Editor:
Those of us who can trace our roots back to the dawn of New Mexico are lucky. We have inherited many of the lands and traditions that formed New Mexico.
We also inherited a responsibility to be stewards of our lands and to ensure that we pass healthy lands onto our children and grandchildren.
That sense of inherited responsibility is why we must support U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s bill, the El Rio Grande Del Norte National Conservation Area Establishment Act. Sen. Bingaman’s bill will protect 236,000 acres around the Rio Grande Gorge from development of all kinds, while still protecting our traditional ways of life. The bill preserves grazing within the National Conservation Area and specifically protects our right to hunt, fish and collect piñon nuts and firewood within the Area. The legislation directs the Bureau of Land Management to protect the cultural, natural and scenic resources in the area, and to consult with the land grants community during the management planning process.
The land grant members also requested language to protect any rights granted under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This important bill will not affect water rights or private property, and would recognize existing rights of way for vehicle access and utilities.
Simply put, the El Rio Grande Del Norte National Conservation Area will protect the area around the Gorge as it is, making sure that our descendents will come to know the Mesa as we know it. For these reasons, the land grant members after much discussion of this issue, decided to support the bill. Socially and economically, supporting Sen. Bingaman’s bill is the right thing to do. And it is more than that, it is our inherited responsibility.
Esther Garcia
President of San Antonio Del Rio Colorado
Questa