BorderWest

Small Defends Wilderness Proposal

By Rebecca Powell, 7-07-08

	The Only Available Photo on This Hard Drive -- And I Like Looking Like a Narcissist

Nathan Small, wilderness activist and Las Cruces City Councilor, calls HR 6300 a “feel-good theater for the few” and once again cites that it is without precedent in a rebuttal to Jim Scarantino’s post supporting the proposal.

Small’s post asserts “truths” in an effort to set the record straight.  The comments below the post are heated. The last comment by Scarantino promises another article addressing Small’s “truths.”

I have watched debates like the Doña Ana County Wilderness debate in churches, school boards, even over the spotted owl and logging. They are much more than debates over policy. People invest their time, energy, money and themselves in the outcome, thus perceived and real attacks have devastating power. Add in the emotional ties to land and the romance of wilderness, and the outcome becomes all-important and all consuming.

When the debate ends, the Organs will still stand, sentinels over the valley. When the debate ends, we still have to live together. When the debate ends, I hope we can all say we are proud of our conduct.

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