ACTION ALERT
PLEASE help us out Kossacks!!
Tell the Forest Service to Protect New Mexico's Valle Vidal
In 2002, the El Paso Corporation of Houston, Texas began pressuring the White House Energy Task Force and the U.S. Forest Service to make northeastern New Mexico's Valle Vidal, or "Living Valley" available for coalbed methane, or natural gas, development. The Valle Vidal is a stunning and unique 100,000-acre Unit of the Carson National Forest that gives life to many of northeastern New Mexico's rural communities, and draws visitors, Boy Scouts, and hunters from around the world to the state. The Valle Vidal's ecosystem, rangelands, wildlife, recreational opportunities and its surrounding communities will be devastated by coalbed methane development.
I'll give it to you straight up. This is an AWESOME place the deserves protection. It is also a vital and sustainable economic resource for N. New Mexico, bringing in $3-5 million/year to local communities from recreation. Even if you have never been there, even if you never go -
THIS IS YOUR LAND!!!
Check out photos at http://www.vallevidal.org
Nearly 200 local businesses, membership organizations, local governments and individuals from New Mexico and beyond have come together to protect the Valle Vidal and from energy leasing and development, and WE need your help.
On June 14, 2005, the Forest Service began a formal process that will ultimately determine whether or not the eastern half of the Valle Vidal will be leased for coalbed methane development. The Carson National Forest has issued a proposed amendment to its overall Forest Plan that seeks to incorporate the Valle Vidal Unit into that plan with a specific vision, management highlights and standards and guidelines.
The Carson National Forest is accepting public comments on this Forest Plan Amendment through September 14th. Speak up now to ensure that the Valle Vidal is not slated for energy development!
What to Do:
Send your comments to the Forest Service by September 14, 2005, urging the agency to protect the Valle Vidal by closing the entire area to energy leasing and development.
Talking points, a sample letter and background information are below.
If at all possible, please write your own, original comments that incorporate the talking points below - as original comments are the most effective way to make your voice heard in this Forest Service planning process. If you cannot write your own comments by the deadline, please use the sample letter. You must provide your name and address for your comments to count.
Points to Make:
o The entire Valle Vidal should be closed to energy leasing and development and protected for the benefit of sportsmen, ranchers, outfitters and guides, local business, outdoor enthusiasts, wildlife enthusiasts, Boy Scouts, future generations, and the public at large.
o As written on page 3 in the Forest Service's Proposed Action (available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/plans/index.shtml), "the Vision" for the Valle Vidal does not accurately reflect the people's vision for the Valle Vidal. The public wants to see the Valle Vidal's habitat, range, fish, wildlife, riparian and watershed resources restored and improved across the board, NOT simply maintained or sustained.
o The Forest Service should honor the people's vision for the Valle Vidal by putting this area off limits to oil and gas leasing NOW, in the Forest Plan Amendment stage. They should NOT defer this decision to a future analysis of leasing.
o The Forest Service should protect this vision and the Valle Vidal's unique attribute -- it's elk herd and Native Cutthroat trout population, rangeland, clean water resources, scenic beauty, Boy Scout training area, and superior recreational and sporting opportunities-- by closing the Valle Vidal to energy leasing and development.
Sample Letter:
Mr. Martin D. Chavez Jr., Forest Supervisor
Carson National Forest
Attn: Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571
Dear Mr. Chavez,
I am writing to comment on the Carson National Forest's Proposed Forest Plan Amendment for the Valle Vidal, or management area 21.
The Valle Vidal Unit is a tremendously unique portion of America's public land. As a public land owner and user, I value the Valle Vidal's abundant and broad range of wildlife, the area's clean riparian and water resources, and its vast array of recreational, sporting and agricultural opportunities.
(Try to provide a description and personal example of what you value about the Valle Vidal, or if you have not yet been there, the opportunities it affords to you as a public land user. This can be an example of wildlife viewing or hunting, or any other recreational, agricultural, educational or ecological that is present in the Valle Vidal.)
The Forest Service's Proposed Action outlines a vision for the Valle Vidal that includes maintaining and sustaining the Valle Vidal's array of natural and recreational resources. I strongly encourage the Forest Service to raise the expectation for itself as it seeks to successfully manage this ecosystem. The Valle Vidal's habitat, range, fish, wildlife, riparian and watershed resources must not simply be maintained or sustained, they must be restored and improved across the board.
In order to restore and improve the Valle Vidal's resources the Forest Service must close the entire Valle Vidal unit to energy leasing and development now. I urge you not defer this decision to a future leasing analysis. The air, water, and soil impacts of energy leasing and development is clearly incompatible with the many uses of the Valle Vidal and will severely limit our public land managers ability to restore and improve the Valle Vidal resources.
Your Name
Your Address
Send Your Comments To:
Carson National Forest
Attn: Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571
Or email: comments-southwestern-carson@fs.fed.us
("Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment" must be in the subject line.)
New Mexico elected officials also to hear from you. Send copies of your comments to these New Mexico congressional members with a short note asking them to permanently protect the Valle Vidal.
Senator Pete Domenici
328 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6621, 202-228-0900 fax
Senator Jeff Bingaman
703 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5521, 202-224-2852 fax
Representative Tom Udall
Democrat / 3rd District
1414 Longworth Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6190, 202-226-1331 fax
Representative Heather Wilson
Republican / 1st District
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-346-6781, 505-346-6723 fax
Background Information:
The Valle Vidal is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico between Cimarron and Costilla. This 100,000-acre gem of the Carson National Forest is a precious watershed, home to diverse wildlife, and offers spectacular recreation opportunities. The Valle Vidal is an important part of New Mexico's ranching heritage and is still a productive grazing area today.
Located less than an hour from Raton and Taos, the Valle Vidal attracts hunters, anglers, hikers, campers, Boy Scouts and wildlife viewers from New Mexico and across the country.
With its fresh waters, firewood and grazing, this valley is also a vital resource for northern New Mexico's rural and agricultural communities. The Valle Vidal is one of the most accessible places to view a vast array of wildlife including mountain lion, bear, turkey, the Native Rio Grande Cutthroat trout, and the largest elk herd in New Mexico. It has long been a critical winter habitat for wildlife, a premier destination for hunters and anglers, and a serene landscape for horseback riding, hiking, and camping.
If allowed, coalbed methane development will drastically change the Valle Vidal forever. Coalbed methane, a type of natural gas, is a booming extractive industry in the Rocky Mountain West. This development has devastating effects on communities, the environment, and scarce water resources. Large swaths of public and private land are being scraped bare and fragmented by roads, pipelines, well pads and compressor stations. Water quality and quantity is threatened by the injection of toxic chemicals into aquifers during drilling processes; hazardous storm run-off from well sites; waste pits; and the massive depletion of water from coal seams. Well sites include: toxic pits that threaten soil, groundwater, wildlife and livestock; hazardous air emissions of nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and hydrogen sulfide; and often extremely noisy compressors, pumpjacks and other industrial machinery.
Coalbed methane development will destroy the Valle Vidal's unique resources and it is not the place for energy development.
Learn more about the Valle Vidal at http://www.vallevidal.org
Download Forest Service documents at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/plans/index.shtml
Thank you KOSSACKS!!!!!