NM Hispanic ranchers send letter to Obama

A group of northern New Mexico ranchers is reaching out to the White House over the alleged mistreatment of Hispanics by the U.S. Forest Service. The president of the Northern New Mexico Stockman's Association, Carlos Salazar, fired off a letter to the White House on Tuesday. Salazar says ranchers and farmers in the area have been loyal Democrats in the past but are "bailing out" on the Obama administration due to the negative economic impacts its policies are having on those who depend on New Mexico's forests for their livelihoods. The letter comes a day after ranchers and Rio Arriba County announced they were suing the Forest Service over a reduction in grazing opportunities on two allotments in the Carson National Forest. They claim an institutional bias against Hispanics exists within the agency. AP