The Federal Bully

Rural Cleansing

The Federal Bully

Designation Assault against Seniors

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

            Round eight is underway.

The first round started 20 years ago when then Congressman Joe Skeen (R-NM) tested the water for protective designation for the Organ Mountains in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. He didn’t want to close the mountains to multiple use via wilderness protection. Rather, he liked the looks of the mountains without lights at night and agreed that they should stay like that from now on.

Skeen’s idea was to establish a National Conservation Area designation on 58,000 acres, but to continue to support and maintain the core forces driving local customs and culture.

Since then, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NMWA) convinced then Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) to designate wilderness on the Organs … the Robledos, the Las Uvas, and the Potrillo Mountains or nearly 400,000 acres. Domenici conditionally went along with the discussion until he determined actual support from the community. He demanded full community involvement. Before he could resolve the matter, he retired with a serious illness.

The back story

The state’s junior senator, Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) garnered the senior spot upon that retirement. Bingaman always championed himself to be the wilderness senator and a review of his donor base certainly supported his claim. He was a darling of the institutional conservation groups. It also didn’t take him long to introduce his first run at making the county highlands wilderness with his S1689. Of course, it was sold on the basis of the Organs, but the text claimed every high point in the county.

With a new Democratic president, two Democratic senators, a Democratic congressman, a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate, a Democratic New Mexico governor, a Democratic state government, and local Democratic city and country commissions, S1689 failed. Technically, it died at the end of that congress. In reality, it failed because the community rose against it.

Senator Bingaman was soon back with another round of legislation with the new junior senator, Tom Udall. This time, though, the legislation had no suggestion of wilderness in the heading. Wilderness in Dona Ana County wasn’t really popular. It, too, failed. Senator Bingaman then retired. Former director of the NMWA, Martin Heinrich, was elected to fill his vacated spot.

Meanwhile, Congressman Steve Pearce (R-NM), returned to office after his failed attempt to assume the role vacated by Domenici. Pearce, not a welcomed regular to the office of then Senator Bingaman, had defended the county with a diminished alternative to S1689. NMWA hated him, crucified his every breath, and brow beat him with local press assistance. He filled a crucial roll, however, in the national arena. Never had a wilderness bill been passed without the support of the local congressional representative.

When Congressman Pearce beat incumbent Harry Teague (D-NM) to return to the House, the county again had a champion who would not bow down to the wilderness altar. He dropped another bill for Organ Mountain protection. HR995 called for national monument status on the Organs with a moderate National Conservation Area buffer. The wilderness machine assailed him.

In response to the Pearce legislation, the local county commission led by a retired Park Service planner, Billy Garrett, concocted the idea of a 600,000 acre national monument. Why the change from wilderness legislation? Garrett, run out of the local progressive stable, convinced the local green machine he could take the matter to President Obama and get him to declare the mega-monument by executive order. Tax payers footed Garrett’s trip to go to Washington. There he lobbied for the gargantuan concept that, in addition to federal lands, would sweep in some 75 parcels of private land, part of the domestic water system in the village of Hatch, a major FAA radar site for the southern border, major fiber optic accoutrements, and more than 100 square miles of state trust land.

That demand sits on the president’s desk.

As this is written, Senators Udall and Heinrich are working on yet another iteration of congressional legislation for Dona Ana County. How big the next assault is sovereign citizenry has no idea because it isn’t being offered for open debate. It must be assumed that it will equate to the last Bingaman dream plan, but normal citizenry has no idea of the consequences or the impact it will have on them.

Something is terribly wrong with that …

The Story

If 100 people are stopped on the streets of Las Cruces, the majority would assume the primary opponents against the endless juggernaut for attempted wilderness legislation would be ranchers. Although ranchers clearly fear that outcome, their numbers long ago were surpassed by a greater number of the community advocating the same opposition. Business people, off roaders, hunters, retirees, blue collar workers, builders, and every walk of citizenry joined the ranks of opposition to the environmentally driven wilderness demand.

It was the rancher group, though, who prompted the original Domenici hesitation. When NMWA told the senator the whole community was fully in support of the wilderness plan except “a few ranchers”, Domenici grew suspicious. When he asked the rancher group directly if they had been part of the discussion and learned they knew nothing about it until they read about it in the press, he knew what had transpired.

The ranchers, long assailed as the culprits in fighting the wilderness frenzy, repeatedly get the publicity and the blame for the ongoing conflict. Since they are discussed so much, perhaps, at long last, it is only proper they are examined. If they are so influential in opposition to the wilderness cavalcade, who are they?

That discussion should start by openly declaring they are a subset of the senior citizenry of the county. When the Domenici era wilderness campaign began, their core group averaged 57 years of age. That average age was just under the New Mexico average agriculturist age of 59 which was and continues to be the oldest average age among their peers in the United States. Today, they average 67.9 years of age. Their average age now exceeds that average amongst their New Mexico counterparts which remains the eldest group in the nation.

They are senior citizens.

As a whole, they remain outside of any discussion with their senators who have led the charge for massive footprints … footprints that would have devastating impact on their investments and historical presence. When Senator Bingaman finally allowed them 45 minutes to visit personally him about the matter, he required them to travel to Albuquerque rather than taking the time to meet them on their home turf in Las Cruces. They arrived in Albuquerque. One of their members was in a wheel chair. Another was in a walker.

They are senior citizens.

In their community, they can measure the next generation of stewards standing in the wings to take their places. A total of 17% of their operations have a steward standing by. Is that being used as the justification to designate wide spread wilderness across the lands they have operated for so many generations? The truth is they have been disallowed to create parallel enterprises to hold those young people and build a future for their heritage industry. They have been regulated to death. The threat of higher level designations has only exacerbated the problem.

They are senior citizens.

They have been minimized and criticized and ignored by their elected representation for much of their careers. Yet, in just one component of their operating expenses, they pay an average of $6,300 monthly for each 500 head cow unit for water, minerals, and maintenance to keep 99.9% of all water in the county available to livestock and wildlife. They supply 100% of all salt and mineral for livestock and wildlife without equating distribution.

They are senior citizens.

Arizona statistics clearly demonstrate the presence of these people is crucial to border safety. Where they are or where they are absent drug activity displays a linear relationship. If they are there, they form an effective and reliable buffer against illegal activity. Where they are absent or displaced by federal management, the activity explodes.

They are senior citizens.

This process has been unforgiving and endless and it continues unabated. They have now had attrition and that can be blamed directly on the stress of the relentless senatorial demand of this conflict on their time, their resources, and their existence. A declaration must be extended to the New Mexico senators. If your intentions are to rid the landscape of this historical industry, you are and have continued to declare all out assault on a segment of your senior constituency. Are you aware of that?

They are senior citizens relentlessly targeted because they are ranchers.

In the span of this endless campaign, you have added new meaning to an old word. It is … bullying.

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “When the duration and the intention of elected representatives are incongruous to what the community is declaring … bullying has replaced statesmanship.”