by Walt Anderson
Hello, my
name is Walt Anderson. My Grandfather was born in White Oaks, New Mexico in
1886. After proving up on a homestead south of Tyrone, New Mexico he and my
Grandmother bought a ranch at Redrock, New Mexico. I am the current steward of
this southwestern New Mexico family ranch that has been in the Anderson family
since 1929. My wife and I reside at the same headquarters that my grandparents
lived since 1941, after a flood destroyed their first home. Every morning when
we walk out of our home we see the structures … the same landscaping features …
and the same familiar mountains those predecessors saw since before the Great
Depression.
It is our
home … it is our heritage … it is our life.
I am not
sure you can understand what I felt when I learned that the federal government
was going to expand an existing Area of Critical Environmental Concern … we
will call it ACEC …on our ranch. Like every other rancher on this panel, we
ranch on a checkerboard ownership of the lands. There is state land by demand
of the federal government at the time of our state hood. There is federal land
pledged to become private land by the constitution but altered by legislation
in 1976 to disallow the promise of private ownership extended to 37 other
states in the Union.
There is also private land that was
perfected through various means the most common of which was the various
homestead measures. It is on private land that most of our improvements exist.
There is no secret why those improvements dominate those minority holdings. It
is the only part of our existence that we have some dominion over. I want to
make the point here, though … and listen carefully … it is private land that
subsidizes the greater good of these ranch units … and that means wildlife and
a dependent natural system … because that is where water is, that is where
security against predation exists consistently, and that is where a safe haven
oasis exists that provides a more varied and consistent food source. Private
land holdings are the glue and the safe havens that tie together these dynamic
ecosystems that exist in fact … not in concept. Each ranch in this state has
become a finite system within the land mass. The disruption of each system has
a profound effect on the greater health of the land.
The expansion of the ACEC was the
brainchild of the BLM for the purposes of expanding habitat for several
endangered species, but, as we learned, there were other issues. For example,
the BLM was concerned about potential power transmission lines, they were
concerned about a potential water impoundment, and they divulged that it was
their intent to manage for the natural system which is code for the plan to
eliminate cattle … my cattle and my neighbors’ cattle.
They intended to sweep 2,500 acres
of my land into the deal, along with all of my permitted state and federal
grazing lands. Was I asked about the idea … no. Was my county asked about the
deal … no. Was my conservation district asked about the deal … no. We were sent
a copy of the Federal Register notice in the mail. We had about three weeks
time to comment on the ACEC before the comment period would close. In other
words, this was a typical federal project that was going to be crammed down our
throats without our input, without our agreement, and without regard to the
impact to local customs and cultures. That is the world we exist in folks!
We are simply obstacles to be dealt
with, but ...
We organized … we went to work … we
followed a prescribed path of requirements and we prevailed, at least in the
short term. We have been told that this might come back.
I am fortunate to have a County
Commission, an active conservation district, and a county citizenry that is
generally not prone to the progressive onslaught. In that regard, I am luckier
than other counties that have seen the proliferation of dominating progressive
governing bodies. The federal land grab that I faced would not have been pushed
back in many New Mexico Counties.
What we learned must be implemented
across our state. First of all, good leadership is an absolute necessity.
Without a strong County Commission … and without strong conservation and
industry leadership that is also here … nothing will prevail in the times we
live. We must have strong land plans … we must demand that federal legislation
like the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act be enforced, and again …
please listen closely … we must have leadership that adheres to customs and
culture based policy not agency policy based evidence.
Our customs and cultures … our
freedom to operate, and … the dominion of the sovereign individual are our
cornerstones. We are the single most important management feature on the lands
today … we the ranching community … and it is time the world understands the
consequences of our departure from these lands.
Thank you … I will sit for
questions when the time comes.
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