Earlier this month, U.S. Forest officials announced that for the first time in 34 years, they would re-write the Santa Fe National Forest management plan. Updates will address the implications of our changing climate, including the impacts of drought, increased development, and population growth.
The plan also calls for establishing guidelines to conserve the forest’s waterways and wildlife habitat, and builds on a 2012 federal planning rule created to expand management prescriptions to also include social, economic, cultural, and recreational values.
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Central to HECHO’s mission, is to empower Hispanic leaders to engage in the conservation of our public lands while working with local Hispanic leaders in the protection of healthy watersheds, clean air, and robust wildlife habitats to fulfill our duty to conserve and protect lands and waters for future generations.
In October, we worked with the office of U.S. Congressman Ben Ray Luján to schedule a meeting to share information about our work, and share our perspectives and stories about what we’re seeing on the ground as it relates to climate change, and other important issues. Joining the meeting with HECHO staff would be HECHO Advisory Board Chair, Rock Ulibarri; San Miguel County Commissioner for District 2, Janice Varela; Santa Fe County Commissioner for District 1, Henry Roybal; and Santa Fe County Commissioner for District 3, Rudy Garcia.
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If included in the final, updated Land Management Plans, the Upper Rio Grande Wildlife Corridors would be implemented under the proposed Spruce Hole/Osier/Toltec Connectivity Special Interest area, Caja del Rio Management Area, Chama Basin Watershed Protection Area, San Antonio Management Area, and Valle Vidal Special Management Area. These areas would be critical in the further preservation of our natural spaces and wildlife that are near growing population centers facing serious threats from climate change. Santa Fe and Albuquerque have been experiencing increased heat, lower snow pack and consequently, less available water all while seeing an influx of people moving there. Wildlife corridors serve many purposes and should be considered as one of the many essential solutions to climate change.
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My family has a long history in the Pojoaque Valley of New Mexico. Both my mother and father’s side of the family has been a part of this county for generations, dating back to the early pre-Hispanic settlers in the area. Growing up in New Mexico, I was immersed in the traditional farming community and grew up with the ranchero lifestyle.
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SANTA FE – On Oct. 30, the City of Santa Fe unanimously voted to pass a resolution supporting the protection of wildlife corridors in the upper Rio Grande Basin, as well as supporting pending legislation to protect wildlife corridors nationwide. The City becomes the 10th jurisdiction in New Mexico to support such a resolution, joining Mora, Colfax, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe County, Taos County, as well as the Town of Taos, the Village of Pecos, and the City of Española.
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NEW MEXICO (October 23, 2019) – Mora County Commissioners today approved a resolution supporting the protection of wildlife corridors. The county joins 5 counties and 3 municipalities urging Congress to pass the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019, and encourages the Forest Service to adopt and establish special management areas that provide wildlife with habitat connectivity in forest plan revisions.
Read MoreNEW MEXICO (September 9, 2019) – Colfax County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution supporting protections for wildlife corridors in the Upper Rio Grande Basin this week, joining several counties and municipalities across New Mexico that have passed similar resolutions. The resolutions also urge Congress to pass the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019, serving to protect wildlife corridors nationally.
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For the past seven generations, my family has lived and cultivated the land on our property in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with ancestors that were among the first to settle Las Vegas, New Mexico. With our back fence bordering a national forest, we are rarely indoors. Like many New Mexicans, my family enjoys the nature that surrounds us. We are avid anglers, campers, hikers and hunters.
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TAOS COUNTY, NM (August, 20 2019) – Taos County Commissioners today passed Resolution No. 2019-39, in support of protecting wildlife corridors in the Upper Rio Grande Basin. Taos County joins several other New Mexican counties and municipalities that have unanimously supported wildlife corridors in the Upper Rio Grande. The resolution also urges Congress to pass the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019 that would serve to protect wildlife corridors nationally.
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The Village of Pecos, City of Española, and Town of Taos council members unanimously approved resolutions this week supporting the protection of wildlife corridors in the Upper Rio Grande region. The resolutions also urge Congress to support the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019 that would serve to protect wildlife corridors nationally. Pecos, Española, and Taos join Rio Arriba, San Miguel, and Santa Fe Counties in passing wildlife corridor resolutions this summer.
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RIO ARRIBA COUNTY, NM – Today members of the Rio Arriba County Commission unanimously approved a resolution in support of the protection of wildlife corridors in the Upper Rio Grande Region. The resolution also urges Congress to support the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act that would protect wildlife corridors nationally.
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The Santa Fe and San Miguel County Commissions on Tuesday both unanimously endorsed resolutions in support of protecting wildlife corridors in the upper Rio Grande Basin. The resolutions also urge Congress to support pending legislation to protect wildlife corridors nationwide.
"Passing the Wildlife Migration Corridor Resolutions at this level sets a precedent, showing communities that our traditions, culture, and uses of these lands are valuable," Ulibarri said. "With so many barriers to migration patterns like highways and other urbanizing development, these corridors ensure the protection of genetic diversity, and the continuation of species.”
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