The Mountain View Telegraph recently ran a discredited column by Marita Noon attacking the New Mexico Wildlife Federation in an apparent effort to put the brakes on our call for a scientific analysis of critical issues facing the San Juan River. Unfortunately, Telegraph Editor Rory McClannahan did not fact check the piece before it ran. The same piece was so riddled with false statements and misrepresentations that it was retracted by Las Cruces blogger Heath Haussamen (nmpolitics.net) on Aug. 6 and again by the Farmington Daily Times on Aug. 23.

To set the record straight, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation is a statewide conservation organization founded in 1914 and made up of hunters and anglers working to protect New Mexico's outdoor way of life.

Many East Mountains residents have fished or enjoyed the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico — one of the nation's top tailwater trout streams. Avid anglers may have also noticed changes in flows and increased sedimentation that have alarmed many longtime fishermen about the future of the San Juan River. NMWF does not agree with those who say that a gradual degradation of this fishery is inevitable, and has called for a comprehensive study of the issues facing the San Juan River and watershed. These issues include a near doubling of oil and gas wells in the San Juan Basin over the last few years, combined with recent exemptions to Clean Water Act protections for drilling on public land that had been in place to reduce sedimentation from stormwater runoff, and lower flows in the river itself.

In an overzealous attempt to stave off a comprehensive, scientific study of issues facing the San Juan River — perhaps out of fear that it could expose a need for more responsible oil and gas drilling measures in the San Juan Basin — Noon simply made things up in her column.

For instance, she "quoted" a photo caption in the NMWF spring newsletter as saying: "Sediment from Rex Smith Wash has been pouring into the San Juan River … from … oil and gas development." Noon then lied, accusing NMWF of failing to mention that a berm built by the state to protect a parking lot was a major problem at Rex Smith.

Below is what the newsletter actually said, with the words omitted by Noon in italics. As you can see, she deliberately omitted 45 words where we talk about the berm.

"Sediment from Rex Smith Wash has been pouring into the San Juan River near Navajo Dam after the state Division of Parks built the berm on the right to protect a parking lot. Many anglers are hoping the state and federal agencies that control development along the San Juan will do more in the future to reduce sedimentation from both natural and man-made sources, such as oil and gas development."

Nearly every paragraph in Noon's piece contains an assertion that is verifiably false. I encourage anyone who is interested in the San Juan River to read the NMWF spring newsletter at www.nmwildlife.org to see for themselves where NMWF really stands, and what the issues are facing the San Juan River. In brief, NMWF is calling for a comprehensive scientific analysis and plan to ensure a healthy future for the San Juan River.

NMWF has also teamed up with other sportsmen conservation organizations to call for a handful of commonsense national reforms to ensure that energy development on public lands across the west — whether it's oil and gas or wind and solar — is conducted in ways that minimize impacts on hunting, fishing and the other outdoor opportunities we all enjoy.

I appreciate the opportunity provided by Telegraph Editor McClannahan to present the facts on where NMWF stands on the San Juan River.

However, I also feel obligated to warn Telegraph readers that McClannahan said flatly that he is not interested in fact-checking opinion pieces and does not always print corrections or retractions for verifiably false information that appears on the Telegraph opinion page. This isn't the way most news organizations work, and I believe this lackadaisical approach is a disservice to readers. But until something changes, Telegraph readers should realize that it is apparently up to us to fact-check opinion pieces we read in the Telegraph.