s not unusual for Heilig and his wife to hear gunshots from their front porch."
04/25/08 "Enviros Back Udall" - "Several national environmental groups are joining forces this year to try to elect Tom Udall and two other Democrats to the U.S. Senate, an unprecedented level of coordination that aims to build off their success in 2006 in ousting a U.S. House member."
04/24/08 Forbes article - "Southern Border Wall and Wilderness Border Bill to be Focus of Congressional Hearing" - "Representatives of Idaho's ranching and conservationist communities praised a bill Tuesday that would create a wilderness in southwest Idaho's Owyhee canyonlands, while opening other lands to motorized recreation and grazing."
04/24/08 Capital Press article - "Ranchers, environmentalists praise Idaho wilderness bill" - "Proposed Wilderness designation will create limited enforcement zone along U.S./Mexico border declares former Border Patrol officer."
04/23/08 National Review Online article - "Will Liberty Go Extinct?" - "Over the course of nearly four decades, environmental regulation has grown by leaps and bounds. Research conducted by the Competitive Enterprise Institute shows that environmental lawmaking has proven to be the leading area of government lawmaking activity for decades.  For those who value liberty and free enterprise, these trends should be disturbing. Surely, we all want a healthy environment, but environmental regulation has become synonymous with “command-and-control” regulation."
04/22/08 "Support for Alternative to Wilderness Designations Grows Dramatically - Over 700 businesses and organizations support coalition" - "More than 700 businesses, governmental entities, and community organizations have now endorsed alternative legislation that would preserve open space and protect rangeland in southern New Mexico without the designation of 'federal wilderness'."
04/22/08 Wall Street Journal editorial - "Why I Left Greenpeace" by Patrick Moore, co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace.  "As I completed a Ph.D. in ecology, I combined my science background with the strong media skills of my colleagues. In keeping with our pacifist views, we started Greenpeace.  But I later learned that the environmental movement is not always guided by science. As we celebrate Earth Day today, this is a good lesson to keep in mind. ... We all have a responsibility to be environmental stewards. But that stewardship requires that science, not political agendas, drive our public policy."
04/19/08 U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works press release "Inhofe-Mica United Against Federal Land Grab Legislation - Congressional Hearings Expose Significant Opposition to Democrat Water Bill"
04/18/08 Jackson Hole Star Tribune article "Manager backs plan to let cattle graze in E. Idaho park" - "The manager of a popular state park in eastern Idaho has proposed letting cattle graze there again, arguing it will make the park more like it was when it was a stop on the Oregon Trail by eliminating invasive plants and allowing native plants to return."
04/14/08 Las Cruces Sun News article "Rep. Steve Pearce focuses on border issues during recent visit" - "He also agreed that a proposed wilderness designation of local lands designated as wilderness study areas was unwise.   "The other side doesn't care what the law is — they're already breaking it," Pearce said, adding such a designation would not only make it harder for drug agents to locate hundred-acre marijuana fields but also prevent emergency workers from fixing dams after disastrous floods."
04/13/08 Idaho Statesman article "Owyhee Canyonlands protections back before Congress"
04/12/08 Reno Gazette Journal article "Congressional reps say they don't endorse wilderness proposal" - "The message was clear during last Wednesday's meeting in Smith Valley conducted by the Coalition for Public Access (CPA): the vast majority of those present oppose a current Nevada Wildenress Project wilderness designation proposal as part of a public lands bill.  But despite overwhelming opposition from most of the about 750 in attendance--including a direct request that they drop the proposal--a trio of representatives of wilderness groups that proposed almost 700,000 acres of land in mainly Lyon and Mineral Counties be designated as wilderness, remained firm in their stance on that proposal. ... Lyon County Sheriff Allen Veil also spoke about the impacts on his office of trying to enforce the limitations of a wilderness designation, saying the LCSO they would be called about violations, not the federal law enforcement, and adding, "We've got some concerns."  Veil also said the designation could be a strain on Search and Rescue if people are lost in areas where motorized travel is restricted."
04/11/08 Cortez Journal article - "Public land agencies could join services" - "Study measure proposal to move U.S. Forest Service under management with BLM, National Park Service"
04/10/08 Nevada Appeal article "Wilderness advocates 'overplayed their hand'" - "Rep. Dean Heller said a proposal by the Nevada Wilderness Project will make it difficult to do a lands bill of any sort for Lyon and Mineral counties.  "This has played out very poorly," Heller, R-Nev., told The Record-Courier on Monday. "The special interest groups have made this process very difficult. They've overplayed their hand is the bottom line." ...  "The Nevada Wilderness Project was supposed to be negotiated between local cattlemen, county commissioners and the people involved," he said. "It was supposed to be done in good faith and it wasn't." ... "I've traveled around quite a bit over this issue," he said. "People are very vocal and for good reason. They are very concerned about a bill that doesn't have community buy-in. I believe they have every reason to be upset."
04/10/08 Pueblo Chieftain article "County joins opposition to Pinion Canyon expansion" - "The Pueblo County Board of Commissioners made official its opposition to the U.S. Army's plans to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver site Tuesday.  In a resolution passed unanimously by the three-member board, the county joined ranchers and other opponents of a plan to expand the Army's training grounds by 414,000 acres."
04/10/08 The Washington Times article "Environmental hysterics"
04/09/08 Mercury News article "Open space district awards grazing lease for San Mateo property" - "The old paradigm was to kick cattle off property when acquired by conservation groups. Overgrazed, eroded and trampled pastures had alarmed the region's environmentalists. But further research brought a turnaround in thinking. Removing cattle from San Jose's Silver Creek Hills in the 1990s, for instance, led to depletion of wildflowers that are food for the endangered bay checkerspot butterfly.  Inspired by successful grazing on San Jose's Coyote Ridge, district managers seek to reduce wildfire risk in an area that is too big to mow and too dangerous to burn - and fend off the encroachment of forest.  The district's adoption of "conservation grazing" - the use of livestock to boost the diversity of native plants and animals, control the spread of invasive non-native plants and prevent fire - may eventually reintroduce cattle to 5,000 grassy acres in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. "
04/08/08 Reno Gazette Journal article "Lawmakers ease off on wilderness idea" - "A proposal to designate a vast swath of rugged terrain in western Nevada as wilderness has alarm bells ringing in several rural communities, with scores of residents opposed and some of Nevada's congressional delegation distancing themselves from the idea. ...  But residents suspicious of them and federal representatives are mobilizing to block a proposal they said could damage their economy and cherished way of life. ... County commissions in Lyon, Mineral and Esmeralda counties have approved resolutions opposing wilderness designations."
04/07/08 Las Cruces Sun News Editorial by Dolly June Moore - "Wilderness proposal brings back bad memories".
04/07/08 2008 session State of Utah resolution "Joint Resolution Opposing Designation of Public Lands Currently Urged by Congress and the Bureau of Land Management".  "This resolution: urges Congress not to enact federal legislation designating additional "wilderness" on public lands within Utah without the unanimous support of Utah's congressional delegation; urges the United States Bureau of Land Management not to restrict access to existing public lands in Utah under its jurisdiction through so-called "wilderness characteristics" options in resource management plans; and reaffirms the Legislature's strong support for continued public access and multiple use regarding public lands."
04/07/08 Nevada group launches website - Coalition for Public Access
04/06/08 Liberal, KS Southwest Daily Times article - "Former border patrol agent speaks on immigration".  "One of the worries Taylor currently has about immigration are two bills, HR 3287 and HR 2593. The first would designate part of the United States/Mexico border in Arizona as wilderness. The second would designate all of the United States border with both Canada and Mexico as wilderness.  'A wilderness designation in the United States is very restrictive as to what you can do when you’re on the wilderness area,' he explained. 'You cannot take any kind of mechanized equipment on there – not even a bicycle.'  A couple of weeks ago, a hiker discovered an illegal immigrant who had been shot three times by bandits, called bajardoras.  'Groups of three to six with automatic weapons go into these wilderness areas and they rob the illegal aliens that are going through, and if they give them any resistance, they just shoot them,' Taylor said. 'This is what a lot of people don’t understand, that the victim is the person coming here.'  Since the man was found in an area designated as a wilderness, he had to be rescued by foot – a group walked to him with a stretcher and carried him back out. From the time he was found until he was taken to the hospital took 12 hours, Taylor said.  The bills are currently pending, he added, but if passed, they would hinder the duties of the border patrol, because it would keep the border patrolmen away from the border unless they were on foot or horseback.  'The congressmen that are supporting it know that this is going to make this area more dangerous. It’s going to encourage the smugglers to use it more, and they’re trying to cloak it as wilderness to get it passed,' he said. 'These wildernesses should never be considered on or near the international borders.'  But mainly, he said, the bills would keep border patrols from being able to do their job. Part of what they do is to enforce immigration laws. The purpose of those laws, he said, is to protect the American economy and American jobs and to protect the public safety and national security."
04/02/08 Mesilla Valley Sportsmen's Alliance, a supporter of our legislative proposal and a member of our Coalition, launched a new blog this year - "To promote the interests of Mesilla Valley sportsmen and recreationists and to preserve and protect continued access to all federal and state lands for multiple use by all citizens."
04/02/08 Evansville Courier & Press article "Fliers hint at I-69 resistance" - "The loosely-knit group Earth First has circulated fliers in Evansville and posted information on its Web site about "resisting" the start of construction this summer of the Evansville-to-Indianapolis highway.  Earth First was the same organization whose members last July barged into the offices of I-69 engineering consultants, snatched items off employees' desks, tossed them outside and fled. They claimed they were "evicting" the staff just as the state would be evicting property owners along I-69's path."
04/01/08 Mason Valley News - "City to create resolution, send letters opposing wilderness proposals".  "Last week, the Board of Lyon County Commissioners voted to send a resolution to state, and possibly, all of U.S. Congress, opposing this bill. The City similarly voted to create a resolution opposing the bill and to send letters to all state representatives stating the same. ... It was also noted last week Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons is in opposition to the bill."
04/01/08 BLM Statistics comparing pre-FLMPA (1976) to 2000. 
03/31/08 Western Livestock Journal article: "New Mexico faces possibility of new wilderness designation"
03/31/08 Fox News: "FBI: Eco-Terrorism Remains No. 1 Domestic Terror Threat" - "Generally speaking, the Earth Liberation folks are motivated by a deep kind of affective connection to nature that many of them would characterize as spiritual or religious," said Bron Taylor, a professor of religion and nature at the University of Florida. "They believe that the human species is perpetrating a war on nature and that those who are connected to nature and belong to it have a right to defend themselves."  Click here for additional background on the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and eco-terrorism.
03/28/08 "Radical Tucson environmentalist gets 1 year, 1 day for speech" - "A radical environmentalist was sentenced Thursday to one year and one day in federal prison for speaking publicly about how to make a homemade Molotov cocktail.  Rodney Coronado apologized for his past use of violent tactics in the name of animal rights and the environment, and said he had cut his ties to groups, including the Earth Liberation Front."
03/27/08 Western Horseman magazine article "This Land is My Land".  "When the Army’s map showed plans to acquire an additional 418,000 acres, with the potential for expanding the site to more than 2 million acres, local landowners were outraged and began organizing against the expansion.  Much of the proposed area is private property, and residents remember all too well how the original maneuver site was acquired—the federal government seized about half of it by condemning it and relocating 11 landowners."
03/27/08 "Lyon wilderness land request out of line" - "People from the Sierra Club have been quoted as saying this is no longer a matter of quality, but is a matter of quantity.  Simply because these Counties' populations are not very large in comparison to other areas, the environmentalist movement has been emboldened enough to run over us."
03/26/08 Upcoming vote, April 2, on Grijalva Wilderness Border Bills (HR 3287 and HR 2593).  These bills are a threat to Homeland Security and provide an open pathway for drug smugglers and illegal aliens into the United States.  CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN to oppose this bill.
03/26/08 "Forest Service May Move to Interior - Some see agency as out of place under the USDA"
03/25/08 Western Livestock Journal - "Wilderness, wilderness everywhere"
03/22/08 Douglas County Record Courier article "Wilderness designation limits access".  "Sen. Reid was quoted as saying, "I don't want people to be afraid of wilderness," as he pointed out the successful lands bill county-by-county with Clark, Lincoln and White Pine counties as examples. But, a wilderness designation for the newly proposed area in this case should be greatly feared. The social and economic impact would be devastating. ... To fully understand what the potential impact a wilderness designation would mean to the area now in question, one needs to understand what a wilderness designation really means."
03/21/08 Billings Gazette article "Ranch agrees to end grazing near park - Depredations pushed Diamond G to accept deal on federal land".  "Stephen Gordon, Diamond G Ranch president, estimated losses to predators in the hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. That includes cows, horses, family dogs snatched from the front porch and a young colt killed in a corral, he said. ... Gordon said they're now scaling back their ranch operation. The decision to have part of the grazing allotment retired was done 'with some reluctance.'"
03/20/08 Book review article "Death by Environmentalism", reviewing the book "Eco-Freaks: Environmentalism Is Hazardous to Your Health" by John Berlau.
03/19/08 Las Cruces Sun News "Wilderness, a sportsman's view" - "Our group was formed because we have differing opinions of what constitutes good management. We are not caught up in the romance of wilderness and we believe that better results can be achieved when all management options are available. We want stakeholder unity and historical uses perpetuated. We believe in science and we want to be able to implement that science on our grasslands. Wilderness will disallow that. Water and cattle are united. Without the cattle in our system, the water will go away. We want water distribution expanded. Wilderness will disallow that. If the public believes in global warming they had better be aware that carbon dioxide is a factor in brush expansion. We want to control creosote, mesquite, and tar bush expansion. Wilderness will disallow that. Protected structure and waters, enhanced management, and limited seasonal access are needed for the health of wildlife. We want to be able to partner with stakeholders and spread the cost of projects to accomplish that. Wilderness will disallow that."
03/19/08 "Packed house unanimous in opposition to wilderness proposal"
03/19/08 "Rural Nevadans question size and timetable for wilderness proposal"
03/19/08 "Mineral County residents reject wilderness, Commissioners adopt resolution saying 'no'" - "The congressional reps stressed that the proposal did not come from the senators or congressman, but from the Nevada Wilderness Project and the meetings being held are part of the democratic process. ... MC Commissioner Richard Bryant said, 'We are scared to death of these backroom deals that protect special interests at the expense of everyone in this room.'"
03/13/08 Letter from James Scarantino, past Chairman of the Coalition for New Mexico Wilderness: "Underlying the problems with the Dona Ana County wilderness campaign is the fact that the persons ultimately calling the shots, behind the screen of a legitimate-seeming coalition and local organizers, hail from the most radical wing of the environmental movement.  They include persons who founded and participated in EarthFirst, the nation's first eco-terrorist group. ... That is not the sort of mindset that makes legislation possible, and helps explain why the wilderness community has produced so little new wilderness legislation in New Mexico over the past two decades."    Click here for additional background on the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and eco-terrorism.
03/13/08 Press release: "Pearce Alone Stands Up for New Mexico's Interests" - "Today, Congressman Steve Pearce said the other members of the New Mexico delegation are wrong to support legislation that would threaten private property rights and severely limit the use of public lands."  This is in relation to H.R. 2016 - the National Landscape Conservation System Act.
03/12/08 More on the ELF arson eco-terrorism events:  Newsweek: "From Green to Black - A look at the eco-terror movement."   Tahoma, WA News Tribune "Woodinville arsons look like eco-terror reborn".  "The Earth Liberation Front isn’t al-Qaida, but it’s too close for comfort."   FOX News "Federal Jury Deadlocks in Eco-Terror Firebombing Trial".  Boise, ID editorial "Eco-terrorism is a growing threat".  UK Times "Eco-terrorists top the FBI's threat list after wave of arson attacks".
03/12/08 "NM Governor Proclaims Ag Week "The Governor noted that agriculture has always been a cornerstone of our state’s and our nation’s economy."  Click here for the actual proclimation.
03/04/08 Utah is really taking a stand against eco-terrorism.  Read the letter from the Utah House of Representatives to Mr. Hansjorg Wyss, Chairman, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) questioning the organization about "coincidental criminal activity" involving trustees of the organization.  "Given Mr. Ristow's position as Treasurer and the fact that these two individuals interacted so closely through SUWA, the notion that they committed unrelated yet similar, highly complex crimes involving such sophisticated financial knowledge strains credibility.    SUWA's own public statements regarding these individuals' involvement in SUWA investment activities now calls into question whether any SUWA funds may have found their way into these schemes, and whether any proceeds from these crimes found their way back into SUWA. ... very little had been done on SUWA's part to put these questions to rest.  These questions are not going away, and given SUWA's large amount of financial contributions and outside sources of funding, and especially SUWA's long-time association with these two individuals, the citizens of Utah demand your accountability with regards to these matters."
03/04/08 Twin Falls Times-News article "Western Watersheds sues BLM over grazing, fence building".  "The group wants a judge to block the agency from building fences and allowing livestock to graze on the habitat of sage grouse and pygmy rabbit... The agency has authorized additional grazing in unburned areas and an additional 400 miles of fence repair while ignoring impacts to wildlife, Western Watersheds alleges."
03/04/08 Multiple articles on eco-terrorist attacks on homes in Washington.  Damage is estimated at $7 million dollars.  The FBI is investigating as a potential domestic terrorism act.  Associated Press "Luxury Homes Burn in Apparent Eco-Attack"The FBI has said the ELF and a sister group, the Animal Liberation Front, have committed hundreds of criminal acts.  ELF is known for trying to cause economic damage to companies or organizations it considers to be harming the environment."  National Post article "Marni Soupcoff on the Earth Liberation Front".  Seattle Times article "New houses becoming popular targets".  The Earth Liberation Front website is www.earthliberationfront.com
03/04/08 Los Angeles Times: "Environmental activist pleads not guilty".  "Three days after his extradition from Canada, environmental activist and ex-fugitive Tre Arrow pleaded not guilty to arson and conspiracy charges in federal court Monday and was ordered held as a flight risk and public danger pending trial."
03/03/08 The Village of Hatch unanimously passed Resolution No. 732 on March 3, 2008, endorsing the DONA ANA COUNTY PLANNED GROWTH, OPEN SPACE AND RANGELAND PRESERVATION ACT - THE PEOPLE'S PROPOSAL.
03/03/08 Albuquerque Alibi article "The Heinrich Maneuver" by Jim Scarantino.  "Other entries on Heinrich’s résumé are drawing scrutiny, particularly ties to radical environmentalists and eco-terrorists."  In this week's issue, under "Correction" in the Letters section: "... while Heinrich did receive campaign contributions from Dave Foreman and Susan Morgan, co-founders of radical environmental group Earth First!, and has worked on the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance board with Foreman, Heinrich says this does not imply that he endorses Earth First!'s tactics or philosophies."  Dave Foreman was a founder of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.  Click here for additional background on Mr. Foreman, NMWA and eco-terrorism.
03/03/08 "Fugitive activist extradited to United States"  "Fugitive environmental activist Tre Arrow is back in the United States to stand trial on conspiracy and arson charges after nearly four years in a Canadian prison."
03/01/08 "Utah Senate adds fuel to rapidly growing prairie fire against enviro 'elitists'".  "In an overwhelming 22-3 vote, the Senate approved legislation, H.R. Res. 10, passed by the Utah House two weeks ago, that 'urges Congress not to enact federal legislation designating additional 'wilderness' on public lands within Utah without the unanimous support of Utah's congressional delegation.'  The resolution also 'urges the United States Bureau of Land Management not to restrict access to existing public lands in Utah under its jurisdiction through so-called ‘wilderness characteristics’ options in resource management plans.'"
03/01/08 Mason Valley News article "Yerington to respond to ongoing lands bill actions "One concern the City and County has is the federally proposed lands bill trying to encompass too many items in one go. This includes water issues, which is also included in this proposed bill. Yerington Mayor Doug Homestead said it has become an all-or-none scenario.  Another concern with this current incarnation is Lyon and Mineral Counties do not believe they are being included in the process of their own lands bill. Lack of adequate notice or inclusion of local governments has made it appear the process is being circumvented on the federal level, Paine said. Members of the City Council agree. "We're getting all this stuff shoved down our throat," City Councilman Bill Vicencio said Monday."
02/29/08 Roger Hedgecock, San Diego KOGO radio talk show host interviews Zack Taylor, retired Border Patrol officer, on his radio program about the proposed Tumacacori Highlands Wilderness designation (HR 3287 & 2593) and how it would affect fire fighting efforts and hamper the Border Patrol efforts to stop drug smuggling, human smuggling, and terrorist activity on our borders.
02/29/08 Southern Oregon Mail Tribune article "BLM backs Soda Mountain Wilderness".  "Although the BLM supports the goals of the bill, it doesn't the grazing buyouts or the requirement calling for the agency to construct and maintain fencing to exclude livestock from allotments that are retired, Johnson said."  Well known anti-grazing and anti-livestock advocate Andy Kerr testified in this process.
02/29/08 Fergus Falls Daily Journal article "Waterfowl area grazing benefits birds, cattle".  "'Some of these guys are damaging their pastures,' he says. 'There’s not enough of a buffer, or litter material, to protect it. Cattle are feeding all day, and taller grasses need to rest more.'  At the same time, in the Waterfowl Production Areas, the heavy litter layer is making the land less attractive to ground-nesting migratory birds. ... Working with local ranchers, cattle are allowed to graze on certain Waterfowl Production Areas using a permit system. This grazing closely mimics the effects native bison once provided to stimulate plant growth."
02/29/08 The Hub article "Snowmobile group opposes wilderness expansion".  "CSA [Colorado Snowmobile Association] opposes wilderness designations on several principles, according to Kukuk, including the concept that wilderness effectively shuts out a large proportion of the population from recreating in an area. In a letter responding to ROCC member Al Berni, who invited CSA to comment on the proposal, Kukuk noted that wilderness areas are closed off to "the youngest, oldest and disabled." "Wilderness does not allow for any motorized and mechanized access," wrote Kukuk.  "This includes wheelchairs and bicycles, so these methods that make traveling easier for so many are shut out. It makes a very exclusive group that has access to an area, and we feel that this is in direct contradiction to the multi-use mandate given to the federal land managers to uphold."
02/29/08 Fernley Leader article "Map showing proposed wilderness land designation expansion causes concerns"
02/29/08 "Y2Y wildlife corridor bill to be heard Feb. 27"Legislation to authorize the creation of the Yukon to Yellowstone wildlife corridor (Y2Y) that would engulf 2,000 miles of land is scheduled for a public hearing..."  This would create a 2,000 MILE WIDE swath that includes the entire northeast corner of Washington, most of Idaho and much of Montana.  "Representative Kretz believes the corridor's creation would strangle rural communities with new regulations and run families off out of their homes. 'A vast series of new land regulations will be imposed to control land use, jeopardizing private property rights and economic growth,' he said."
02/29/08 Las Cruces Sun News article "Annual Chile Challenge wraps up; event's future may be on the rocks"  "Some trails used by Chile Challenge participants cross land that has been proposed as part of a federally designated wilderness or a national monument in the Robledo Mountains.  "My guess is that sooner or later, (environmental groups) are going to get it closed down," he [Las Crucen Lance Harkey] said."
02/19/08 Las Cruces Sun-News article "Land trade between BLM, state would protect land, help Santa Teresa"
02/18/08

The CNN program “American Morning,” which airs at 6 a.m. ET, is conducting an online poll asking consumers: “Do you trust the safety of the U.S. food supply?” During this morning’s broadcast, the results were just 16 percent saying “yes” and 84 percent “no.” Currently the results are 47% yes, 53% no (at 12:13 p.m. MST).  Please take a minute to vote online at http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/american.morning/ and then encourage other stakeholders and producers in your state to do the same. Although these types of polls are not statistically valid, news anchors often fail to make that point when reporting the results. CNN may continue to turn to the poll results throughout the day as an indication of consumer confidence in light of the recall so it’s important we make our voice heard.  This FYI is funded by The Beef Checkoff

02/17/08 Arizona Republic article "Migrant-smuggling ring dealt serious blow" - "The two suspects paid recruiters in Mexico to find customers, paid Mexican police to allow smugglers to cross, and paid trail guides to lead immigrants through the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in southeastern Arizona, Piano said."
02/17/08 The documentary "Undue Burden - The Real Cost of Living With Wolves" by Bruce Hemming has been released and is now available for purchase.
02/15/08 Article from the January 08 issue of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch magazine by Erik Ness titled "Support for Alternative to Wilderness Designations Grows Dramatically". 
02/15/08 Reno Gazette-Journal article "Map showing proposed wilderness land designation expansion causes concerns".
02/14/08 The Hatch Valley Chamber of Commerce voted at their 2/14/08 meeting to endorse the DONA ANA COUNTY PLANNED GROWTH, OPEN SPACE AND RANGELAND PRESERVATION ACT - THE PEOPLE'S PROPOSAL
02/14/08

GAO Report "WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT: Federal Agencies Lack Key Long- and Short-Term Management Strategies for Using Program Funds Effectively" summary.  "The nation’s wildland fire problems have worsened over the past decade."

02/14/08 Our website underwent significant restructuring today to better facilitate linking directly to the individual pages of our website.  Please email us at pfpowh@gmail.com if you encounter any links that are not working properly or other problems.
02/08/08 The Coalition of Businesses and Organizations supporting the DONA ANA COUNTY PLANNED GROWTH, OPEN SPACE AND RANGELAND PRESERVATION ACT - THE PEOPLE'S PROPOSAL passes the 600 mark. 
02/08/08 Utah Policy Daily article: "Resolution Urges Congress to Leave Utah's Wilderness Alone "The future of 9 million acres of public land is in limbo. Congress is considering declaring the Utah parcels federal wilderness, including acreage in the Uintah Basin. In response, Utah lawmakers are moving a resolution that sends a clear message to Congress - "keep your hands off our land."  "It's frustrating to me that so many of these discussions come from people who are not from the West, (not) from Utah certainly," Ogden Representative Kerry Gibson says. "I think that many of these people would be highly offended if we came into their state and designated large swaths of their state as unaccessable [sic]. It's quite offensive."  Gibson and his colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously Wednesday for the resolution.
02/06/08 NPR Article "Americans spending less time in nature".  "Every year, a smaller percentage of Americans are fishing, camping or engaging in other nature-based activities."
02/06/08 The City of Las Cruces and Dona Ana County are launching a project called "Vision 2040".  This will result in a 30 year comprehensive plan for the entire County.  The outcome will be implemented through ordinances and resolutions.  Everyone in our county needs to stay informed in this process, and be involved.  This will impact everyone in our county.
02/06/08 Omaha World-Herald article "Turner 'almost done' buying up ranchland".  "He said he would like to reach 2 million acres nationwide before he dies"
02/06/08 "Congress Moves To Seize Control Of All U.S. Waters"  "They are attempting to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 (HR2421 and S1870) that would amend the 1972 Clean Water Act and replace the words "navigable waters" with "waters of the United States." Further, it defines "waters of the United States" with such breathtaking scope that federal agencies would be required to regulate use of every square inch of the U.S., both public and private."  To take action, go to http://www.landrights.org
02/05/08 KVOA Tucson "Interior Department plans to boost border security "The Interior Department plans to boost border security by deploying more law enforcement officers along the Southwest border to deter drug smugglers that are endangering local residents and federal workers and damaging fragile ecosystems."
02/04/08 Las Cruces Sun News article "How do we preserve our natural resources?" by Jerry G. Schickedanz is dean emeritus of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, and Gerald W. Thomas is president emeritus of New Mexico State University.  "When the existing land designations are studied, every one of them centers on the reduction or complete elimination of the presence of man. They afford "protections" against man, accompanied by promises of future enjoyment by man. The idea of Rangeland Preservation Areas counters that philosophy and approach, and offers a new revelation in recognizing the historical fabric of human involvement with the land and the expectation of continued stewardship with the promise of permanent open space protection . . . forever."
02/04/08 Durango Herald article "Cyclists weigh wilderness proposal". "Tim Kral reflected the concerns of many mountain bikers to a U.S. Forest Service proposal to recommend wilderness designation for the Hermosa Creek area.  "I think we'd like to see protection," Kral said.  "But we don't want to be excluded."
01/31/08 The audio and video of the Las Cruces City Council meeting from Tuesday, 1/29/08 is available on the city's website.  Tom Cooper and Frank DuBois made a presentation to the Council on our proposed legislation. 
01/31/08 There is a 4 part video series titled "EARTHFIRST! The Politics of Radical Environmentalism by Manes".  Excerpts of this 1987 documentary appeared on 60 minutes: "Part 1", "Part 2" and "Part 3" and "Part 4".  Featured in the videos are past and present NMWA Board Members Dave Foreman, Nancy Morton (Dave Foreman's wife), and many other EarthFirst! followers.  Mr. Foreman has publicly stated that their philosophy and purpose is to "destroy civilization and technology, and eliminate the need for the word 'wilderness' because everything will be 'wilderness'".  The book "Coyotes and Town Dogs" indicates that the current Chair of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, C. Wesley Leonard, was also heavily involved with Dave Foreman in the inception of EarthFirst!.  Former NMWA Chairman Dr. Robert Howard has also been closely associated with Mr. Foreman in NMWA and The Wildlands Project and continues to be involved with Foreman's Rewilding Institute.  NMWA Board Member Todd Schulke also has ties to EarthFirst!.
01/30/08 The NMWA website reflects several changes in the individuals serving on their Board of Directors, one of which is the addition of Nancy Morton to the Board.  Ms. Morton is recognized as a founding member of NMWA.  She is also the wife of Dave Foreman, and is listed on the "Working Group" for the Rewilding Institute.  Dave Foreman was listed on the Board of Directors of NMWA through 2005, according to IRS Form 990 records, but he did not appear on the 2006 Form 990.  Mr. Foreman has a long and well documented history in the environmental movement.  He co-founded the radical environmental group EarthFirst!, wrote the book "Eco-Defense, A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching", and has been arrested by the FBI on conspiracy charges, among many other "accomplishments".  The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Summer 2007 newsletter had an article on the founding board members of NMWA.  They stated in that article that Mr. Dave Foreman "provided many, if not most, of the philosophical underpinnings that guide the work of NMWA."   For more information, see our Reference & Resources section of our website.
01/30/08 Article "New U.S. Forest Service data reveals positive gains".  "The most recent USDA Forest Service data confirms that US forestland is roughly as abundant today as it was 100 years ago. The Forest Services Resource Planning Act 2007 (RPA data) reveals both state and regional increases in forestland across the country."
01/28/08 We've added a new tool to our website.  We now have Home Page Index of the sections on the home page, and a new Website Index listing all the primary pages of the website.  We hope you find these new resources useful.
01/28/08 Salt Lake Tribune article "Utah guv stakes a claim on roads".  "People are going to be furious," McIntosh said. "What's driving this is wilderness. That's something the counties have long tried to fight."
01/27/08 Livestock Weekly article "Gene Whetten Handles Usual Challenges, And Then Some" - "Many challenges accompany the running of a ranch of this size. He readily recognizes the problems facing the beef industry as a whole, yet he says he’s more concerned about being able to stay on the land, coping with environmental activists and their organizations, than with any other single thing.  "Their goal is to remove us from the land," Whetten insists, "and they’re getting it done. South of us, from here to Silver City, there’s no one left. They’ve kicked all of them off and cancelled all the permits.  "This is the only country on earth where the people are attacking the very people who are putting food on their table," he continues. "Someday they will pay for it in the form of more expensive and lesser quality food."
01/24/08 Advocates for Access to Public Lands is a group working to preserve Multiple Use Lands and preserve access to trails.  For more information about this group, see their website.  They are also sponsoring a petition to stop further inappropriate Wilderness Designation.
01/24/08 Letter from Bob Jones, Otero County Rancher, President, Paragon Foundation, Past President, NM Cattle Growers Association.  "The legislation is unique and innovative in its approach and comes from the public and the ranchers faced with the possibility of enormously more restrictive land designations in the presence of a growing community opposed to such restrictions.  It has huge implications for Dona Ana County, but it doesn't stop there.  ... The concept offers hope to those who are impacted and hope to those who believe that certain land characteristics need more specific management or protection."
01/24/08 Elephant Butte Irrigation District minutes from the 12/10/07 Board meeting.  The Board unanimously endorsed the Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Act. 
01/23/08 Durango Herald article "Wilderness plan closes trails to bikes" - "Many of the area's skilled mountain bikers are concerned about a proposal that would ban them from some of their most-prized local trails, including a segment of the Colorado Trail."
01/23/08 Rocky Mountain News article "Court Case a Threat to Farmers, Ranchers"  "Should landowners be forced to give up property under Colorado's eminent domain law for open-space purposes, regardless of their desire to sell? ... Communities looking to increase their tax base have certainly abused the condemnation of private property across the country. In this case, condemnation is being used to enhance the lifestyle of Telluride's residents and vacationers rather than respecting the rights of a long-time landowner whose property borders the town. Condemnation of agricultural land for the purpose of creating a buffer around a town should cause the agricultural community grave concern. If such condemnation is allowed, farmers might lose their livelihood through loss of use and through deflated property values."
01/22/08 "Park Service Employee on Wilderness".  Read this enlightening email sent by a National Park Service ranger sent to our website, and the response from The Westerner.
01/20/08 Canadian Free Press article "The Cowboys May Be Winning"
01/19/08 World Net Daily feature article: "The Cowboys Score" by Henry Lamb.  "The cowboys are not simply opposing the "wilderness" designation. They have put their heads together and consulted others in the community to come up with an alternative proposal: The Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Act. This legislation seeks to incorporate common sense into the idea of protecting open space while providing the flexibility for ranchers to continue operations, and allow law enforcement officials to use motorized vehicles in border regions and for emergencies.  ... Cowboy ingenuity has once again produced a way that may allow them to continue to nurture the wide open spaces and provide water, not only for their own livestock, but for wildlife as well.  This common-sense approach to protecting both the environment and the heritage of the West may well become a beacon that guides other communities and states. Environmental organizations have inflicted far too much "wilderness" on the West and have buried far too many cowboys and the businesses that they support."
01/15/08 View the documentary video "How the West Was Lost - The Fallacy of Federal Wilderness", and two commercial video clips.

01/11/08

From a letter documenting the results of the January La Union Soil and Water Conservation District board meeting: “The La Union SWCD board voted unanimously to rescind their support for the 2006 resolution developed by The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.”  Additionally: “The La Union SWCD board members unanimously voted to support “People for Preserving Our Western Heritage” and their Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space, and Rangeland Preservation Act of 2008.”

01/10/08

News release: "Federal Wilderness Bill Pushed By Enviro Groups Draws Heated Opposition In Utah"  "This land-grab is opposed by every single member of Utah's delegation in Congress," they wrote.  "In spite of this, it is being pushed by an extremist political group right here in Utah -- SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance) -- with millions of dollars from Eastern extremists and Hollywood elites.  SUWA recently was in the news after two of its long-term board members resigned following disclosure of criminal activity.  Board members Bert Fingerhut and Mark Ristow, the group's former lone-time treasurer, pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, according to coverage in the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City.  The two men had served on the SUWA board for 18 and 20 years, respectively.  The legislators said the bill "is wrong for Utah and will hurt our citizens."

01/07/08

Letter from Ernie Torrez, Sandoval County rancher  "The failed attempt of a few years ago by NMWA at wilderness designation in the Cabezon/ San Luis area is still fresh in our minds. Back then it became clear to everyone that the negative impact outweighed any forecasted positive outcome of wilderness designation. Tactics and statements by the wilderness advocates dismissed the impact and severity of restrictions regarding roads and other rights-of-way local residents have used for centuries to access areas of traditional use. The job creation forecast was bogus with no factual or historical data from other similar wilderness areas made available. ... The village councils of Corrales and San Ysidro did not endorse nor support wilderness designation."

01/07/08

Letter from Billy Prewitt and Becky Biggs, Outfitters in the Corralitos, Las Uvas and Robledo areas.   "To our knowledge, there is only one naturally occurring permanent water source on the west side of the Mesilla Valley from the Rio Grande to the county line.  There are several seasonal seeps, but they are not permanent in that they are reliant on periods of rainfall to appear.  All other waters, all of them, are there because ranchers have been involved in placing them and maintaining them.  We rely on these waters in this business and we know the significance of these waters to wildlife and livestock alike. ... The Rangeland Preservation Area seeks to maintain these open spaces into perpetuity.  It allows the ranchers to manage these waters, and it attempts to maintain a tie to the social fabric that these lands have today.  Give this a close look.  Remember, in the eyes of the visitor to our lands, wilderness and open space are one and the same.  Why not do something that has in mind the perpetuation of the true stewards of these lands?"

01/05/08

Letter from I. Miley Gonzales, New Mexico Department of Agriculture Director/Secretary, stating their support of the Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Act of 2008.  "The proposed land designations, Special Preservation Area (SPA) and Rangeland Preservation Area (RPA), provide for protection of Dona Ana County's natural resources while also ensuring that multiple use and proper management of federal lands is not restricted."

12/30/07

Fox News article: "Violent Border Smugglers Scare U.S. Scientists" - "Marijuana smugglers, whose cargo is smellier and bulkier than cocaine, are increasingly abandoning the urban border ports of Texas and California in favor of the Arizona-Sonora corridor, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says. U.S. authorities seized 616,534 pounds of marijuana in the Tucson Sector alone in 2006, up from 233,807 pounds in 2001."

12/28/07

Las Cruces Bulletin article "Tom Mobley: Working to protect western heritage".  "Real wildernesses were designated years ago." Mobley said.  "Now extremists want to add federal land in wilderness areas designation under excessive restrictions to control it.  And if they can accomplish that, if they're successful in getting additional federal land designated in so-called wilderness, they could put ranchers out of business."

12/27/07

"Scientists fleeing border, smugglers - Outdoor studies getting riskier, researchers say" from the Arizona Republic.  "Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument stopped granting most new research permits in January because of increasing smuggling activity. Scientists must sign a statement acknowledging that the National Park Service cannot guarantee their safety from "potentially dangerous persons entering the park from Mexico. ... Smugglers have responded with violence. Assaults on Border Patrol agents are occurring at a record pace, with 250 attacks reported from Oct. 1 to Dec. 16, an increase of 38 percent over 2006."

12/26/07

The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce directors voted unanimous endorsement for the People for Preserving Our Western Heritage proposal.  “This decision was deliberated and debated through a lengthy process and ultimately the Board was more comfortable with the proposal offered by the People for Preservation of Western Heritage,” said Chamber President Jim Berry.  Read the Press Release

12/26/07

"Wilderness Mistake" - Las Cruces Sun News editorial by Dr. Jack Stauder, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Massachusetts.  Mr. Stauder grew up in Dona Ana County.  "I teach environmental studies, and for the past 10 years I have been doing research on the ranching community of Blue, Ariz. The Forest Service lands around them are administered as official "wilderness." What I have seen on the Blue would happen to Do a Ana lands if they become "wilderness." People are shut out from recreational opportunities. Motor vehicles of any kind are kept out. Roads are closed. The government fails to maintain trails. Ranchers can't keep up their water tanks and other improvements. With less water, wild animal populations decrease. Once land becomes official "wilderness," political pressures within the government bureaucracy begin reducing, then eliminating cattle grazing a process occurring on the Blue."

12/09/07

"Ranchers take land plan to Capital Hill" - Las Cruces Sun News.

12/08/07

AAA Livestock Report magazine ran Jim Scarantino's article titled "Green Cowboy Hats".

12/07/07

Press Release 12/07/07 - "COALITION SUBMITS PROPOSAL TO PRESERVE OPEN SPACE AND PROTECT RANGELAND TO CONGRESS"

12/07/07

"Rancher group drafts alternate proposal", Las Cruces Bulletin

12/06/07

View the updated version of the Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Act legislative proposal, and the current Coalition of supporters.

12/05/07

Letter from a group of Mesilla farmers: "As a group we endorse this effort.  We support the rancher group position and their concept of Rangeland Preservation Areas, we strongly support the idea of halting the attrition to our farmland, and we believe that local control of the end result of this effort should have priority over outside interests."

12/05/07

Letter of endorsement from Bruce McAbee, Farm Credit of New Mexico"It is our belief that the legislation, when adopted by Congress, will provide for the conseration, protection and enhancement of recreation, wildlife, livestock grazing, and scenic values; conserve and protect the open spaces and unique resources within specific areas; accommodate the long term planned population and economic growth in Dona Ana County; and that such legislation will allow for effective law enforcement and Homeland Security activities."  

12/05/07

"Otero County manager supports law prohibiting wolf releases" - "Otero County is the second New Mexico county after Catron County to pass an ordinance designed to protect its citizens, pets and livestock from the endangered Mexican gray wolves."

12/03/07

Albuquerque Journal Article"New Mexico has millions of acres of national forest land.    But should everyone have access to all of them?  According to the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance— folks who appreciate the quiet solitude of the forest and all that has to offer— no."

11/30/07 Article covering a People for Preserving Our Western Heritage presentation for the Government Affairs committee from the Las Cruces Bulletin.
11/30/07 "Audience skeptical of claim of wilderness's economic impact" "Meade County Commissioner Dayle Hammock said while he favored preserving wild areas, he feared federal government intrusion. 'I don't support wilderness areas because of prior experience dealing with the federal government,' Hammock said.  He said he had a deep distrust of the federal government and felt it imposed rules and forced costs on small government entities without knowing the realities of the area under question. Hammock said as he understood it, no mechanized equipment could be used in wilderness areas, even in case of a search effort."
11/29/07 Letter from Phil Harvey, Valley Car Wash, LLC.  "There are viable alternatives to wilderness that do not have the far-reaching ramifications of federal wilderness designation, and will still protect open space.  ...  The draft legislation submitted by the PFPWH has many benefits above and beyond what wilderness designation would accomplish. First, this bill legislatively eliminates the development and disposal of the lands, thus protecting open space and views. At the same time, law enforcement and border patrol will have meaningful and effective access, allowing National Security to be elevated to a prescribed character of the land designation. Positive and productive use of the lands will be allowed, while allowing proactive conservation efforts for rangeland and wildlife, and ranchers will be allowed to continue their operations. Instead of arbitrary, emotion-driven wilderness designations, science-based conservation measures will be implemented, blending stewardship with permanent retention of open space. Private property rights will be protected, access to existing roads will be preserved, irresponsible off-road vehicle use will be prohibited, and hunters, horseback riders, and other recreationists will have access to the areas. This bill also allows the community benefit of flood control devices and early warning systems, as well as the improvement and expansion of water conservation, water distribution, water capture, and water recovery projects. Livestock’s importance in wildlife habitat will be recognized, allowing ranchers to continue their practices that enhance and promote wildlife."
11/29/07 Letter from Mesilla Valley farmer Miguel Lucero.  "As I have learned about the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and their founding members and alliance organizations, I know full well their historical stance on cattle on federal lands and I am worried.  ...  Cattle have long been the salvation of what little wildlife we have..."
11/29/07 Letter from I.G. Prieto, Mesilla Valley farmer.  "Since we are surrounded by federal lands, residential development has come at the expense of farm land.  Values have gone up to the point that housing looks a lot more enticing than farming.  ...  We are self reliant people who ask nothing of you and expect less, but we would like to know that somehow young farmers will have a place in this country and are at least respected for their desire to pursue a dying American art form.  When I think of the young man who burns from within to farm and the young man who burns within to create a man made legacy of this wilderness lunacy, I am saddened."
11/29/07 "Ted Turner's Land Purchases Questioned"  "Mike Phillips, executive director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund, a Turner offshoot, insisted his boss is just a "doggone serious rancher," though one dedicated to preserving the environment.  But Phillips' very presence is making people wonder. He once worked with The Wildlands Project, an environmental group that wants to create a continent-wide network of nature preserves to save endangered species. The Turner Foundation, the charity arm of Turner's empire, has contributed money to it and gives millions to dozens of other environmental groups.  Turner's organizations also have been in discussions with the World Wildlife Fund and the World Conservation Union about conserving bison."
11/28/07 Letter from Dona Ana County Undersheriff Chuck Franco"I am the Undersheriff of Dona Ana County and I have strong convictions that wilderness created anywhere along the Mexican border is a threat to our national security."
11/28/07 Letter from Jerry G. Schickedanz, Dean Emeritus, College of Agriculture and Home Economics, New Mexico State University.  "... increased unnecessary regulations will be mandated with the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance proposal.", "The proposed Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Area Act is a common sense production agriculture friendly proposal that will allow controlled access and use for the lands in question.  It will provide the necessary protection and orderly disposal of land that local citizens feel is important."
11/26/07 Several new letters have been added.
11/23/07 Las Cruces Bulletin Guest Column by Jim Scarantino: "Opportunity for land preservation comes from unlikely source"   Mr. Scarantino was formerly the Chairman of the Coalition for N.M. wilderness and the Executive Director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.  Mr. Scarantino also had a blogsite titled "New Mexico Wilderness".  He wrote several posts which provide important background, perspective and insight into the environmental groups and individuals involved in the proposed Dona Ana County wilderness areas. 
11/22/07 Letter from Terrell Shelley, Grant County rancher.  "'We will maintain the high ground in our steadfast belief that this land must have stewards that are committed to the long run.  We arrived here before the Forest Service and we have prevailed, but 'where wilderness, land management agencies, environmental groups, and ranchers collide, ranchers (one by one) lose.'  It’s a fact."
11/21/07 Letter from the Mesilla Valley Sportsman's Alliance (MVSA), representing over 700 hunters and recreationalists in Dona Ana County, expressing strong opposition to the proposed wilderness designation, and expressing support for the Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Area Act.
11/21/07 Letter from the New Mexico Cattlegrowers Association supporting the Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Area Act proposal. 
11/21/07 Las Cruces Bullentin article "Evans announces run for Legislature".  "Evans noted that while he originally supported the Citizens Proposal to establish 300,000 acres in Dona Ana County as wilderness, he now prefers a counter proposal from the ranching community that would create special preservation areas while allowing traditional motorized access."
11/20/07 "Surprise Ally of Conservationists: Ranchers"   "Ranches and other private lands are important in maintaining the biodiversity of America’s West, suggests a new study."
11/20/07 Letter from the Krenz Ranch on the Arizona Tumacacori Highlands Wilderness Area – HR 3287. 
11/20/07 "State, Military map out future "'What we've uncovered here always is that we have never had a good dialogue between our military installations and state agencies, between the Army and the State Land Office. At the same time (2006), we had the first-ever meeting between the Corps of Engineers and Commissioner of Public Lands,' Scot said. '... So we brought Fort Bliss up and, over a period of months, developed an agreement for a buffer zone.'  The buffer zone is located between Chaparral residents and Fort Bliss."
11/15/07 "Green Cowboy Hats - Ranchers step up to protect federal lands" by Jim Scarantino.  "Ranchers, though, are not playing the role of single-minded obstructionists.  It appears they meant what they said about wanting to protect open space.  They propose to do it principally by protecting undeveloped land without calling it 'wilderness.'  The draft legislation, titled "Dona Ana County Planned Growth, Open Space and Rangeland Preservation Act," would prohibit the federal lands at issue from ever being sold, mined or drilled.  The proposal's innovative "special preservation area" designations set aside vast stretches of open space around Las Cruces but are flexible enough to accommodate law enforcement, agriculture, recreational needs of a growing urban population, and irrigation and floodwater authorities."
11/15/07 "BLM report shows border trash is major issue for So. Arizona land" - "About 24 million pounds of trash cover thousands of acres of public and tribal lands."  See our National Security Issues page for more information on this topic.
11/14/07 Ranch families working viable ranches that sustain ecosystem services and contribute to the social fabric and local economies are critical to a West that works, says Dr. Richard Knight in his article "Ranchers as a Keystone Species in a West that Works".
11/14/07 The article "Environmentalists want cattle off the Gila" states that a lawsuit has been filed in U.S. Federal Court to reverse all grazing allotment decisions by the Forest Service in Catron County.  The suit was filed by Forest Guardians in Santa Fe, and Sinapu, a carnivore protection group from Boulder, CO.
11/11/07 We need your help!  We have put together a new "Letter Writing Toolkit", to assist everyone in the important task of communicating with our legislative delegation on this crucial issue. 
11/07/07 View some great wildlife photos taken by a camera stationed near a rancher's drinker.
11/03/07 Las Cruces Sun News editorial by Tom Hutchinson, business owner and former chairman of the board of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance and the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce:  "An argument for quality growth and prosperity".  Mr. Hutchinson states "It appears we are witnessing an unprecedented effort by conservation/wilderness-related organizations with slow-growth, open-space agendas to unwind the good we've accomplished.". 
11/02/07 People for Prosperity Ad on wildernessClick here to go to their website.
11/02/07 Editorial "Observations on the Tumacacori Highlands Wilderness Proposal" by Zack Taylor.  Mr. Taylor has a degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida, and worked for the Border Patrol from 1976 to 2003.  He worked alien and drug smuggler traffic in the proposed Wilderness area from 1988-2003.  He states: "When the access road through Peck Canyon was closed to vehicle traffic, the drug traffic increased.  When the vehicle access through Circulo Sombrero was closed the violence and the drug traffic further increased to the point that Tubac is now becoming world famous as a place where old west style killings are taking place today.  This is no coincidence and from my experience is directly related to the lack of access to the area.  Does Tubac want to be known as the Tombstone of the twenty first century?"  "To further restrict lawful access to this area will, from my experience, increase the drug and alien smuggling in the area and escalate the level of violence throughout.  As Mrs. Lowell so correctly pointed out it is not now safe to go afield unarmed in this area.  The armed smugglers are already prevalent in the area.  Lock it up and they will take control." 
11/02/07 Arizona Daily Star "Lawsuit filed over feds' border fence construction waiver"  From the article: "Two environmental groups (Defenders of Wildlife and Sierra Club) on Thursday asked a judge to void part of a 2005 law that let Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff ignore various federal laws to build a stretch of fence along the border."
11/02/07 "Ontario man killed in wolf attack, coroner's jury finds
11/01/07 San Jose Mercury article: "Cattle-grazing on San Mateo County parkland to cut wildfire risk".  "'We could never hope to manage all that acreage without using cattle,' said Lenington. In previous years, district maintenance staff has coped by creating fire breaks next to roads to halt the spread of wildfires and done intermittent spot removal of the most offensive patches of non-native species.  The district's board of directors is not alone in beginning to think differently about the benefits of grazing in land management. A variety of public agencies throughout California are starting to embrace the technique.  'The general paradigm of the whole environmental culture was that cattle were not a natural component of the land. But research is showing that cattle provide an increasingly important role in properly managed grassland systems,' said Lenington." 
11/01/07 A new group has formed in Las Cruces: "People for Prosperity". 
10/30/07 Partnership for America: "Please don't restrict access to Public Lands".  "We believe that this bill, if passed, will damage public access and recreation in many states across the West. As you know, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act would designate nearly 23 million acres across five states, which would include 7 million acres in Montana, 9.5 million acres in Idaho, 5 million acres in Wyoming, 750,000 acres in eastern Oregon and 500,000 acres in eastern Washington.", "Not only do wilderness designations create too much regulation and too many restrictions on the lands out West, but they also deny access to many citizens who have a right to use our public lands. These designations do not allow any mechanized vehicles in the area, including bicycles and wheelchairs, as well as road building of any kind, so access to these areas are severely restricted.", "We also have concerns that this bill could negatively impact the West’s ability to fight and prevent forest fires. Since fighting fires is banned in wilderness areas, government agencies have to allow fires to burn themselves out. So anyone or anything near these potential unmanaged wilderness areas across the West could be in danger of future forest fires." 
10/30/07 Heartland Institute: "How Environmental Laws Serve Hidden Agendas".  "Those who use the Endangered Species Act to prevent timber harvests, protect wetlands, stop development, thwart home-building, and impede the improvement of land for farming and other uses have learned ESA is a powerful mechanism by which they can gain control over the use of other people's private property.", "But the use of ESA is actually more likely to burden a family farmer, rancher, or rural homeowner who finds an unusual animal or plant and learns it is on the endangered species list.  As a result of ESA, ignoring the rare species can improve or even save the livelihood of a family, while reporting it could result in losing the use of the land forever."
10/29/07 Idaho Examiner editorial: "Boo! Expect a Wilderness Scare this Halloween" by Chris Cook, an avid Mountain Biker and founding member of the Idaho Recreation Council.  "People pushing these wilderness bills try to claim that wilderness designation is good for local rural economies. If that is true then why are most or all of the rural communities adjacent to wilderness areas in Idaho struggling economically."
10/28/07 Las Cruces Sun News article: "Ranchers pitch land plan"
10/27/07 AP Release: "Land Returned to Santo Domingo Pueblo".  In a land swap between the BLM and the State Land Office, "The Land Office will get more than 6,500 acres near Truth or Consequences and 400 acres of federally-owned land on Las Cruces' east side."
10/26/07 Statement of support by the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers"The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) supports your initiative to insure Homeland Security access to areas on or near international borders.  As you know, national security issues are properly among our nation's highest priorities."
10/26/07 Article: "House votes to create six new 'Heritage' areas".  From the article: "But Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), who opposes the bill and in particular the Journey Through Hallowed Ground NHA that runs through his district, said, 'All of our nation's founders knew of the intimate connection between personal liberty, taxpayers' interests and property rights. H.R. 1483 tramples over rather than honors these hallowed principles.'".
10/26/07 Article by Jim Scarantino from the Albuquerque Alibi: "Where the Wild Things Aren't - Howling for wolves in Albuquerque"
10/23/07 People for Preserving Our Western Heritage is pleased to announce our draft of the DONA ANA COUNTY PLANNED GROWTH, OPEN SPACE AND RANGELAND PRESERVATION ACT.  Click here for the press release & details of this important legislative proposal.
10/23/07 Article from the North County Times - "Easterners, Westerners argue over wilderness bill".  "Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, the top Republican on the subcommittee, called the bill 'absurd' and 'stunning,' comparing the legislation to a Soviet-style land grab.  'The issue is the division between East and West. It's a division between urban and rural,' he said. 'Most people here just don't get it.'  Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana testified before the committee, bringing with him several boxes of letters from constituents who had written him in opposition to the bill. He said he had heard from more than 7,000 Montanans in less than a week when he asked for comment on the legislation.  He said the legislation would ruin successful local efforts that have brought different interests together to find solutions on environmental issues."
10/21/07 Video of Fox News report by Hannity & Combs - "The Price We Pay - The Smuggler's Highway".  The Coronado National Forest is 1.7 million acres, and adjoins the Mexican border.  According to this report, "The National Forests and Parks along the southern border have turned into super highways for drug and immigrant smuggling."  Developed sites for recreation are well known to drug smugglers, and used for distribution and load out.  Drug smugglers sometimes deliberately set fires to divert enforcement officers.  Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument also shares 31 miles with the Mexican border.  It is recognized as the most dangerous National Park in the US.  Park rangers spend an average of 80-90% of their time doing law enforcement activities.  Park Ranger Kris Eggle was killed by drug smugglers in this park.  In the Coronado National Forest alone, there have been over 33,000 apprehensions of undocumented aliens to date in 2007, and 650 drug seizures totaling 182,000 pounds of processed marijuana, with a conservative value of $182 million dollars.  Officials estimate each person leaves an average of 8 pounds of trash, and they estimate there are hundreds of thousands of tons of trash in the area.
10/19/07 Idaho Statesman article "Rockies wilderness bill gets mixed reviews at House hearing" and Bozeman Daily Chronicle article "Congressional panel debates controversial wilderness bill".  This bill, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), would create 23 million acres of federally designated wilderness in 5 northern Rockies states.  "But Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said, "NREPA threatens the Montana way of making land-management decisions."  He cited two examples -- projects on the Blackfoot River and Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest -- of Montanans working together to decide how to manage lands, using something other than a “mythical, ‘the-way-it-was' image.”  He also said his mailbag was telling him the bill had little support in Montana. After soliciting comments last week, he said 96 percent of 7,100 respondents told him “they think this bill, this idea, this plan, is wrong.”
10/16/07 Congressman Rehberg sent out this announcement, urging the public to join him in opposing wilderness expansion legislation.  The hearing on the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act is OCTOBER 18th.  Please take a couple minutes today to go complete this short survey:  www.house.gov/rehberg/survey.shtml 
10/15/07 Email correspondence from Bob Alexander, Certified Professional in Rangeland Management and retired BLM Rangeland Management Specialist in response to the recent Las Cruces Bulletin article by Todd Dickson titled "Retired BLM Official says ranchers can live with wilderness".  Mr. Alexander provides helpful insight into the complexities of ranching within areas with federal wilderness designation.  He states "With a wilderness designation, many tools that are often needed for ranching in harmony with nature may be limited; firefighting, shrub control, erosion control structures, roads or trails, fences and pipelines come to mind." and "it may not be possible for a rancher to take action on unforeseen emergencies within the critical period."  He concludes by stating "There may be exceptions, but I can not imagine that the typical ranching experience and enterprise will improved by wilderness designation."
10/11/07 Alpena News article "Judge delays some border fence construction on Arizona-Mexico border" states "The Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club had requested a 10-day delay in a motion alleging that the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies had failed to conduct a thorough study of the fence’s effect on the environment."  The article concludes with: "The Homeland Security Department will review the decision and its options, spokesman Russell Knocke said. ‘‘Arizonans and, quite frankly, Americans everywhere have been clear that they want more border security. Today’s ruling will not diminish our resolve to deliver it,’’ Knocke said."
10/08/07 National Geographic featured a series of articles on the Cabeza Prieta Wilderness along the border in Arizona.  The series is titled "Border Patrol: Along the Devil's Highway".  The article states "Arizona's Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge used to be a pristine desert.  Now it's the front line in America's immigration battle, rife with garbage, drug runners, and illegal aliens.  Welcome to the nation's most troubled wilderness."  Like every visitor to the Cabeza Prieta wilderness, the author was required to sign "Hold Harmless" agreement indicating he understood the dangers of visiting this area.  "The agreement did not mention other morbid, even ghoulish, possibilities, such as stumbling over dead bodies, witnessing ongoing gun battles between Border Patrol agents and drug smugglers, being run down in the night by a drug-laden vehicle speeding overland with no lights, or having my own vehicle—including all of my water—stolen while I was off hiking."  The author also states "Cabeza is now a prime spot for drug runners."
10/05/07 See GAO statistics on deaths of illegal immigrants along our southern border.
10/04/07 Stratfor article titled "Informants, Bombs and Lessons" on the charges against environmental activist Eric McDavid, found guilty of conspiring to damage property by using explosives.  "...illustrates a couple of emerging trends in the radical environmental and animal rights movements: the increasing use of violence -- specifically the use of explosives and timed incendiary devices -- and the growing disregard for human life."  Click here to for more background information on eco-terrorism.
10/03/07 Know your local candidates position on wilderness.
10/03/07 San Bernadino County Sun article "Judge halts cattle plan - A final ruling could increase grazing in turtle habitat".  The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the Bureau of Land Management over a plan to increase cattle grazing to a former level on land recognized as critical habitat for the desert tortoise.  "He [Anthony Chavez, rangeland management specialist with the BLM] noted a professional opinion sent to the BLM from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that says an increase in cattle grazing will not jeopardize desert tortoises or other critical habitat in the area."  Click here for additional information on environmental groups & grazing issues.
10/03/07 On 9/27/07, the US Senate Committee on Finance held hearings titled "Border Insecurity, Take Three: Open and Unmonitored".  Transcripts of the testimony of Max Baucau (MT), Charles Grassley (IA), Greg Kutz (Managing Director for Forensic Audits and Special Investigations, US GAO), Mr. Ronald Colburn (Deputy Chief, Office of the Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security), and Mr. Ken Luongo (Executive Director of the Partnership for Global Security) are all available on the website.  You can also view a video of the testimony.  See the entry below on 9/27/07 for the GAO report.  See the entry on 9/14/07 below for a letter and document from the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers which state their concerns about proposed wilderness areas and how the wilderness designation impacts National Security.  For more information on how wilderness designations impact National Security, see our "National Security" page.
10/01/07 Letter from Mark Salopek, Dona Ana County Rancher and Farmer, and another letter from Benny Salopek, also a Dona Ana County Rancher and Farmer.   Mark Salopek states "...the only truth in the issues is the environmental one.  The one that this group (NMWA) is financed to the tune of $630,000 per year in grants and donations for the sole purpose of creating wilderness, the one that the founders of NMWA are now the pushers of the Rewilding effort to displace people for wildlife corridors from Canada to Mexico, and the one that writes seriously that the human 'virus' has already overrun its natural carrying capacity on this earth.  How can you in all seriousness even consider this argument and these people?"  Benny Salopek writes "What was once a valid intention [designating wilderness areas] will become an ever increasing joke as the real long term agenda of this group who is pushing this is uncovered and displayed.  Shame on any community leader or congressional representative who is being lead through this maize of events by the likes of Earth First!ers, ALFers and ELFers.  There people are fundamentally against our way of life and we take great exception to that. ... Take a stand on property rights, take a stand on the social fabric of what is left of an agricultural industry, and demonstrate to your constituencies that the separations of power in our system recognize the individual and his plight."  [NOTE: Both letters are in the same PDF file]

Click here to for more background information on the groups mentioned in the above letters.

09/28/07 Article from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel titled "Welcome legacy or wild idea? - Wilderness bill would greatly affect county".  The article states "...all vehicles including bicycles would be barred..." and “It’ll be a sad day if it does (pass),” Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis said.  Wilderness designation “comes with major setbacks with regard to multiple use,” he said.  ... Such a sweeping wilderness bill, if passed, will have a “devastating” effect on recreation in western Colorado..."
09/27/07 The GAO (US Government Accountability Office) release a report today: "Security Vulnerabilities at Unmanned and Unmonitored U.S. Border Locations".  They state "The possibility that terrorists and criminals might exploit border vulnerabilities and enter the United States poses a serious security risk... Congress is concerned that unmanned and unmonitored areas between these ports of entry may be vulnerable. ... In unmonitored locations, CBP does not have this equipment in place and must rely on alert citizens or other information sources to meet its obligation to protect the border."  In the summary, they indicate for "Federally managed lands adjacent to border", that "Investigators approached the U.S.-Mexico border", and observed "No visible law enforcement response, no observable electronic monitoring equipment, investigators observed evidence of frequent border crossings into the United States at this location."   In their summary, they state "However, our limited security assessment identified potential security vulnerabilities on federally managed lands adjacent to the U.S.–Mexico border; we did not observe monitoring or a law enforcement presence during the time our investigators visited these areas. The Department of the Interior (Interior) provided us with a memorandum of understanding between itself; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which CBP is a component; and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) documenting the agreed approach to protecting federal lands along U.S. borders. Although CBP is ultimately responsible for protecting these areas, officials told us that certain legal, environmental, and cultural considerations limit options for enforcement. ... Our observations on the southern border showed a significant disparity between the large law enforcement presence on state lands in one state and what seemed to be a lack of law enforcement presence on federally managed lands."

Click here to learn more about how federal wilderness designation impacts National Security.

09/27/07 Arizona Daily Sun: "Court upholds libel award to rancher" "The state's high court won't let an environmental group out of a $600,000 judgment against it for defaming a southern Arizona rancher.  Without comment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday left intact a jury's conclusion that the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity libeled James Chilton with comments and photographs on the group's web site and in a news release. ... The jury award included $500,000 in punitive damages on the conclusion that there was "actual malice" on the part of the organization and the staffer who took the photos."  Click here for more on the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Chilton lawsuit. 
09/25/07 Our second audio/visual presentation, "Wilderness... Understanding the Impacts on Ranching" is now available.  The "What is Wilderness" was also updated to improve audio quality.  A few new photographs were also added in the presentation.
09/24/07 Wall Street Journal article "Congress moves closer to close land to development".  "The Democratic-controlled Congress, stepping up a push that gained little ground when Republicans were in the majority, is on the verge of walling off as many as three millions more acres of the nation's wilderness from commercial and recreational development."
09/20/07 Las Cruces Sun News article by Kent Lundgren, Chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, titled "Wilderness, Border Patrol and National Security".  This article goes into detail about the impacts of federal wilderness designation on National Security.  Mr. Lundgren states "Those of us who have for many years been involved in Border Patrol operations are well aware that any additional wilderness designations would result in the loss of current authorization for the Department of Homeland Security to enforce the law in those designated areas."
09/20/07 People for Preserving Our Western Heritage is releasing our first audio/visual presentation titled "What is Wilderness".
09/18/07 Editorial by Linda Rundell, State Director, US Bureau of Land Management from the Albuquerque Journal titled "Stop This Invader From Cheating N.M. Environment" "The BLM, other agencies and universities are conducting research into control efforts, which will include a variety of approaches. One is to plow under cheatgrass before it seeds, followed by reseedings of native grasses. BLM is testing an herbicide called Plateau, which selectively kills cheatgrass, especially when applied in the winter."  Note: Control of these invader plant species would in all likelihood not be possible in areas designated as federal wilderness.
9/17/07 The document from the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers added on 9/14/07 references an interview by the El Paso Times in August with Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence.  For a summary of that interview, click here.
09/15/07 Arizona Republic article "US is sued over 'critical habitat' status of 500 miles of waterways".  The waterways in question are 500 miles of rivers and streams in Arizona and New Mexico.  "The Pacific Legal Foundation argues the department illegally moved to name the land a 'critical habitat' for two desert fish... The designation could lead to flood dangers for landowners..."
09/14/07 The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers has prepared a document which expresses their concern about proposed wilderness areas.  Current government employees face many organizational and political pressures which can heavily influence what they are able to say and put in writing.  Retired employees are not bound by those constraints and are at liberty to speak freely.  In their cover letter, Mr. Kent Lundgren, Chairman, states "The purpose of this document is to bring attention to the fallacy, and danger, of efforts underway to further deny Federal Law Enforcement Officers (Border Patrol Agents), access to areas necessary to defend our southern borders by granting additional "wilderness area" designations.  Our southern border is today more vulnerable to terrorist activities than at any other time in our National history.  This is not the time to consider additional designations as 'wilderness'.  It may be appropriate at this time for our Country to repeal some previously approved wilderness designations to insure the best possible chance for success in ongoing security activities." 
T
heir document, titled "WILDERNESS, BORDER PATROL, AND NATIONAL SECURITY", contains some very significant information. In this document, they state "This effort to create a wilderness designation for a large portion of our southern border did not originate from citizens of New Mexico and Arizona.  It originated from the NMWA and Sky Island Alliance.  These groups share genesis and past board membership from the environmental movement, Earth First!.  The father of Earth First!, Dave Foreman., is the founder of NMWA.  It was Mr. Foreman who wrote the book “Ecodefense; A Field Guide to Monkey Wrenching.”  These are the folks who promoted the spiking of trees, the burning of high end condominiums, the destruction of new cars on parking lots, and the sinking of whaling ships."  (Note: NMWA is the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance)  They go on to state "The Tumacacori Highlands of Arizona, and the Potrillo Mountains and Broad Canyon portion of the New Mexico proposal are not just idealistic areas where “earth and its community of life are undisturbed by man”.   If they become wilderness, they will be heralded not only by those who believe wilderness designation should be made at any cost, but equally by human smugglers, drug runners, and those committed to the destruction of our country."     
09/14/07 From the Alamogordo News, "County vows to fight for roads" and "Predatory species to be opposed"
09/14/07 Salt Lake Tribune article "BLM allows claim, hands road to Kane County", centering on Revised Statute 2477.
Farmweek article "Proposed one-word change worry for landowners".  "
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar’s (D-Minn.) proposed Clean Water Restoration Act would alter provisions for current federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction of U.S. 'navigable' waters to control over all 'waters of the U.S.'"
09/12/07 Las Cruces Sun News article "Home builders, conservationists reach wilderness compromise".   "Steve Wilmeth, a Dońa Ana County rancher, said he's concerned about the home builders decision to endorse the conservationists' entire proposal, including the Broad Canyon and Potrillo mountain areas. Ranchers and off-road vehicle users have said they're worried the wilderness designation — which restricts most mechanized travel — would keep law enforcement and Border Patrol from easily accessing the land. 'This is a bigger issue than just ranchers ... here,' he said. 'When there is a legitimate national security concern, this is a reckless and irresponsible decision in the long run for our community.'"  For a map of the proposed area, click here.
09/12/07 We received a document from the Arizona Game & Fish Department titled "Historical Perspective of Wildlife Management in Wilderness", which was written to  show the difficulty in managing wildlife in areas that have special designations, such as wilderness, monuments, etc.  The department states "The Arizona Game and Fish Department has experienced restrictions resulting from Special Land Designations including project delays, increased costs, increased man-hours, etc.  This ultimately leads to decreased efficiency in protecting and managing Arizona's wildlife resources. ... From a project planning standpoint, it is extremely difficult to second-guess a particular reaction to implementing a study, developing or maintaining a wildlife project or requesting permission for emergency access to a Wilderness area."
09/11/07 Glenda Price wrote a research paper which was presented at the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration in Lubbock, Texas on September 7.  She was kind enough to allow us to reprint her compelling paper on our website.  The title is "What - Exactly - is Wilderness?".
09/08/07 The Taking Liberty website has several excellent multimedia presentations that are very helpful in understanding the environmental movement.  Their "Introduction",  "Environmental Master Plan", "Where America is Headed", "Why Property Rights Matter" and "Region by Region" links provide some very enlightening information on the environmental trends occurring today. 
09/07/07 AZ Republic article "Group seeks to overturn jury verdict" and AZ Star Daily article "Environmental group appeals $600K jury verdict" are both about the Chilton Ranch lawsuit.  Arizona rancher Jim Chilton, and Chilton Ranch & Cattle filed suit against the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) for false statements in their News Advisory, inaccurate descriptions of the Montana Allotment, and misleading photographs.  The jury awarded judgment in favor of Mr. Chilton and Chilton Ranch, $100,000 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.  The CBD appealed and lost.  The opinion fully upheld not only the monetary award, but also the arguments that were presented by the Chilton Ranch and Jim Chilton.  From the AZ Republic article: "But the organization has an uphill fight: The verdict - and the size of the award - was not only upheld by a trial judge, but the state Court of Appeals refused to set aside the award.".  Todd Schulke, a founder and staff member  of the Center for Biological Diversity, is on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. 
09/07/07 ABC News Article "More Utah cattle shot with arrows": "Just last week, six cattle near Clyde Creek outside Heber suffered the same fate. Questions are still left unanswered. Who would do this? And why? Crandall says, “I don't know if it's a random act of violence or if they have an issue with livestock up there.”
09/06/07 On August 16, 2007, the Village of Hatch unanimously voted to rescind Resolution No. 669, which supported the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NMWA) proposals for federal wilderness and NCA designations in Dona Ana County.
09/04/07 Las Cruces Sun News article "No 'critical habitat' for jaguar".   The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department and Fish & Wildlife Service.  "According to a finding released on July 12, 2006, USFWS based its decision to not designate critical habitat on 'the fact that U.S. habitat is not essential to the conservation of the species.'  The finding further stated, quoting Benjamin Tuggle, acting director of the USFWS' Southwest Region, 'Based on a thorough review of all available data, the Service has determined there are no physical and biological features in the United States that meet the definition of critical habitat as defined under the Act.'"   Todd Schulke is on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, and is a founder and staff member of the Center for Biological Diversity. 
08/31/07 Denver Post article by former Colorado state Senator Mark Hillman titled "Property rights become privledges".   Mr. Hillman states "When a mere majority, which has no investment of time or labor nor any legitimate stake in your property, can seize it for their own purposes or regulate it into financial ruin, property ownership has become a privilege, not a right.".
08/31/07 Arizona Daily Sun article "Northern Arizona (and New Mexico) could be home to jaguars".  "The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Interior Department and Fish and Wildlife Service earlier this month, asking the group to designate up to 62 million acres of habitat in Arizona and New Mexico and to take other actions to restore the species a decade after the cat was first listed as endangered.  The Interior Department has repeatedly declined to designate this habitat, saying it isn't prudent."
08/31/07 Letter from Jon Fugate, member of the Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife, to the chairman of the Arizona Game & Fish Commission expressing concerns about the proposed Tumacacori Wilderness.  Mr. Fugate states "We firmly believe the Commission only needs a few questions answered. Number One, Will Wilderness designation adversely impact Wildlife Management? Number Two, Will Wilderness designation adversely impact public uses that are currently allowed by the United States Forest Service? And Number Three, will Wilderness designation adversely impact the authority and mobility of the United States Border Patrol (USBP)?  Our organization has been heavily involved with these three specific issues for over two decades. I can assure the Commission, you can not write appropriate Wilderness Legislation that will stand litigation pressures to assure the Department, the Public and the USBP are not adversely impacted. Worse than that, monies spent to defend Congressional Intent would be more appropriately directed towards doing great things for wildlife and or protecting our Border from illegal entry of people and drugs.".
08/31/07 New information on the added on the Grazing Issues and "References & Resources" pages.
08/30/07 Arizona Daily Star article "Let's not make areas too restricted" by Southern Arizona Sportsmen's Alliance member Larry Audsley.  Mr. Audsley states "Only careless thinking or lack of familiarity with existing Forest Service policies could allow anyone to believe a wilderness designation is really about preventing urban sprawl, all-terrain vehicle abuse, power lines, development of National Forest lands or proliferation of forest roads. These issues can be better addressed through other means that would yield fewer unintended consequences.".
08/28/07 Article in the Seattle Times: "Endangered-species suit planned" - "The Center for Biological Diversity said its formal notice of intent to sue the Interior Department is the starting point for the largest legal action in the history of the 34-year-old Endangered Species Act."
Note: According to their website, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Board of Directors member Todd Schulke is the founder and a staff member of the Center for Biological Diversity.
08/27/07 Las Cruces Sun News editorial by Jodi Denning "Wilderness - Gain or Loss?"
08/23/07 Las Cruces Sun News article "Domenici: no hurry on wilderness", "Domenici said he has backed the creation of other wilderness in the state, but said there must be local support for him to decide to do so in Dońa Ana County.", "U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said during a visit to Las Cruces last week his office is analyzing support for the wilderness designation. He said he'll only pursue a wilderness plan if there's enough consensus among stakeholders.", "U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who held two listening sessions on the issue this month, has said he has concerns about how the wilderness designation would impact private property rights and border security.".
Albuquerque Journal editorial by Steve Wilmeth & Tom Cooper - "Dona Ana Wilderness Plan Has Grown Out of Control"
Deming Headlight editorial by Steve Wilmeth - "Wilderness designation too restrictive"
08/22/07 Letter from Village of Hatch Trustees Dave Sment and Lloyd Burns.  Last week, the Village of Hatch has unanimously rescinded their support for the proposed wilderness.  In this letter, the trustees state "The issue of importance today is the emerging awareness of who is behind this effort.", in reference to Mr. Dave Foreman, founder of the environmental group Earth First, and one of the founders of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.  The 2005 IRS Form 990 for NMWA listed Mr. Foreman on the Board of Directors.  The 2006 Form 990 is not yet available.  Mr. Foreman was a featured speaker at the 2006 New Mexico Wilderness Conference, sponsored by NMWA, on Nov. 11, 2006 in Santa Fe, and an article by Mr. Foreman was published in the Spring 2007 NMWA newsletter.  He also co-founded the Wildlands Project, and is also involved  in The Rewilding Institude, along with NMWA Board Member Dave Parsons, NMWA Executive Director Steve Capra, and NMWA Board Member Robert Howard (Former Wildlands Proejct Board President).  For more information on Dave Foreman, see Wikipedia, or view the sites on a Google search.
Note:  The blogsite referenced in this letter has been discontinued, but Mr. Scarantino graciously gave us permission to reproduce his writings about the wilderness proposals in Dona Ana County on this website. 
08/21/07 Statement made by Jodi Denning at the Anthony listening session held by Congressman Pearce, 8/15.
08/17/07 Las Cruces Sun News article "Sen.: 'Wilderness' up in the air", indicating there is not the support Senator Bingaman would like to see to proceed.
Las Cruces Bulletin article "Pearce admits reservations about wilderness"
Letter from Steve Brown, President of the Bank of the Rio Grande in Las Cruces.  Mr. Brown states "Based on the likely reduction and/or elimination of grazing within proposed wilderness areas I am very concerned that designating areas in Dona Ana County as wilderness would have serious repercussions to local ranchers and potentially banks that have relied on the ranches as collateral. ... During the recent stakeholder meetings there was little time spent on the identification and disposal process of federal lands.  This issue could have a more profound affect on real estate values within the county than the wilderness aspect and is worthy of separate discussion and should not be tied to any wilderness legislation."
New information on the "Law Enforcement" page.  The US Department of State website contains Information on the impacts of illegal immigration on federally owned lands.  They provide a report titled "Impacts Caused by Undocumented Aliens Crossing Federal Lands in Southeast Arizona", along with other press releases on this issue.
08/16/07 Las Cruces Sun News article "Panelists offer mixed views on wilderness", "Homeland Security chief visits New Mexico, Texas", and "Congressman holds wilderness forum"
Letter from Bishop Ricardo Ramirez, Diocese of Las Cruces.
08/15/07 There are always things of interest on THE WESTERNER blog, but there are some especially interesting and relevant articles today (8/15/07)
08/14/07 New collection of articles on law enforcement and border patrol issues
08/10/07 Las Cruces Bulletin article on the Pearce Wilderness hearing.
Guest Column by Oscar Butler
Editorial by Dale & Sara Hopkins
Editorial by Rev. David G. Humphrey
Letter from John Chappell, former NMSU Extension Agent
08/09/07 Statement from Mark Cox, local rancher, for the Hearing held August 7 with Congressman Steve Pearce in Las Cruces.
Letter from Larry Hooper, well service business owner and rancher.
08/07/07 Letter from Jim Summers
Las Cruces Sun News article "Panel mulls over wild land election".
08/04/07 John Berlau authored a publication titled "Eco-Terrorism: When Violence Becomes an Environmentalist Tactic", which contains an eye-opening overview of this trend in the environmental community. 
08/03/07 Letter from Max Pruitt and Dale Hopkins, Dona Ana County ranchers.
08/02/07 "Congressman plans Monday "Listening Session" on environment" from the Las Cruces Sun News.  For details, see Congressman Pearce's Website.
08/02/07 Article by Jim Beers titled "Wolf Ideology & Kenton Carnegie" about Kenton Carnegie, a 22-year-old college student from Ontario who was killed by wolves in Canada in November of 2005.  In his conclusion, he states "None of us should allow government to misuse the important authority WE GIVE THEM to order society. The hidden agendas driving these environmental and animal rights campaigns must be exposed and discussed openly.".
08/02/07 Article "Spawning fish block William O. Douglas Wilderness access road" from the Las Cruces Sun News.
07/30/07 Las Cruces Sun News article - U.S. BLM Director visits southern NM
Las Cruces Sun News editorial by Steve Wilmeth - History gives ranchers reason to oppose wilderness.
Great Falls Tribune article - BLM monument planning process worries environmentalists.
 "Additionally, some conservationists say grazing is a problem in the new national monuments."; "The Cascade-Siskiyou proclamation orders the Interior Department to study livestock grazing impacts and retire the monument's grazing allotments if grazing is found to be harming the area's biological assets."; "A common problem in the draft plans is that they would allow too many roads — many of which are just dirt tracks across the landscape — to remain open to vehicle use, said Nada Culver, senior counsel for The Wilderness Society." 
07/29/07 Las Cruces Sun News article by Michael Swickard on the link between wolves and wilderness issues.
Catron County hit with frivolous lawsuit.  Forest Guardians, an environmental group, is claiming injury due to Catron County ordinance.
07/27/07 Las Cruces Bulletin editorial by Tom Mobley.
07/26/07 Letters from Bruce McAbee, President and CEO of Farm Credit of New Mexico, to Senator Domenici, Senator Bingaman, Congressman Pearce, Representative Udall and Representative Wilson.
07/25/07 View a short video clip of an impromptu interview by Erik Ness, New Mexico Farm Bureau and Jodi Denning, People for Preserving Our Western Heritage.
Letter from Charles Dickerson, owner of Dickerson's Barn.
07/23/07 Letter from Bobby Rankin, Ph.D.  Dr. Rankin retired after 39 years at NMSU, serving as head of NMSU Animal and Range Sciences department for 15 years.  Some selected quotes from Dr. Rankin's letter include:  "I have heard or read about most of the reasons on both sides of the wilderness issue, and in my opinion, a wilderness designation of the areas in question would be a big mistake. It would not even serve the desires of the pro-wilderness group, and it would be a disaster for the ranches involved." ... "I love the wildernesses we already have and believe that the proposed areas in Dona Ana County do not qualify for wilderness designation and would make a mockery of the Wilderness Act. These areas have already been studied for years for potential wilderness designation, but none meet the criteria outlined in the Wilderness Act." ... "It appears that many who advocate for a Dona Ana County Wilderness don’t understand that the restrictions regarding use of wilderness would keep most people out of it." and "I speak as a concerned citizen who is well acquainted with environmental issues and the stewardship of our rangeland being provided by our ranchers. I don’t want to see the criteria for “Wilderness” changed, just because poorly informed citizens see an opportunity to use such designation to accomplish some of their desires. The proposed areas should be considered separately and protected by the most appropriate means available for each site.".
07/23/07 Letter from rancher Frank Holguin.  Mr. Holguin has a family heritage in ranching in this area that dates back many generations, and owns an allotment in the Robledos.  He states "...my family and I are very aware of what happens when an area is designated Wilderness, regardless of what is being said.  Ranchers are not permitted to make new livestock grazing improvements such as the construction of new fences and watering tanks, and are also restricted as to when and how current improvements are maintained. ... We have no hope at all in getting this done in a Wilderness creation." and "... we are also concerned the general public is not well educated of the significance to their personal life when an area is designed wilderness.  People embrace the idea of preservation, but fail to understand how Wilderness will really impact their personal access to and use of the area.  The real story is being framed in a method that is patronizing and misleading." 
07/23/07 Southwest Center for Resource Analysis' "Ecomonic and Social Importance of Cattle Ranching in Southwest New Mexico".  This is a summary of the findings in the WMNU report.
07/22/07 Read posts which provide very informative and important background and perspective on the environmental groups and individuals involved in the proposed Dona Ana County wilderness areas. 
07/22/07 Valle Vidal news release and legislation.
07/21/07 People For Preserving Our Western Heritage Statement on Behalf of Members in response to wilderness and NCA proposals.
07/20/07 Todd Dickson wrote an article in the Las Cruces Bulletin in the July 20, 2007 issue titled "Wilderness preservation debate heightens".  Read Part 1 and Part 2
07/19/07 Statement by Tom Mobley for the Press Conference held at the Farm Bureau on 07/18/07.
07/19/07 Statement by Tom Cooper for the Press Conference held at the Farm Bureau on 07/18/07.
07/19/07 Las Cruces Sun News Article - Ranchers, wilderness advocates lock horns
07/18/07 Letter from Bill Rice, retired Deputy Chief of both the United States Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Bill served the USDA for over 32 years in a succession of capacities.  Twenty of those years were spent in Washington, D.C. including three years on the staff of the Secretary of Agriculture.  Bill states "Each designation is a new Act of Congress and each has specific requirements that have made the administration and management of that area extremely difficult.  There is such an absence of consistency that Forest Service policy (and BLM and Park Service as well) is essentially rewritten for that particular designation.". He also states "The Dona Ana situation is really very complex.  There is already a retirement of several thousand sections of land for government use, and there is a very real issue of national security along the Mexican border.  As a now retired, private citizen who has roots in that area for nearly 125 years, I, too, would love to see the Organs preserved along with the open space that makes southwestern New Mexico special.  The wilderness creation, however, is a divisive designation that has a better alternative for those on both sides of the equation that must both administer and live with the results.".
07/18/07 Letter from Dusty Hunt, Grant County rancher.  Dusty states "We believe that what is happening in Dona Ana County will eventually affect all of us on public lands where the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance has inventoried wilderness candidates.  We ask that you review this issue very carefully.  Our livelihood and future are affected by your actions."
07/18/07 Letter from Pat Hunt, Grant County rancher.  Pat states "We are proud to be Southwest New Mexico ranchers and we worry about what is going on in your county with this effort to create wilderness.".
07/18/07 Las Cruces Sun News Article - Wilderness proposal worries ranchers
07/17/07 Letter from Bob Alexander, Certified Professional in Rangeland Management and retired BLM Rangeland Management Specialist, to Representative Pearce. Senator Domenici and Senator Bingaman.  He states "It is now recognized by rangeland ecological science that rangelands often go through thresholds and they will not return to the historic vegetation conditions without significant physical management actions."  and "Keeping areas that do not have the historic vegetation out of designated Wilderness and Wilderness Study Area status is necessary because it is likely that applying the required herbicides and mechanical practices will not be allowed in areas designated as Wilderness or Wilderness Study Areas. Thus, the areas that are not in the historic vegetation condition would be doomed to remain without historic vegetation if put under Wilderness or Wildemess Study Area designation". 
07/17/07 07/16/07 article from the Washington Times - Cartels grow pot on 'national treasures'" 'Our national treasures are now ground zero for international and domestic drug cultivation and trafficking," said drug czar John P. Walters."  "America's public lands are under attack,' Mr. Walters said."  " 'Instead of being appreciated as national treasures, they are being exploited and destroyed by foreign drug-trafficking organizations and heavily armed Mexican marijuana cartels.' "
07/14/07 We have updated our "Rancher's Concerns" with new information.  A new Q&A section was also added on the same page, outlining how public officials acted in support of wilderness and NCA proposals in Dona Ana County without input from the public and ranchers.
07/12/07 Read The Rancher's Perspective, which provides an clear presentation of the issues related to wilderness and ranching.
07/12/07 Letter from Steve Wilmeth, Dona Ana County rancher, to Representative Pearce, and a separate letter to Senator Domenici.
07/11/07 Marvin Tessneer wrote an article in the Las Cruces Bulletin in the June 29, 2007 issue titled "Ranching group wary of wilderness plans".
07/11/07 Transcript of a presentation by Tom Mobley to the Dona Ana County Commission made on 07/10/07.  This statement outlines the reasons why the county's endorsement of wilderness is premature at this time. 
07/11/07 For an interesting perspective on the Dona Ana County wilderness proposals, visit Jim Scarantino's blog at http://www.nmwilderness.blogspot.com/   Mr. Scarantino provides some very interesting background on the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.  (7/24/07 - note, Mr. Scarantino has discontinued his blog site, but gave us permission to reproduce the relevant writings here on our website)
07/09/07 Letter from Steve Jones, outfitter, expressing concerns about the proposed Wilderness. Note: The original, signed copy of this letter was sent directly to Congressman Pearce.  Mr. Jones provided an electronic copy for our website.
07/07/07 Letter from Gary Schlothauer, expressing concerns about the proposed Wilderness.
07/07/07 Letter from David Wortham, owner of Caliche's frozen custard stores, expressing concerns about the proposed Wilderness.
07/07/07 Letter from Dan Lowry, expressing concerns about the proposed Wilderness.
07/07/07 Letter from Smokey Blanton, expressing concerns about the proposed Wilderness.
06/27/07 Letter from Richard Hays, retired Chief of Air Operations for the Border Patrol, describing the threats on the Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies.
06/27/07 Letter from Sheriff Todd Garrison and Undersheriff Chuck Franco expressing their concerns about the negative impacts of any wilderness designations on law enforcement and homeland security.
06/27/07 Letter from the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Posse stating their concerns about the reduced access for law abiding citizens and law enforcement to the proposed wilderness areas and the opportunities it will create for drug runners and coyotes and the negative impact it will have on search and rescue operations.
06/27/07 Letter from Jim Hill, former ranch owner and current owner of Hill Equipment, stating his concerns about access to the proposed wilderness areas as well as the negative economic impacts.
06/27/07 Letter from Antonio Trujillo Ortega, owner of Mesilla Valley Feeds, stating his concerns about the impacts of the proposed wilderness designations.
06/12/07 Letter from Gary Esslinger on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District to Karen Perez, identifying unresolved issues related to water management in Dona Ana County.
05/15/07 Article written by David Bowser titled Federals’ Ownership Of “Public” Land Is Not Necessarily Total from the April 26, 2007 issue of Livestock Weekly. 
05/02/07 Letter from Gary Esslinger on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District.  This letter expresses serious concerns about the proposed wilderness designations of lands which will be needed to provide flood control and reliable capture of runoff water.  In his conclusion, Mr. Esslinger states "We urge everyone else to take into consideration the dynamics of protecting future watershed resources without imposing such restrictions in these designated wilderness areas that the water resources cannot be used appropriately."
04/18/07 Letter John Bigbee.  John is a rancher, served in the New Mexico House of Representatives, and worked in the State Land office.
04/15/07 Letter (via email) from Al Porter, Executive Vice President of Farm Credit of New Mexico.
04/11/07 Letter by the New Mexico Cattlegrowers Association on Proposed Wilderness Designations in Dona Ana County.
04/11/07 Letter by Charles Glover on Proposed Wilderness Designations in Dona Ana County.
04/03/07 Letter by Greg Carrasco on Proposed Wilderness Designations in Dona Ana County.
04/03/07 Letter by Terry & Jodi Denning on Proposed Wilderness Designations in Dona Ana County.
03/22/07 The Gila Livestock Growers Association put together a very informative and helpful workbook on stockwater rights.  This was written for the Gila area, but the majority of the information is applicable throughout the state.
03/06/07 Tom Mobley sent the article "Forest Service Won't Appeal Dam Decision" to Las Cruces Mayor Bill Mattiace, along with relevant comments.
03/06/07 Article from The Union Democrat - Forest Service Won't Appeal Dam Decision - after Wilderness Watch lawsuits, dams can no longer be maintained in the Emigrant Wilderness and will be allowed to deteriorate. 
03/01/07 Thursday, March 8 - Seminar sponsored by the Paragon Foundation on Property Rights on Western Federal Lands Ranches.
02/13/07 Back Country Horsemen of America articles "A Position Statement On: "Stock Free" Wilderness Recreation Opportunities" and "A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING THE “STOCK FREE” ISSUE".  Both articles discuss restrictions being placed on existing Wilderness lands to eliminate horses and other stock use.
02/13/07 Letter to the Editor by Phillip VanVeen expressing concerns about limited access on areas with Wilderness designation.
01/23/07 Domenici press release on Dona Ana County land use plan
01/23/07 Albuquerque Journal article "Group can't agree on Dona Ana wilderness"
01/23/07 Las Cruces Sun News article "Wilderness plan lacks agreement"
01/22/07 New links (on the Other Sites page) to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the new Environment and Public Works Blog
01/20/07 Statement from Dudley Williams, rancher, for the designation and use of the West Portrillo Mountains area.
01/20/07 Article in the January 2007 issue of the New Mexico Stockman magazine: "Wilderness lockup resolutions cause furor in Dona Ana County" by Glenda Price.  This is the publication of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association.
01/20/07 Article in the Winter 2007 edition of RANGE magazine: "Fatal Encounter - When wild wolves become used to humans, bad things inevitably happen"  This article by Laura Schneberger is about wolves attacking and killing 22-year-old Kenton Carnegie.
01/14/07 Added new section "There Are Alternatives", describing how we can protect our resources, protect private property rights and preserve public access.
01/11/07 The Mountain States Legal Foundation has written a very informative document containing comments to the Colorado Roadless Areas Review Task Force.  This document outlines some very important information and gives substantial background information.  In their comments section, they have a section titled "By definition, new wilderness may not be created" which is quite helpful to read and understand. 
01/10/07 Added Todd Dickson's articles from the Las Cruces Bulletin
12/29/06 Added US Bill of Rights, NM State Constitution Bill of Rights, NM Statutes for Counties and Municipalities and the NM Oath of Office
12/22/06 Link to articles and special reports from RANGE magazine
12/14/06 Outline of Frank DuBois' comments to 12/12/06 Regional Land Management Planning Committee Meeting
12/14/06 Letter (email) from Tom Mobley to Nathan Small regarding an editorial published in the Las Cruces Sun News
12/13/06 Article by Angus McIntosh titled "The Grazing Allotment, Privledge or Right"
12/13/06 Article by Fred Kelly Grant titled "New Grazing Regulations, A Step Forward"
12/08/06 Added article by Wayne Hage titled "What, Exactly, Are Public Lands"
12/02/06 A new section for Reference Material was added.  We will be expanding this area over the next few weeks, but the initial offering includes Grazing Issues, Wilderness Management Issues and Trail Closures & Removals.
12/02/06 Letter from Rebecca Campbell, Gila Hot Springs Ranch outfitter outlining wilderness impacts to her family owned and operated business
11/30/06 Statement from the Rancher Stakeholder Group to the City Workgroup Meeting by Tom Mobley
11/26/06 Las Cruces Sun-News Guest Editorial on Wilderness issues by Tom Mobley 
11/22/06 Does Our Ranch Meet Wilderness Criteria? by Tom Cooper
10/31/06 Statement by rancher Mark Cox
10/30/06 Preliminary position statement submitted to the City of Las Cruces by Tom Mobley
10/27/06 Comments by rancher Tom Cooper on regional land management issues, Wilderness and public lands