Background on Proposed NCA for the Peloncillo Region:

David Hodges, Sky Island Alliance, submitted an Executive Summary proposal for a Natural Conservation Area (NCA) for this area to the Malpai Borderlands Group (MBG) at the MBG's February board meeting.

After receiving a copy of the Summary I initiated a dialogue with Bill McDonald, Executive Director for MBG, and David Hodges. I inquired of David why he thought federal management was superior to private management. David's response never directly addressed my question, although he had many reasons for including our area in a NCA.

David was gracious enough to give me a copy of the full Draft proposal: “The Greater Peloncillo Mountains Region: A Status Review and Management Recommendations” at the Jaguar Conservation Team meeting in Lordsburg a couple of weeks ago.

After reviewing the Draft proposal - 82 pages, including the bibliography - I am even more concerned with the proposal. Bill McDonald was also gracious enough to send me comments from him and Dr. Ben Brown in which they both discussed some of their concerns with the proposal in hopes of tweaking the Draft to address these concerns.

I have also visited with many of the landowners within the proposed NCA. As my letter to David reflects - based on these conversations, I can not in good conscience support this proposal. I truly believe one of the main reasons this area is in pristine condition lies in the fact that much of the area is held in private lands that have been managed for their highest and best uses in a sustainable manner for the individual landowners.

One of my favorite quotes comes from a Supreme Court decision, Buchanan vs Warley - 1917: "Property is more than the thing which a person owns..... It is elementary that it includes the right to acquire, use, and dispose of it.... There can not be conception of property aside from its control and use, and upon its use depends its value".

If this NCA comes to fruition it's inevitable it will eventually determine the "uses" for this area, including prohibiting all "over-flights by ultra-light aircraft” and all "exotic species". Exotic species could include; cattle, horses, emus, etc; and certain plants and grasses that are not "native" to this area. Is this the kind of restrictive uses we would like to see in this area?

I am sending this out in an effort to keep everyone in the loop. I've included the map of the proposed NCA for your review. If you'd like to read the Draft proposal, let me know.

The MBG will decide tomorrow whether to support the NCA. Hopefully, they will make the right choice for the benefit of all the landowners in this area.

Judy

----- Original Message -----
From: Keeler Ranch
To: David Hodges
Cc: Bill McDonald
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 11:49 AM
Subject: Proposed NCA

March 26, 2008

Dear David,

Thank you for the Draft copy of “The Greater Peloncillo Mountains Region: A Status Review and Management Recommendations”. You are right; it varies only slightly from the Executive Summary of the” Peloncillos Coordinated Management and Protected Area Plan” – just a little more fluff – beautiful pictures of the area and a history of its settlement.

After reviewing the document, reading the comments from Dr. Brown, Bill McDonald and others and visiting with the neighbors about the proposed National Conservation Area, I can say with certainty we are unequivocally opposed to the proposed NCA.

Without going into a page by page analysis, suffice it to say we do not see a need to add another layer of federal land management over the top of the many private property owners within the proposed NCA.

I think you will agree that our federal bureaucracies are not the best land managers. In fact, even the TNC acknowledges the larger percentage of endangered species is found on private land. Could this reflect the fact that private lands are better cared for than the federal (public) lands – where ingress and egress is mandated by elected officials and a judicial system that has no concept or concern for how the public actually “cares” for the land?

If you are thinking of proposing that the Malpai Borderland Group, or some other NGO, “manage” the proposed NCA you are only setting up a scenario for future conflict between friends and neighbors.

We see no benefit of applying some form of “management” over this area other than what already exits. Private property is one of the foundational principles that have made our nation so great. Even if we “tweak” the proposed NCA, we could end up with disastrous results – a management system by individuals that neither live in the area nor have a vested interest in its future well-being. In this there can be no compromise.

As I previously stated, we can not, in good conscience, support the proposed NCA. We are unequivocally opposed to a NCA being established in our area.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

Judy Keeler

Cc Bill McDonald