www.nmwild.org ARCTIC NATIONAL By Chuck Houston and Christianne Hinks WILDLIFE REFUGE: falls from dizzying preci- pices speeding by below “I hope the United States of America is not so us. We’re in a very tiny WHY WE MUST WIN rich she can afford to let these wildernesses pass plane flying through some by, or so poor she cannot afford to keep them” very big country. Having return trip and we are left to make camp in a vast —Mardy Murie spent months planning food and flight schedules, river valley of rock and ice. I need a drink of water clothing and gear, boats and safety equipment, and instinctively search for the water filter. It is in Gazing from the window of Kirk Sweetsir’s confronting weight restrictions and weather delay this moment when I remember I can put my face Cessna 185 flying north from Fort Yukon, Alaska possibilities - we’re on the final leg of a journey to the water and drink without a cup right out of - we see spruce trees dissolving into pale green begun a long time ago in the coziness of a friend’s the river - a big river. It is this moment that I take tundra, tundra disappearing into gigantic slabs and living room. the first step into another world. massive scree slopes of gray rock, water reflecting back to us from lakes, ponds, beaded streams, The plane disappears into the sky for the long see Arctic , pg. 10 OTERO MESA: PARADISE ON THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION s t e p h e n c a p r a • e x e c u t i v e d i r e c t o r Notes from the Executive Director The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge may seem an unlikely candidate for the cover of a New Mexico Wilderness Alliance newsletter. But as you read on I think the reasoning will become very clear. Let me begin with some full disclo- sure. For a person like me, who dreamed of the Great Plains filled with bison, grizzly bears and passenger pigeons, I often felt that perhaps I was born 150 years too late. That is until I dis- covered the Arctic Refuge in the early 1980’s. After personally writing every member of Congress and tabling at street fairs, I was hired by the Wilderness Society in 1989 as a coor- dinator on the Arctic Refuge, focusing on the mid-west and south. In 1990, I walked 3,200 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Con- tinental Divide, giving talks along the way to raise awareness for the Refuge. To date, I have never set foot in the Refuge, but it remains a personal dream. I have fought hard for more than 20 years to see it protected and I am far from alone in this pursuit. As this issue of New Mexico Wild points out, there are many people here in New Mexico that are determined to see BP can profit even more while our wild heritage this land protected and the Bush administration is thrown away and America’s energy security defeated in its single-minded effort to destroy is ignored. America’s Serengeti. The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance remains Alliance members Christianne Hinks and focused on issues pertaining to public lands in Chuck Huston, who have both spent time in our state. But the Arctic Refuge is special; its the Refuge, are examples of New Mexicans fate may well determine the fate of many wild working hard to protect this priceless landscape landscapes in the Rocky Mountain West. This and the wildlife that call it home. They are orga- is about raw political power being flexed by nizing meetings, going to Washington to lobby, the oil and gas industry and has nothing to do writing to elected officials, showing up at public with lowering prices or making America more events to question representatives, and quite energy secure. Be it the Arctic or New Mexico’s simply refusing to listen to the lies coming from own Otero Mesa, we must hold the line and industry and some of our politicians. They are prevent development. These are our wildest determined to see this area protected as wilder- remaining lands, and they are irreplaceable. As ness, not destroyed so that Exxon, Yates and our human population continues to grow and our cities continue to sprawl, the value of our wildlands continue to increase. Like the Arctic Refuge, we have a place in DON’T MISS IT! New Mexico that is wild, beautiful and often Arctic National Wildlife Refuge misunderstood. It is a land of wind and prong- Coverage on Page 1, 7 and 10 horn, it is wilderness on a grand scale, more than one million acres of blue and black grama 4 Otero Mesa: Paradise on the Eve of Destruction grass, petroglyphs, and skies so big one senses 7 Arctic Update that the solar system cannot be far away. When 8 Roadless Rule Update I first saw Otero Mesa it was clear that, like the 9 Dona Ana County Update Arctic Refuge, this was a place that defined wil- 10 The Arctic Refuge: Why We Must Win derness: wild, big and untamed. It was also, 13 Bad Alaskan Plan for Intensive Predator Control like the Refuge, a place threatened by big oil, 14 Otero Mesa Continued politics, drought and many people’s perception that grasslands and deserts are not desirable for 15 HIKE wilderness protection. 16 Tijeras Canyon – Hope for Wildlife Linkage 17 New Mexico Wilderness Conference A lot has changed in the past few years. new mexico 18 Our Sponsors People across the state have come together 19 Join us! to fight for this land and our future. Governor Richardson has courageously stood up to the oil and gas industry and demanded that Otero WILD! Mesa be protected. But like the Arctic Refuge, Fall 2006 continued next page New Mexico WILD! Page 3 (from previous page) polling booth, think about wild- comfort. We need our homes to lands and wildlife and pull the be much more energy efficient, not the oil and gas industry continues lever for the candidate that makes wasteful. I think we are all tired of to use fear and misinformation to conservation a priority. Conserva- paying exorbitant heating and cool- push their selfish agenda. Senator tion of our wildest lands is not just ing bills. The technology is here Bingaman has pushed for a study a local but also a national priority. today, not twenty years away. Yet of the aquifer in Otero Mesa, and One way to honor our priorities is government continues to ignore Main Office has taken a strong stand on the to break the grip the oil and gas the technology, offering few tax 505/843-8696 • fax 505/843-8697 Arctic Refuge and New [email protected] • www.nmwild.org P.O. Box 25464 Mexico’s Valle Vidal. But Albuquerque, NM 87125 with Otero Mesa, his Las Cruces Field Office important public support 275 N. Downtown Mall Las Cruces, NM 88001 has remained lacking. 505/527-9962 Frankly, by the time the aquifer study is com- Mission Statement plete, we may well find The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance is dedicated to the protection, restoration, that the water resource and continued enjoyment of New Mexico’s has been contaminated, wildlands and Wilderness areas. should industry be given NMWA Staff the green light to drill. Las Cruces Office I hope that the Sena- Jeff Steinborn, Southern NM Director tor will respond to our Albuquerque Office Tisha Broska, Membership Coordinator recent lawsuit loss, by Stephen Capra, Executive Director working to get legislation Tripp Killin, Associate Director Nathan Newcomer, Grassroots Organizer introduced to protect Roxanne Pacheco, Finance Manager Otero Mesa. Michael Scialdone, Director of Wilderness Protection Trisha London, Membership & Grassroots Assistant The Arctic Refuge and Nathan Small, Wilderness Protection & Tabling Coordinator Otero Mesa are our Board of Directors country’s crown jewels Wes Leonard, El Paso, TX (Chair) Bob Howard, Santa Fe, NM (V.Chair) and they remain the industry has over our daily lives. incentives unless you are big oil. Tom Mouck, Albuquerque, NM (Treasurer) benchmark for wildness. They are We must demand more from our The Bush energy plan sets only Todd Hotchkiss, Albuquerque, NM (Secretary) Glen Banks, Placitas, NM the areas the conservation commu- elected officials when it comes to one goal: drill, drill, and drill. New Pam Eaton, Denver, CO nity values the most. They are the Dave Foreman, Albuquerque, NM energy development, because it’s energy initiatives for our country Dave Parsons, Albuquerque, NM areas for which we will always fight, energy that is pushing the modern (the country that has taken man Carlos Provencio, Bayard, NM Arturo Sandoval, Albuquerque, NM the special places on which we will day gold rush that threatens so to the moon and developed end- Todd Schulke, Silver City, NM never waver. Politicians should many parts of the Arctic and the less technologies in all fields) are Bob Tafanelli, Las Cruces, NM Rick Wiedenmann, Carlsbad, NM understand the importance of these Rocky Mountain West. something Congress should quickly Newsletter Staff areas, as biological reserves, wild- demand. There is something very Many politicians seem to fear the Tisha Broska, Managing Editor life strongholds and as places that American about that. These steps Joe Adair, Design Editor define our core values. The oil and change of alternative energy. They would eliminate the need for drill- seem to think it is too complex for Artists gas industry should understand ing in these beautiful and valuable Cover photo: Immature Snowy Owls by Art this as well.