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Thursday, March 3, 2005

Guest View: Pristine Valle Vidal in Danger

By Jeff Young

    There is perhaps no place more pristine and peaceful than the high lonesome country of the Valle Vidal unit of the Carson National Forest.
    The 100,000-acre property known as the "Valley of Life" was donated by Pennzoil to the U.S. Forest Service back in 1982, with the caveat that it be preserved and maintained for wildlife.
    To meet that request, wildlife officials have provided special management rules for the Valle Vidal.
    Special fishing restrictions (the season doesn't start until July 1) provide world-class fly fishing on its pristine streams for cutthroat trout. Knee-deep on the Rio Costilla in search of native trout— it's an experience to be cherished. The unit holds one of the largest elk herds in New Mexico, and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has limited hunting opportunities to "once in a lifetime," creating some of the best elk country our creator has given.
    Just down the road, near the small northern New Mexico town of Cimarron, is the Philmont Scout Ranch. This is a sacred place for the Boy Scouts of America, providing life-changing experiences to 25,000 young men each year from around the world. Operating under a special lease with the Forest Service, Philmont offers treks and other opportunities for some 3,000 young scouters each year in the eastern half of the Valle Vidal.
    All of this may be set to change.
    In August of 2004, the Forest Service approved an initial proposal from El Paso Energy to drill up to 500 wells in the eastern part of the "Valley of Life." Although hunters only have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, fishermen can't fish until each July 1, and no car camping is allowed, the very landscape of this treasure is in question.
    It is estimated that the Valle can provide the nation 72 hours of its natural gas needs: seventy-two hours of gas at the expense of one of the most pristine places in the country and at the expense of one of America's greatest institutions, the Boy Scouts of America.
    What will it look like? Take a look at a West Texas or Southeast New Mexico landscape and add a few trees. Miles and miles of roads will dot the previously untouched forests and meadows. Heavy truck traffic will provide the background noise, where it was previously only the wind and the lonesome call of an elk bugling on the hillside.
    Wildlife management experts know the impacts to wildlife are real. Campers and hikers coming to the Valle for solitude will find it no longer exists, and hunters and fishermen will see that the impact on the quality of their experience is significant. Three thousand boy scouts each year will be denied an opportunity that for some has been called a "life-changing experience." How much more can we take sitting down?
    I urge everyone (even if you have never been there) to take action to stand up against the development of this New Mexico treasure. You can do this by:
   

Writing a letter or e-mail to the Carson National Forest,
   

Writing a letter or e-mail to our congressional delegation, or
   

Writing a letter or e-mail to President Bush.
    Here are some Web sites you can use:
    www.nmwild.org/wilderness/vidal
    www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson
    Please help save this precious resource.
    Jeff Young of Sandia Park is a longtime New Mexico resident who has spent some time "knee deep" on the Rio Costilla.
#EQ#The Associated Press**misformed if statement**