THE WESTERNER

Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Groups protest plan for Sonoran Desert monument

Conservation groups are questioning a proposal to allow recreational target shooting throughout the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has released a proposal to manage 1.4 million acres in south-central Arizona, which include the monument. The groups say the BLM hasn't explained its rationale for allowing target shooting and filed a protest by the Monday deadline. Monument manager Rich Hanson said Tuesday that the agency believes it can manage the recreational sport without a blanket ban across the monument. The groups further allege that the BLM's proposal could harm cultural resources and that its road system is inadequate. The BLM is under a court mandate to finalize the plan by September 15. AP

2 comments:

Tick said...: Speaking as a gun owner and responsible shootist, member of the National Rifle Assoc.,Gun Owners of America, and the East Texas Rifle & Pistol Club I am well aware of how unconcerned and uncaring shooters can affect the landscape. They don't just shoot at targets from home (which they don't take back home), they like to shoot at cans they don't pick up and any target of convenience they can see, including all manner of flora and fauna. They have no regard for the damage they do to nature and have no concept of "policing your brass".

God help the areas open to them.; 4:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Agreed, unfortunately.; 6:19 AM