Luján Supports Ranchers Against Grazing Cutbacks

Rep. Ben Ray Luján is supporting northern New Mexico ranchers fighting the U.S. Forest Service over reductions in grazing allotments on parts of the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests, a move that the cattlemen say constitutes an attack on historic Hispanic culture. Luján asked the Forest Service to postpone the grazing cutbacks in a letter last month to regional forester Corbin Newman of Albuquerque. Luján called the reduction of grazing opportunities on national forest land over the past few decades "an alarming trend." "By preserving a working relationship with the land that can be passed on to their children there is an opportunity to ensure the longevity of local communities by providing economic incentive for families to stay in their ancestral, rural community and continue the traditional lifestyle of ranching in New Mexico," the congressman wrote. The Forest Service grazing cutbacks appear to be putting a long-running battle over traditional uses of northern New Mexico public forests back on the front burner. "What they want to do in our estimation is remove livestock grazing completely," said Carlos Salazar, who runs cows on Santa Fe National Forest land near the Valles Caldera National Preserve. "They're doing it piecemeal." Ranchers say a burgeoning elk population has far more impact on the forests and that the Forest Service cares more about birds and other wildlife than the communities which have used the land dating back to Spanish and Mexican land grants. Luján, a Democrat, is drawing criticism from environmentalists...more

So does this mean Lujan, who is given a 100% rating by the League of Conservation Voters and a 100% rating by Environment America, is running for Bingaman's open senate seat?