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IF'19199 AF'R93 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXLYNNE WOLFE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXPO BOX 882853 STEAMBOAT PLAZA CO 80488 A Paper for People wbo care about tbe West One dollar andfiftY cents '..':"'\': :::"..:::::::" ..:".:::.:~ • The continuing saga of New Mexico's Gray Ranch by Bruce Selcraig Mexico border; enthralled biologists; within its boundaries are believed to be 718 species of plants, an estimated 75 species hree years ago I met some and subspecies of mammals, and 52 kinds of reptiles and ranchers in the remote south- amphibians, including three on the federal list of endangered western bootheel of New Mex- species. Some 150 types of birds breed here, and more than 70 ico who were distraught over plants are rare or endangered. Bill Waldman', director of the the sale of a famous local Conservancy's New Mexico office, said at the time: ranch. They were suspicious of "More separate species and subspecies of mammals are the new owners and fearful found on the Gray Ranch than on any existing national wildlife that the dreaded public - a refuge or national park in the continental United States," word they often spat out like So why is the Conservancy now willing to turn the Gray tobacco juice - would soon Ranch over to private interests? come to ruin the ranch and What has the Conservancy accomplished in three years? their solitude. And what does Jane Fonda have to do with all of this? "Come back in 10 years," , Ah, the mysteries of the Gray. What-appears to be the one rancher's wife told me bit- impending sale of the ranch to a non-profit organization headed terly, "and see what's hap- by a rancher is only the latest plot twist in what has been a pened to this land ... There'll three-year saga of confusion, controversy- and high-stakes be people from the East and preservation politics. people from universities who have read some books coming , From ranch to refuge -~~ ~ down here telling us how to -Our story starts in late 1989, when word trickled through conserve things." Hidalgo County that Pablo Brener, the reclusive Mexican billion- ~~~!!5~~e=!!:!II As you may have guessed, aire who owned the Gray Ranch, rnightfmally sellit to The Nature ....Jhe new landlord was neither a "'l.! Conservancy. Waldman. had been pursuing Brener for years and rancher nor the government, but the world's largest private finally struck a deal, as Waldman tells it, just before some less land-conservation group, The Nature Conservancy, which had conservation-minded buyers began making serious proposals. just spent $18 million to buy New Mexico's immense and bio- Many New Mexico ranchers weren't thrilled about the logically exquisite Gray Ranch. news. Few of them seemed to know what the Arlington, Va.- The Conservancy's purchase of the 502-square-mile prop- continued on page 10 erty, about 200 miles west of EI Paso and east of Tucson on the ,I Hatc;d E, Molde Animas Mountains at sunset The $18 million ranch is like Grand Canyon - Virtually impossible to appreciate with our limited senses lineR un~ Dear friends, New intern . New intern Ernie Atencio and his wife Elsbeth arrived in Paonia to spend the winter after a year of far- flung wanderings. Leaving Yosemite in late 1991, they spent last winter in Nepal and India, then landed happily IDGH COUNTRY NEWS on the North Rim of the Grand (ISSN/0191/5657) Is published Canyon (the side without a McDon- bfweekjy, except for one issue during ald's), where they worked as park July and one Issue duringJanuary, by rangers for the season and reveled in the High Country Foundation, 119 their return to the Southwest Grand Avenue, Paonia, CO81428. Sec- ond-class postage paid at Paonia, Ernie comes originally from Colorado. New Mexico, where tangled family POSTMASTER, .Send address roots go back centuries. He studied changes to HIGH COUNTRYNEWS, anthropology at the University of Box 1090, Paonia, CO81428. New Mexico and has spent the years Subscriptions are $28 per year for since working as a park ranger, out- Individuais and public libraries, $38 door skills instructor, and environ- per year for institutions. Singlecopies mental educator. More recently he $1.50 plus postage and handling. spe- Elderhostel ciallssues $3 each. has taught field courses. In past incarnations he worked as a municipal planner and librarian. Tom BeD _ Edltor emeritus After all that disparate experience, Ed Manton now he's trying at HeN to sneak in PNbMsber the back door as a writer. Betsy Marston Cindy Wehling EdJUw -the staff Ernie and Elsbeth in snowy downtown Paonia Unda Bac.lgahJpi A •• oc:Mle JlNbMsber -.u_Steve IUnchman Paulw-mer Assis".. e4Uor HOTLINE Jon~ cAwlt 846t" reg*mGl_1Ior c.i, Rawlim Poetry etUtor Diane SyJvodn Product:kntlgrwPhics Clndy WehHhg ne.lIkJp pNbli.&bi"" Ann Ulrich '1Yp.""""" YvonnePeU Bun",.. Gmchen Nkholoft' Circul4Ucnt __ ger Phyllis HeckteD Circulatknl Meg O'Shaughnessy Arden Trewartha --Adam Duerl< John80kman EmJeAtendo I........ Victoria Bomberry,PoremtUk, CRMJ. Maggie Coon.s-ttIe. Will..", Judy Donald, WMW"gtmr, D.C Michael Ehlers.lJouIderj Colo. Tom France, Musoul4. Mo. Karll FlOhboese, P"'" City, Ul4!b 5alIy Gordon.BuU .... Wyo. Judith Jacobsen, BoIIIJer, Colo. Dan Luec.ke. BouWer; Colo. Geoffrey O'Gan., lArukr, Wyo. Diane}osephy l'avey.Cm'I!y,I".bo James B. Rueh, Flagstalf, Ariz". Farwell Smith. McLeod, MOfII. EmUy Swanson, Boze-If, MOIIL , Lynda s. Tayk)T.Alb~ N./,(. Mark Trahant, 54" LAIN CUy, Utah Andy Wiessner, Deftver, Colo. Bom-tlof~ Ankles appearing In fflgb CoNmry New. are indexed in E..nf"On7fle1fttll PerlodIaJLs BlbUogrtJ~ pby, Environmental Studies Institute, 800 Gar- den SL,Suite D, Santa Barbara, CA. 9310l. All rights to publkation of artkles in this issue are reserved. Write for permission to print any articles or Illustrations. Contributions (manu. &erfpts. photolll. artwork) will be wejccmed with the understanding that Ihe editors canner be held responslb~ for loss or damage. Enclose a seU-addressed stamped envelope with all unso- licited submissions to ensure retUrn. Artkles and letters wlll be edited and published at the discre- ucn of the editors. Advertising Information is available upon request. To have a samp~ copy sent to a friend, send us his or her address. Wrlle to Box 1090. PaonIa, CO 81428. can Higb eou"","" NnflS In Coloradoat 303/527-4898. ~ Printed on recycled paper: • - • 75% post-eonsum.r, .. fJ/ 25%wood chips. 2 - HIgh Country News - February 22, 1993 HOTLINE West drinks deeply of winter stOl111S By the end of January, storms had voirs remained low, said SCS staffer Dan was 140 percent of average with the broken the grip of drought on the south- Greenlee. Although southern Lake Mead habitually dry southern part of the state central West. For the first time in six brimmed at 103 percent of average capac- 163 percent of average. "Last year at this years, Utah and Nevada expected a nor- ity, northwestern Lake Tahoe remained time we were only 40-50 percent of aver- mal spring runoff. But Western water two feet below its shoreline. "We need age," said SCS hydrologist John Lea. Lea experts cautioned that effects of the these storms to keep coming, to fill up the said that with a few more storms the state drought will linger for years. reservoirs and lakes," Greenlee said. should have a lush spring. "The drought didn't happen Some states missed out. Washington overnight and it won't end overnight state reported its snowpack fared slightly either," said Mike Elern, a hydrologist better than last year while total precipita- with the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) tion for the state was worse. in Salt Lake City. "We just haven't been hit with the In Ihe southern half of Utah, the La . southern track of storms," said Chris Sal and Blue mountains reported snow- Bieker, a spokeswoman for the SCS in packs 130-289 percent of average in late Spokane, In the eastern part of the state, January and Zion National Park reported a snowpack was only at 84 percent of aver- snowpack 200 percent of average. SCS age in late January, she said. staffer Randy Julander predicted possible Idaho also reported below-average flooding in some southern parts of Utah snowpack, though the state gets wetter this spring, but he said/half-filled reser- farther south. In late January, parts of the voirs such as Utah Lake will need at least northern Panhandle reported a snowpack three normal water-years to fill. - 87 percent of average, while the southern Colorado is also enjoying its wettest part of the state reported snowpacks 122- winter in eight years, according to SCS 136 percent of-average, Overall, the SCS -snow-survey specialist Mike Gillespie. said the state is faring better this year than Overall the state's snowpack was 112 per- last. cent of average in late January, with the Wyoming is also weiter this year southern San Juan mountains at 184 per- though the state reported average-to- cent of average. Snowfall was so heavy in below-average snowpack. "If these condi- the southwest town of Durango that an tions continue, we're looking at another auditorium at Fort Lewis College col- Crystallmages/Kathleen Marie Menke dry summer," said SCS water survey spe- Ice sculpture in McCall, Idaho . lapsed under four feet of snow. Storms cialist Ted Gilbert also hit the northeast corner of Colorado, Jerry Beard of the SCS in Montana a region plagued by drought for six years. The hard winter has been lethal for agreed. "We're not out of the woods by - In Arizona, heavy rain caused reser- Nevada's deer herds, which were already any means." Although the state started off voirs to spill over in mid-January.

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