The battle for the Valle Vidal is a monumentous David and Goliath fight and we need all the help we can get.
What's At Stake?
The Valle Vidal is a 100,000-acre gem smack in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains northwest of Cimarron, New Mexico. It has been called a `reservoir of wildlife' and justly so. The Valle hosts the largest elk herd in the state, sixty other species of mammals including black bear, turkey, bobcat and bison, nearly 200 species of birds and 33 kinds of reptiles and amphibians. Its verdant valleys are ringed by one of the largest stands of Bristlecone Pine in the nation. Pure strains of the Rio Grande cutthroat trout can be found in many of the waterways.
The Valle Vidal is also culturally treasured lifeblood for local recreation-based economies. It hosts outfitters, hunting and trekking guides, backpackers, horseback riding, world-class fly-fishing and over 3,000 Boy Scouts a year. It contributes $3-5 million/year to local economies supporting dozens of jobs and local industries.
The Valle Vidal defines The Land of Enchantment.
But the Valle Vidal is in danger of Oil and Gas Development. In 2002, El Paso Natural Gas petitioned the Forest Service to lease the eastern 40,000 acres of the Valle for coalbed methane (CBM) development. This last summer (2004), the Forest Service released its Reasonable Foreseeable Development Scenario (RFDS). The scenario predicted only enough natural gas to supply the nation with about 11 hours of gas. For that, we would see the elk's calving grounds disrupted, displaced wildlife populations, fragmented habitat, poisoned waterways and the loss of a vital portion of the economies of north central New Mexico. Few, if any, jobs would be created by this development and income to local communities would be less than that already had through sustainable recreational use.
The formal leasing analysis will not begin for over a year. However, before the Forest Service can engage in the leasing analysis, it must prepare an amendment to its Forest Plan for the Carson National Forest to include the Valle Vidal. When Pennzoil donated the Valle Vidal to the American public in 1982, the Carson had just completed its Forest Plan, so the Valle Vidal has operated under a different plan since that time. Now the Valle management plan must be brought into line with the rest of the Forest Plan. The Forest Service is now conducting the analysis required by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), which will require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Forest Service projects completing the plan by September 2006 at which point the leasing process may begin. If we get to that point, we are in deep trouble.
The Coalition for the Valle Vidal is a broad-based, non-partisan gathering of nearly 400 Northern New Mexico local governments, businesses, organizations and individuals that have come together to ensure permanent protection for the Valle Vidal. We have formed a team that will participate in every aspect of the forest amendment process. In the mean time we have initiated a vigorous public-awareness campaign to inform New Mexicans just how devastating the destruction of the Valle would be for us all. This is a vital moment for those seeking to protect the Valle Vidal. There is too much to lose by industrializing one of our treasured wildlands for 11 hours of natural gas. We cannot allow another out-of-state conglomerate to drill and run, leaving us with busted economies and a ruined landscape.
Finally, this fight is not just about the Bush Administration's contempt for local people and its failed energy policy. It is also a philosophical and ideological battle against an Administration that is fundamentally opposed to the very concept of "public lands". These attacks on our special places are not only about making a few oil and gas barons rich. It is also about selling off the public's lands to private interests.
Previous posts on the Valle Vidal battle can be found at the following links:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
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Late last year, Rep Tom Udall (D-NM) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced bills into Congress that would permanently protect the Valle Vidal by withdrawl the mineral leasing option. Only Congress or the Sec. of the Interior can do this.
What we have found is that fighting huge corporations and the Bush Administration is expensive. We have legal and media costs to cover and this battle will drag on until Bush is out of office. We have to fight it every step of the way.
Your contribution to the Fund for the Valle Vidal will help fight to save this beautiful 100,000-acre mountain preserve from the environmental disaster posed by coal-bed methane drilling. It will help defend the Valle Vidal in the courts, in the legislature, in Forest Service policymaking, and will help to inform other citizens about this important issue.
If you wish to contribute by mail, please make contributions payable to:
The Fund for the Valle Vidal
Post Office Box 1281
Taos, New Mexico 87571
If you wish to contribute onthe internet, we have establised a secure server at: http://vallevidalfund.org
The fiscal agent for the Fund is Amigos Bravos , a 501(c)(3) charitable organization All donations to the Fund for the Valle Vidal are tax-deductible as provided for by law: EIN: 85-0363-268.
The Fund for the Valle Vidal is a project of SIMPLECHANGE.
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