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Protecting your outdoor way of life since 1914
Spring 2008: Important Issues for Sportsmen Top Priority:  Repeal the "Jennings Law" Which Allows Slaughter Of Big Game
As you may have already read in the Albuquerque Journal article (NOTE: you may have to view an ad to read the article), Cimarron-area rancher Neal Trujillo used a shotgun and an ATV to chase down, shoot, and kill 39 antelope who were feeding in his wheat field. These killings—and other depredation kills throughout New Mexico—represent (1) loss of revenue to the state, (2) loss of hunting opportunity for everyone, and (3) wasted meat that could have fed the hungry if Trujillo had called NM Game & Fish prior to the killings. In addition, Trujillo's inhumane behavior gives a black eye to responsible landowners and to New Mexico. The depredation law which allowed these killings—known as the Jennings Law, for state Senator Tim Jennings, who wrote it—needs to be repealed. However, the proposal needs your help. You can help by sending a fax to Governor Richardson today!  Support the Rio Grande Gorge Proposed Conservation Area
The land conservation proposal for Taos and Rio Arriba Counties includes a 303,000-acre National Conservation Area that would protect public lands along the rim and to the west of the Rio Grande Gorge from sell-offs or development, ensuring they are kept intact and managed for wildlife and quality hunting opportunities. Protection for these areas will ensure critical winter range for both elk and mule deer. However, the proposal needs your help. You can help by sending a fax to Senator Bingaman today! Support Guaranteed Protection For Our Waters
Recent federal Supreme Court decisions have eroded the guaranteed protections of the original Clean Water Act. As a
result, in New Mexico, nearly 90% of our waters are unprotected. However, the Clean Water Restoration Act would be
able to restore guaranteed protections for our waters.
You can help by sending a letter today! After you print and complete your
letter, just mail it back to us at: 2610 San Mateo Blvd. NE, Suite A, Albuquerque, NM 87110. We'll collect your letters
and pass them along to Congresswoman Heather Wilson.
The map at right shows the 90% of New Mexico waters which have lost guaranteed protection (in red); areas still protected under recent Supreme Court rulings are in blue. To find out more, see pages 10-13 in our summer 2007 newsletter. You can also find out who's been pushing Congress to bring back the protections under the original Clean Water Act. Support the Dona Ana County Proposed Conservation Area
Under the sportsman-backed proposal, the West Potrillos, Organ Mountains, Robledos, Broad Canyon and Sierra de Las Uvas will all be protected from sell-off schemes, housing development, and irresponsible off-road vehicle abuse in Dona Ana County through a combination of Wilderness and National Conservation Area Protection. The proposal has widespread support from sportsmen’s groups, and the proposal will ensure quality hunting opportunities for current and future generations. However, it needs your help. You can help by sending a letter today! After you print and complete your letter, just mail it back to us at: 2610 San Mateo Blvd. NE, Suite A, Albuquerque, NM 87110. We'll collect your letters and pass them along to Senators Domenici and Bingaman. Support a Moratorium on Drilling in Otero Mesa
New Mexico's Otera Mesa is under attack yet again from oil and gas development. Urge New Mexico's Congressional delegation to support a three-year moratorium to protect the land and study impacts on the huge reservoir of drinkable water beneath it, the Salt Basin Aquifer. In an area already impacted by years of drought, protecting one of New Mexico's last uncontaminated aquifers of fresh drinking water is critically important to the people of New Mexico. There is little question that oil and gas drilling in Otero Mesa would irreversibly damage the highly-fractured and porous Salt Basin Aquifer. If drilling is allowed in Otero Mesa, the groundwater, wildlife, and habitat resources will be damaged or destroyed, which have a far greater value that the estimated natural gas in the area. We simply cannot allow this to happen to Otero Mesa, home to over 1,000 native wildlife species, including the state's healthiest herd of pronghorn antelope. |
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Mexico's wild places.
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Copyright the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, 2008. |
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