BorderWest
People For Preservation of Our Western Heritage Catches Praise
The ranchers I know are an independent lot. They do not form groups, organize, or launch campaigns. They like open spaces, devoid of people. Informing the public on what it takes to ranch or its importance is not on an activity they relish or perform with any regularity. That a group of ranchers with ties to the local business community managed to overcome their natural inclinations to broadcast their message and form a large coalition of supporters may herald a new day in land conservation. [more]
BorderWest
New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Catches Blame
Heath Haussamen at NM Politics reports Senator Pete Domenici's chief of staff, Steve Bell, blames the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NMWA) for causing gridlock surrounding wilderness designations in Doña Ana County. Bell states
"You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that we have absolutely entered gridlock and nothing can happen because there’s too much at stake politically,” Bell said. “… The upshot is, once again, in my judgment, a group has proved a truth of an old saying that I used everyday for the last 36 years in this job: ‘Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Because the Domenici plan was not perfect in their [NMWA] view, they rejected it,” Bell said of the wilderness group. “Then they came up with a proposal they think is perfect, and now they are faced with the prospect of getting nothing.”[more]
City Voters Allowed to Vote Country
Montana AG’s Opinion Highlights Urban-Rural Divide on Zoning
Montana's Attorney General issued an opinion this week that gives voters living in incorporated communities a vote on any countywide referendum, initiative or ordinance – specifically zoning ordinances.
Mike McGrath made the call in a case over who should have been able to vote in 2006 on two controversial Ravalli County zoning ordinances.
According to some, this decision could have far-reaching implications for county residents across the state, because it gives voters living in cities a voice in county land-use regulations. Other say county land-use regulations affect city residents too, so every voter in the county should be able to have a say.
[more]
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BorderWest
More Than a Yes or No to Wilderness
The Doña Ana County Wilderness debate rages.
Views on HR 6300 run the gamut from a "common-sense balance" to "an attack on our public lands." Whether you consider HR 6300 a travesty, the best thing since apple pie, or something in between the two, there is a story here, a story worth hearing.
Talks between the ranchers and the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance broke down. Lines were drawn. Suspicions were not overcome. This is usually the end of the story. A faction of the community stands for wilderness -- another faction against. They trade letters in local newspapers
[more]
Conflicts between State and Development
Montana DEQ and DNRC Backlogged, Permits Court Ordered
A month after a Helena judge ordered Montana DEQ to issue a permit to a gravel-pit developer in Gallatin County because of environmental assessment time delays, a Big Sky developer used the same court ruling in attempts to obtain a water permit from the DNRC for groundwater pumping that Fish, Wildlife, and Parks says will have negative flow affects on the Gallatin River.
The DEQ, according to the Environmental Policy Act, must complete an environmental assessment and, in accordance with the Opencut Mining Act, issue a permit within 60 days of acknowledging an application – a potential conflict in Montana laws. The Belgrade News reports the Montana DEQ currently has four staff to cover the state on open-cut mining, where currently 200 permits are awaiting approval and ES statements.
Originally, the gravel pit owners used this loophole when their expansion projects were threatened when the Gallatin County Commission considered adopting emergency interim zoning due to the sudden four gravel pit applications and being amidst the Countywide Planning and Zoning. Although hours after the permit was court ordered the Gallatin County Commissioners immediately adopted interim zoning, it was ruled the interim zoning would be exempt from the gravel pits’ permits.
[more]
BorderWest
Pearce Submits People’s Proposal to the House
HR 6300, a version of the People's Proposal, was submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives by Steve Pearce (R-NM) on June 18, 2008, creating a flurry of activity this weekend on both sides of the Dona Aña County Wilderness Debate.
An email to Doña Ana County Wilderness Coalition supporters announced a press conference and rally against HR 6300. The email says HR 6300,
Eliminates ALL Current Wilderness Protections in the 8 Temporary Wilderness Areas in Dona Ana County, including in the Organ Mountains
Creates a New Process for Selling Off Public Lands in Dona Ana County and A Hand Picked Special Interest Group Committee to Decide How Dona Ana County Grows
Takes Federal Funding Away From the Federal Governments Ability to Maintain and Expand Americas Most Important Natural Lands.
It sounds frightening. Presented like this, I would sign a petition and walk a picket line against HR 6300, however, I have been reading the proposal for what has become HR 6300 for over a month -- there seems to be a misunderstanding. [more]
New Uranium Boom
Nuclear Opponents Off-Base
Chip Ward, author of Canaries on the Rim: Living Downwind in the West, contributes a long essay on the new uranium boom in the West on TomDispatch (an invaluable left-leaning group blog that usually focuses on Iraq and U.S. military policy). It’s called “Radioactive Déjà Vu in the American West.” And while I have great respect for Ward and his work, he is so wrong in so many ways on this issue that it’s hard to keep track.
[more]
BorderWest
Overstatements and Mythical Ranchers
The scenario sounds eerily familiar. NMWA presented the Dona Ana County wilderness proposal to local governments, claiming wide-spread support from area ranchers. In reality, the ranchers had no input on the proposal and were unaware that government entities were passing resolutions of support. [more]
BorderWest/Part Two: A Conversation with Nathan Small
For Some, Wilderness is Simple
Las Cruces is surprisingly diverse. Academics, ranchers, farmers, retirees, military personnel, technocrats, all call it home. Bringing this many different types of people in the name of any cause would be tough. In a name as controversial as wilderness, even tougher. So, he did what he knew best. He took them to see the land, to see what he thought needed protecting. He planned hikes and invited those he needed to reach. A coalition of unlikely comrades was formed: the League of Women’s Voters and sportsmen, the backcountry horsemen and the home builders association. Concessions were made, lines were adjusted, but a coalition had formed behind the Citizen's Proposal. [more]
