Tuesday, January 17, 2012

NMSU, Jemez Pueblo Awarded Grazing Contract

Researchers at New Mexico State University and ranchers from Jemez Pueblo have been awarded a grazing contract that will allow them access to the Valles Caldera National Preserve next summer. One environmental group has concerns about returning cattle to the 89,000-acre preserve after more than a third of it was charred last summer by the massive Las Conchas fire. However, preserve officials said the grazing partnership meets congressional mandates for how the property should be managed. “This is hitting on all cylinders,” said Terry McDermott, a spokesman for the preserve. “There’s a cultural piece, it will help with the local economy and with NMSU, it helps with the science and education piece as well.” Made up of sprawling meadows, mountain peaks and one of New Mexico’s most famous elk herds, the preserve was bought by the federal government in 2000. The idea was to protect the area and develop recreational opportunities while keeping it as a working ranch in the hopes that it would sustain itself financially by 2015. New Mexico State University and Jemez Pueblo were among three groups to submit proposals for the 2012 grazing season. The other proposal involved a $35,000 payment from the Santa Fe-based environmental group, WildEarth Guardians, to keep cattle off the preserve. Bryan Bird, the group’s wild places program director, said he was disappointed with the trustee’s decision. He contends that cattle will harm riparian areas and erode soils that are recovering from last summer’s record wildfire. “This incredible landscape needs time to fully recover,” he said...more

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Neither one of these entities or any of the environmental groups know anything about the management of livestock on the open range. Livestock were on the Valle long before there were Earth Guardians or other stupid sounding idiots. It was partly due to livestock that the Valle remained in grass and was not covered up with trees. As for the pueblo's they do not do such a good job with their own lands, go and look at them.