Outdoor Report Spring 2018

Decision Makers Curriculum Brings Albuquerque Students to Valles Caldera

By Susan Torres New Mexico Wildlife Federation Debating the intricacies of land management might sound like the stuff of seasoned federal agents, but this year it was tasked to high schoolers in Albuquerque.

Beginning in January 2018 at the start of a new semester for the biology students of Freedom High School, students were introduced to the destruction, opportunities, and outcomes of the Las Conchas fire in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. After a couple of introductory classes, students were broken into different roles to discuss how the project could have - or should have - been handled. Students were broken into three different groups representing different entities that have a stake in land management - private landowners, Native tribes, and environmental groups.

The students stayed in their assigned roles throughout the semester, coming together once a week to dive deeper into the areas impacted by the Las Conchas fire. One week the students debated the merits of controlled burns, another whether wolf reintroduction is good for the environment and how it impacts the human population utilizing the land.

The Decision Makers Curriculum was implemented by Acting Ex-

ecutive Director Todd Leahy with the assistance of Freedom High School teacher Seth Shapiro.

Freedom High School is a magnet school serving grades 10 - 12 who have faced barriers at traditional high schools in the heart of Albuquerque. During previous field trips with Freedom High School it became clear that many of the students had a passion for the outdoors but didn’t always have the resources to get out on a hike or go fishing. The New Mexico Wildlife Federation knew Freedom was the perfect school to implement the decision makers program.

The 11 week class culminated in a trip to the Valles Caldera so students could see first hand the area they had been studying all semester.

“The students have really appreciated the opportunity to debate ways different stakeholders can manage fire,” said Shapiro. “Anytime we can use a cross-curriculum strategy to engage students in a new way, we see great results. It was great to bring this all together on the field trip, in a place many of the students have not had the opportunity to visit.”

At the Caldera students met with Brittany Vander Werff, park ranger at the Valles Caldera who dis-

A photograph of the burn scar taken by Freedom High School student Shelby Webb. cussed the impact of the fire in the area. Afterwards students hiked up Coyote Trail and observed signs of fire in the area and debated if they thought the area looked healthy years after the fire had been put out.

“This has been a great opportunity for students to learn about the different careers available through land management and debate the sometimes complicated relationships that go into land management,” said Leahy. “I think this type of partnership could easily be ap-

plied to schools across New Mexico to give students additional access to career opportunities available to them in their home state.”

Students are concluding the class with a debate using arguments they’ve been honing all semester.

By allowing students the opportunity to debate complex land management issues - that often do not have a black and white answer NMWF hopes we’ve given students a closer look at the many careers and opportunities available in land management in New Mexico.

The Outdoor Reporter is a bi-annual publication of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit organization working to protect the rights and traditions of New Mexico hunters and anglers since 1914. For more information or to join us, visit our website at www.nmwildlife.org. To advertise in the Outdoor Reporter, email storres@nmwildlife.org.

New Mexico sportsmen and women protecting our outdoor way of life since 1914 (505) 299-5404 • www.nmwildlife.org 6100 Seagull St. NE Suite B-105, Albuquerque, NM 87109

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New Mexico Wildlife Federation Staff

Acting Executive Director Communications Director Education, Community, & Veterans Director Southern NM Coordinator Finance Coordinator Fundraising Coordinator Public Lands Fellow Office Manager

Todd Leahy Susan Torres Andrew Black Gabe Vasquez Wendy Sandidge Teresa Deras Sophie Shemas Susan Calt

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

Montezuma Quail Hunt and Wildlife Implications of Border Wall

By Lew Carpenter NMWF Board Member and Hunter I stepped in close to the desert scrub where I thought the fleeing Montezuma Quail had landed.

These quail hold tight and I was right on top of one when it exploded up in front of me blasting out to my left. I pulled in line and my view suddenly clouded with a dense tree foiling my shot. I looked further left and saw Clemente smoothly and effortlessly raise his shotgun and drop the dynamic bird.

We were a mere 20 minutes into our Montezuma Quail (also known as Mearns Quail) hunt when the first covey had been busted. Field & Stream reporter Hal Herring had dropped a bird from that first flush and, apparently, I had become the bird dog for Clemente’s kill – both flushing and retrieving for him.

Our group had joined just a few miles from the US-Mexico border in the Coronado National Forest of New Mexico’s bootheel, just south of Animas. We were six – plus three dogs – out to hunt Montezuma Quail and talk wildlife impacts of a proposed border wall. Sixty percent of the Chihuahua desert grasslands are gone and further fragmentation of this essential habitat and its wildlife corridors would be devastating if a border wall is built.

“Some animals, because of their size, avoid predators, humans, autos and structures,” Clemente said.

“So when they see a structure in the distance like the proposed wall, they will not even go near. So when you talk about home range and habitat for a species, it will be totally disrupted – from California to Texas.”

New

Mexico

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Federa-

tion (NMWF) staff member Gabe Vasquez, board member Fernando Clemente and past NMWF board chair Ray Trejo – plus Field & Stream’s Hal Herring and Tom Fowlks (photographer) – were all on site to camp, hunt and expose a magnificent ecosystem filled with tall grasslands, wooded hills, Coues deer, bear, desert bighorn sheep and…oh yes, quail.

Vasquez organized the trip. He also authored the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Border Wall policy resolution, which was ratified by 51 NWF state affiliates during the 2017 NWF annual meeting in Stevenson, Washington. He is also a Las Cruces City Councilman and heads the Nuestra Tierra conservation program for NMWF. “Under recent Congressional bills there have been environmental waivers granted for construction of

any type of structure for border security,” Vasquez said. “New Mexico Legislators this year pushed back strongly with legislation that would trigger a state-version of NEPA or EIS anytime the federal government wants to come in and do a land swap with the state of New Mexico to facilitate the construction of any property, where there are no environmental laws required (like Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act). It received strong support and passed out of a House committee.”

“So clearly here in New Mexico we place a high value on our land – and when people talk about state’s rights – well here’s a federal decision that comes with the power to decimate our state’s recreation economy, our wildlife and our See “Border Wall” Page 18

Hunting in the Monument Tall grass in Coronado National Forest in southern New Mexico on a quail hunt. / Lew Carpenter

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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Legislative Round Up for a Quiet 2018 Session

By Sophie Shemas New Mexico Wildlife Federation

This year’s legislative session was a fairly quiet one for us at the New Mexico Wildlife Federation--the 30-day session focused on budget-related issues as well as any non-budget legislation the Governor chose to focus on. Thankfully, the quick session meant substantive attacks on our public lands were limited this year. We also were lucky to see such vocal support from legislators for protecting our state’s public lands, water, and wildlife.

The Interstate Stream Commission’s (ISC) proposal to divert the Gila River took center stage again this session, with bills opposing and supporting the project. While the ISC has spent $13 million of taxpayer money on studying the project, there is still no plan for the diversion, which could cause irreversible damage to the Gila River ecosystem. Senate Memorial 9 and House Memorial 18--introduced by Senator Pat Woods and Representatives Rebecca Dow and Gail Armstrong, respectively--showed support for the diversion project but didn’t pass this session.

Senate Bill 72 and House Bill 127--introduced by Senator Howie Morales and Representatives Rudy Martinez and Bill McCamley, respectively--opposed the diversion of the Gila in favor of small-scale alternatives. This bill called for the ISC to use $50 million of existing funds slated for the diversion project to instead go to several high priority water projects in southwest New Mexico communities. Unfortunately, this proposal did not make it through the legislature.

While it would have been a huge victory to see SB72 and HB127 pass through both chambers of our legislature, we were encouraged by

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the outpouring of support for these bills and the overall conservation of the Gila River. Within a matter of days, over 1200 NMWF members voiced their opposition to the diversion, signing on to a petition that we delivered to legislators and the Governor.

Our biggest win of the session came with Senate Joint Memorial 7, “Public Lands Day”, introduced

by Senator Bill Tallman and carried

by Representative Nathan Small in the House. Passed unanimously in the Senate and House, the memorial declared February 2, 2018 “Public Lands Day” at the legislature. This memorial recognized the importance of public lands to New Mexico’s communities, cultural heritage, and economy.

We want to thank all of our state legislators for honoring our state’s public lands this session with this measure. We want to send a thank you as well to Representative Nathan Small for his sponsorship and especially to Senator Bill Tallman for bringing this memorial forward and continuing to emphasize the importance of public lands to New Mexico’s past, present, and future.

Given the fast-paced nature of this session, many bills were left unheard and unpassed at the end of the 30 days. This includes a handful of proposals NMWF supported which related to public lands and outdoor recreation. One of these unheard proposals was House Memorial 15, sponsored by Representative Nathan Small, which asked our state Tourism and Economic Development Departments to study creating an office of outdoor recreation, and the economic potential of recruiting outdoor recreation companies to New Mexico.

The list of unheard bills also included House Memorials 50-53, sponsored by Representatives Angelica Rubio and Stephanie Garcia-Rich-

This legislative session NMWF worked to make sure fishing opportunities like this one stay open on the Gila River. ard. House Memorial 50 asked the New Mexico Environment Department to publish a comprehensive list of contaminated soil and water bodies on their website, which would have provided an important layer of transparency for New Mexico’s citizens. House Memorial 51 requested a review of data on how much methane gas is wasted in New Mexico and the costs of methane capture technology. Methane capture has become a hot topic in public land management in recent years on the local and national level. Most recent data estimates that New Mexico loses between $182 million and $244 million in natural gas each year. Methane capture could provide an economic opportunity that would protect industry production and sales while curb resource waste on public lands.

House Memorial 52 asked several state offices to study the potential impact of a border wall on wildlife along the New Mexico-Mexico border prior to any transfer of state

land for the construction of the wall.

The proposed border wall would be detrimental to the migration of wildlife within what is one of the most important and diverse wildlife corridors in our country. NMWF has been vocal in our opposition to the border wall and is supportive of this type of study. Finally, House Memorial 53 asked the State Land Office to consider the expansion of outdoor recreation opportunities on state land in order to grow our outdoor recreation economy.

We sincerely hope that many of these unheard measures will be brought back in future sessions for consideration and look forward to making that happen in 2019. While it was a quick session, we can see what a promising future lays ahead for our state, and we were heartened to see that members of both chambers of our legislature were vocal in their support of New Mexico’s magnificent public lands.

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument Celebrates 5th Anniversary: What it Means for Connectivity

By Jeremy Romero National Wildlife Federation On March 25, 2013 President Barack Obama officially declared Rio Grande del Norte a national monument. In 2018 we’re celebrating the monument’s fifth anniversary, which is the perfect time for all of us to take a moment and reflect upon the many adventures, memories, and intrinsic values of this majestic 242,500 acre monument that is a gift to our state and our nation.

Rio Grande del Norte is home to many ways of life, diverse cultures, and a rich history. A truly vast landscape that is a core part of the identity of so many people that have

stepped foot on it. The diverse landscape in Rio Grande del Norte provides year round protection for many of New Mexico’s iconic species like the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, cougar, black bear, bald eagle, and the native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout. These species and many others call the Rio Grande del Norte home for a number of unique reasons. Antelope use the grass flats to reach speeds over 50mph.

In September, the piñon-juniper volcanic cones erupt with bugling elk and later in the year provide refuge for migrating, wintering, and calving elk. Exploring the sage cov-

A bighorn sheep in Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. / Jeremy Romero

ered hills, one will likely encounter foraging Mule Deer vanishing at the first sight of your presence. Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep use the near vertical basalt cliffs to escape predators in a display of evolutionary athleticism unlike that of any animal. November through January the intense power of the Rio Grande can become muffled by the loud thunderous booms that can be heard echoing off the canyon walls where male Bighorn Sheep clash skulls competing for a coveted ewe. Avid anglers who dare to scale the 800’ Rio Grande Gorge have the possibility of encountering the elusive native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout, New Mexico’s iconic state fish.

The diverse ecosystems within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and the surrounding landscape create critical wildlife corridors providing increased habitat connectivity for many of New Mexico’s most valued species. The national monument allows for wildlife to move freely promoting decreased disease rates and over-all genetic viability. Many animals will migrate on and off the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument to surrounding federal, state, tribal, and private lands creating an opportunity for cross-jurisdictional collaboration amongst a broad group of stakeholders. This opportunity allows for an even opportunity to protect and manage wildlife corridors and critical habitat.

Without the protections afforded by the national monument, the landscape is threatened by fragmentation such as increased road development, more fences, urban and industrial development, and more disturbances that can severely decrease the survival and viability of many wildlife species. As Aldo Leopold once stated, “the hope of the future lies not in curbing the influence of human occupancy but

in creating a better understanding of the extent of the influence and a new ethic for its governance.” Understanding and reflecting on our impact on the landscape and how this affects wildlife and developing a “new ethic” around wildlife connectivity allows us to better manage our landscapes in a way that promotes protection of species and the ability for our future generations to enjoy the same opportunities we have grown to cherish.

As an avid sportsman, cultural land user, and outdoor enthusiast, it’s only appropriate that I would be attracted to the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Its vast landscape has allowed me to capture and experience some of the most memorable wildlife interactions.

Many days have been spent leaping over boulders hoping to catch a spawning wild rainbow, brown or native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout.

Or, sitting behind a spotting scope hoping to glass a Bighorn Sheep, elk, or mule deer. I even tested my luck at navigating the rapids of the Rio Grande River.

The Rio Grande del Norte in a sense has spoiled many residents.

We have grown accustomed to the amazing landscape, wildlife, cultural, and historical imprint. It’s important to take a step back and remind ourselves about the amazing qualities, opportunities, and values the Rio Grande del Norte protects. A truly unique place unlike any other that without the national monument designation could and most likely would face negative impacts to the land, water, wildlife, and way of life for many individuals and communities. From a personal perspective, whenever I leave the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument I find myself looking back, excited for the next opportunity and memory I get to make.

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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Nuestra Tierra Podcast Launches This Year

By Gabe Vasquez New Mexico Wildlife Federation Switching gears from its ground game in 2017, New Mexico Wildlife Federation’s (NMWF) Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project has launched a national podcast this year. You can find it on iTunes by searching for “Nuestra Tierra” or on the Nuestra Tierra website, www. nuestra-tierra.org.

Building on our work to engage more Hispanic and underserved communities in conservation and outdoor recreation, the Nuestra Tierra Podcast features a variety of diverse voices across the country who in some way are helping to shape or promote conservation and environmental efforts in Hispanic communities.

In the American West, Hispanic leaders have already played a large role in the management of our natural resources and public access, but in far too many low-income communities, the traditions of outdoor recreation and conservation are being lost generation to

generation.

The Nuestra Tierra Conservation Podcast helps revive those traditions and tells the authentic stories of outdoor leaders, volunteers, elected officials, and youth.

The podcast is part of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation’s partnership with Latino Outdoors and the Friends of the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks, and will air every two months, so be on the lookout!

The first two episodes feature a diverse lineup of voices, including Ray Trejo, former NMWF president and sportsman; Fernando Clemente, current NMWF board member, small business owner, sportsman, and wildlife biologist; U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich; Angel Peña of the Conservation Lands Foundation; New Mexico State Rep. Angelica Rubio; Laura Torres of the National Parks Conservation Association; Maricela Rosales, the Brands Coordinator for Latino Outdoors; and our own Susan Torres, Communication Director. The podcast is hosted by our southern New

Communications Director Susan Torres and her dog on a hike in the Gila Wilderness. Torres was featured on episode two of the podcast/ Seth Shapiro Mexico director Gabe Vasquez.

New Mexico is a big, complex state with many different communities, histories and traditions, but what binds us all together is our roots to this land.

Next time you’re out on the road or sitting on your back porch, take a listen and see what our Hispanic leaders across the country are doing for conservation on Nuestra Tierra.

Do you know a leader in the Hispanic comunity who would like to be on the podcast? Email gabe@ nmwildlife.org.

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In the American West, Hispanic leaders have already played a large role in the management of our natural resources and public access, but in far too many low-income communities, the traditions of outdoor recreation and conservation are being lost generation to generation.

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

NMWF Returns to NYCALC, Engaging Native Youth in Leadership

By Susan Torres New Mexico Wildlife Federation

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Last year, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation was honored to work with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to bring youth from all over the United States to the Native Youth Community Adaptation and Leadership Conference (NYCALC) at USFWS facilities in West Virginia. We are excited to have this opportunity again this coming summer!

NYCALC​ ​is​ ​a​ ​federal​ ​and​ ​non-governmental​ ​ collaborative​ ​that​ ​invites​ ​Native​ ​communities​ ​ to​ ​work together​ ​to​ ​address​ ​conservation​ ​challenges​ ​in​ ​a​ ​changing​ ​environment.​ ​NYCALC​ ​ provides​ ​training​ ​in​ ​leadership principles,​ ​STEM,​ ​ conservation,​ ​and​ ​outdoor​ ​skills​ ​for​ ​​ ​the​ ​next​ ​ generation​ ​of​ ​Native​ ​leaders​ (rising high-school seniors) and​ ​their​ ​communities. The​ ​one-week, on-site ​Congress​ ​utilizes​ ​open​ ​space​ ​technology​ ​to​ ​allow​ ​students​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​personalized​ ​ action​ ​plan​ ​each year​ ​that​ ​is​ ​relevant​ ​to​ ​current​ ​ issues.​ ​​ ​

•

Individuality, Inclusion, Competence In 2017, over 300 applicants and approximately 100 Native American high-school students attended, this year we expect the same amount Students came from around the United States including Alaska, Hawaii, and American Samoa The Congress has four primary goals:

1. Training​ ​for​ ​tribal​ ​youth (rising high school juniors/seniors),​​Jr. Faculty ( currently enrolled/ college-age),​​community​mentors (youth leaders, educators, etc.),​ ​and​ ​conservation​ ​professionals​; Kayaking the Potomac/Gabe Vasquez. change​ ​and conservation​ ​priorities.

Fast facts about NYCALC:

• Congress is held at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services National Conservation Training Center at 698 Conservation Way, Shepherdstown, A​ ​mini-grant​ ​program​ ​provides students with re- West Virginia, approximately 1.5 hours northsources for implementing lessons​​learned​once west of Washington D.C. they return to their communities​ ​with​ ​the​ ​goal​ ​ • The main theme of the congress is Conservaof​ ​empowering​ ​communities​ ​to​ ​address​ ​social​ ​ tion, Leadership, Networking, Empowerment,

2. Empower​ ​communities​ ​to​ ​implement​ ​and/or​ ​ continue​ ​existing​ ​programs​ ​via​ ​mini-grant​ ​opportunities; 3. Broaden​ ​the​ ​awareness​ ​of​ ​the​ ​roles​ ​and​ ​responsibilities​ ​of​ ​conservation​ ​communities; 4. Federal​ ​employee​ ​and​ ​tribal​ ​leadership​ ​training​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​cultural​ ​competencies​ ​and​ ​relationships.

We can’t wait to meet and engage with more Native youth from across the country!

NYCALC participants and NMWF staff in West Virginia in July 2017. NYCALC aims to provide leadership skills, STEM, and conservation training to the next generation of Native youth.

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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Secretary Zinke: Taking the Public Out of Public Lands

By Sophie Shemas New Mexico Wildlife Federation It’s been a little over a year since Secretary Ryan Zinke took office as the head of the Department of the Interior. Born and raised in Montana, Zinke proudly touts himself as a follower and fan of Teddy Roosevelt’s conservation ideals. His adherence to those ideals since taking office has been anything but consistent.

Last summer, we endured the administration’s review of several national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act of 1906--signed into law by former President Theodore Roosevelt.

New Mexicans were repeatedly fed the message that the review was necessary to ensure the public—especially in communities near our monuments—had a voice and supported the designations. While our monuments escaped without changes in acreage, the Secretary recommened changes in management. Skeptical from the start, NMWF would later find out that the monument review was even less about public input than we had originally thought.

Early this year, the New York Times obtained documents from the Interior Department which revealed that a main driver of the monument review was to promote extractive energy and mineral development on public lands within Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah.

These national monuments provide outstanding recreational opportunities and protect habitat for several game species, from mule deer and elk to turkey and bighorn sheep.

We need a balanced portfolio of uses on our public lands, and these documents revealed bias within the new Interior Department administration, chipping away at areas set aside for recreation and traditional use in favor of an expansion of the extractive energy and mining in-

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dustries.

Since the monument review, this favoritism has come at a cost to the very foundation of our public lands: public participation. At the end of January this year, the Interior Department issued a memo instructing regional offices to eliminate what they felt were “unnecessary impediments and burdens” to speed up the process of oil and gas leasing. This included the elimination of Master Leasing Plans and the only mandatory public comment period for lease sales--a move that may be illegal, violating the Bureau of Land Management’s mandated mission . The memo also declared that the public will only have 10 days to protest leases and that lease sales will be held even if protests haven’t been settled.

A mule deer in the Bears Ears National Monument taken on a turkey hunt./ Garrett Vene Klasen

Master Leasing Plans (MLPs) were designed to proactively balance oil and gas development with other uses on public lands, using a comprehensive analysis of the landscape and stakeholder collaboration to develop “smart-from-thestart” zoning guidelines for leasing.

The elimination of these plans is an affront to sportsmen and women, whom have utilized this opportunity to help protect areas of critical wildlife habitat and unparalleled recreation spots.

Zinke has also moved to undermine the BLM’s Resource Advisory Councils (RACs)--committees that are meant to provide a balanced forum in which to share ideas and concerns about BLM proposals and policy changes. The councils bring together diverse stakeholders in local communities, including ranchers, conservation organizations, energy industry members, tribes, land grants, and state and local government officials. The emphasis on balance is especially important within the original mission of these councils. After all, that’s what public land management is all about.

This Master Leasing Plan process fostered greater collaboration among public lands users.

The 2016 Moab MLP, for example, was lauded as a win-win for all parties, prioritizing responsible energy development while establishing long-term protections for the only remaining native herds of desert bighorn sheep in Utah as well as pronghorn-fawning and mule deer habitat. Zinke, who calls himself an avid sportsman, has now stripped our community of this opportunity to work alongside other public lands users and collaborate on the management of our shared resources.

After suspending all RACs last May, Zinke recently renewed charters for 21 councils, but it came with a catch.

New language was added instructing the councils to recommend strategies to expedite extractive energy permitting and identify “additional steps to enhance exploration and development of Federal onshore oil and gas resources and Federal solid mineral resources”.

Zinke effectively rewrote the mission of the RACs, turning what was an open and unbiased opportunity for stakeholder participation into a body tasked with fulfilling a clearly biased agenda.

In June of last year, Zinke had nothing but praise for collaborative land management during a visit to Idaho, stating, “We have to reward collaboration… We have to reward efforts of everyone trying to work together.” While many months later, it’s easy to look back at that statement with a raised brow, Zinke’s often contradictory approach to his position so far should act as an important lesson for sportsmen and women: it’s up to us to protect our right to participate in public land management.

America’s public lands support an incredible diversity of industries and livelihoods, especially in New Mexico. Our public lands portfolio boasts unmatched hunting and fishing opportunities as well as an outstandingly successful energy and mining sector. With the right approach it could stay that way for years to come. But when we start playing “either-or” with our public lands from the top-down instead of working with the public and fostering partnerships that prioritize responsible and effective management, we all lose out. It undermines the very purpose of our public lands, and that certainly wasn’t part of Teddy Roosevelt’s vision.

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

Sportsmen Declare Victory in Chaves County Fight

By Gabe Vasquez New Mexico Wildlife Federation

On Thursday, March 15, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, ACCESS New Mexico, and hundreds local sportsmen and public land users declared victory as the Chaves County Commission agreed to reject three road closure applications that provide primary access to thousands of acres of public land.

The road closures in Southeast New Mexico were proposed by private landowners, and included a five mile section of Picacho Road submitted by Helen Henderson, a 4.7 mile section of Picacho Road submitted by H.C. “Hot Shot” Hendricks, and a 2 mile section of County Road 42 submitted by Steven Ellyson.

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation was at the forefront of this public access fight from the very beginning. Immediately following the private landowners’ request to close these roads to the public, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and ACCESS New Mexico organized an emergency sportsmen’s meeting in Roswell where about 70 area hunters showed up to discuss options on how to stop the closure applica-

tions from moving forward. Local sportsmen and women discussed solutions and helped collect petition signatures and got members of the public to write to their county commissioners about why they wanted the roads to remain open. Additionally, with the help of the Federation, several sportsmen’s voices were heard in Chaves, Eddy, and Lincoln Counties on local radio, featured in local newspapers, and were shown on broadcast television, all urging the Chaves County commissioners to make the right decision.

And collectively, more than 3,200 sportsmen and women signed the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and ACCESS New Mexico petition to the Chaves County Commission urging them to keep the roads open. The petition was delivered to the County at its regularly scheduled meeting on March 15. At that meeting, the County Commission denied the applications to close the road at the recommendation of the Freeholders appointed to inspect the roads closures.

This latest victory and round of proposed road closures come on the heels of a tense battle last year over access to a 5-mile section of Felix Canyon Road that was ultimately

Thanks to sportsmen and women advocating for public land, roads in Chaves County remain open. / Gabe Vasquez

closed and approved unanimously by the Chaves County Commission in 2017. Because the closure of that road affects primary access from Roswell and Artesia into Game Management Unit 32, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation continues to work in partnership with ACCESS New Mexico and the Bureau of Land Management to regain access via a two-track easement on public land around the closure. The Wildlife Federation and ACCESS New Mexico will submit their final easement application to the Bureau of Land Management later this year.

throughout the state, will continue to monitor other proposed road closures that negatively impact access to public land. We cannot pass on the traditions of hunting and fishing in New Mexico if we don’t have access. For now, those traditions remain alive in Chaves County.

If you become aware of a road clsoure that will block legitimate access to public land in New Mexico, let us know! Email nmwildlife@ nmwildlife.org.

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation, the state’s oldest conservation organization, advocating for the rights of sportsmen and women

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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Gila Trout Inspires Anglers

By M.H. Dutch Salmon

Waters receded, became warmer, and the fish that would become It would seem a stretch of logic that known as Gila trout was left isolatthere are trout here at all. The Gila ed in the remaining cool water of River mountains of southwest New the Gila range where, over many Mexico are isolated and surround- more millennia, they would take ed by desert – how did they come on their own “look” and behavioral to raise their own unique salmonid, traits sufficient that later biologists the Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gi- would declare them a separate lae)? Well, many millennia ago the species. But before the biologists climate was cooler and the waters there were the anecdotal jottings of of the Gila ran unabated some 700 settlers who variously called these miles, all the way to the Colorado fish “speckled” or “mountain” trout.

River, a true instream flow. At the One of these was an erstwhile Britterminus, it is also within the his- ish officer turned frontier rancher torical range of the rainbow trout, named Captain William French. including the West Coast moun- tains and their rivers that drained French was that rare gem among to the Pacific. Our Gila trout must frontiersman in that he was literate have shared some ancestry with and left two very readable memthese rainbows as even today they oirs of the times: Recollections of will readily interbreed and produce a Western Ranchman, and, Furfertile offspring. But the climate ther Recollections of a Western changed.

Ranchman. It was in the latter vol ume (now scarce and pricey on the used book market) that French in the 1880s recorded an extended jaunt into the upper West Fork of the Gila River. There he documented the presence of two species that were already in trouble, though in the case of the trout the Captain could hardly be expected to know it. But his first encounter was with the rare Merriam’s elk.

“The next day,” he wrote, “we went on to Elk Mountain and actually ran into the herd of elk. There were eleven head of Fishing for Gila trout/ Cherie Salmon them. From what I could see of

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A Gila trout from the Black Canyon / Greg McReynolds them, they appeared to be all does or cow elk which I believe is more correct. This was the only bunch of wild elk I ever saw in New Mexico.

A few years later they were all killed by prospectors and others. I never heard of any heads or antlers being preserved.

“From there we drifted over to the West Fork of the Gila where we camped for several days. It was there that we found use for our fishing tackle for it was swarming with mountain trout.”

French reports that they caught their dinner with “tackle” and using grasshoppers for bait (as Hemingway would do, famously, in another story) but he and his partner, Ed Erway, soon came up with a better plan.

“The water was very low and we herded them into a pool which was several feet deep. We then blocked the entrance, so they could not get out. They were so numerous we succeeded in scooping them out with our hats. It would have been more successful if we could only have kept them in our hats till

we secured them. Most of them jumped out and finally most of the rocks were so slippery we both slipped into about five feet of water and got thoroughly soaked.”

Great sport, that! French could not know that within 15 years these isolate native gems would face the beginnings of a steady stocking by individuals and agencies of rainbow trout that would crossbreed and “genetically swamp” the native species to virtual extinction, and brown trout that would compete and dominate them at all levels. By the 1950s identifiable Gila trout were reduced to at best a half-dozen seminal streams and no more than 20 miles of water. The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, with help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Gila National Forest, began a restoration program that wasn’t always popular but continues to this day.

Streams were closed to fishing as piscicides were used to eliminate non-native species and people complained about the loss of fish and angling opportunity. In the early 1990s advancing DNA analysis

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

NMWF Welcomes New Board Members In January the New Mexico Wildlife Federation was excited to add two new board members, Fernando Clemente and Richard Frias.

Please joins us in welcoming Clemente and Frias, and learn more about them in their bios: Fernando Clemente: Mr. Clemente is a wildlife biologist with a degree from the University of

... “Gila Trout” Continued from Page 10 revealed that Gila trout thought to be 100 percent pure were tainted with a few degrees of rainbow gene introgression and had to go. Some anglers complained, including me; trout that for all the world looked and behaved like pure-strain Gilas were poisoned by the bucketful. Ash

New Mexico in Wildlife Science. He is an avid sportsman, small business owner, hunter ed instruction and youth educator. Mr. Clemente lives in Sunland Park, N.M., where he operates New Mexico Specialized Wildlife Services. His wife is an accountant, and he has three teenage children.

Richard Frias

flows from forest fires wiped out entire streams to the dismay of all. But the agencies were persistent and by 2006 some sixty miles of stream had been “renovated” and the species was downlisted from Federally endangered to threatened, allowing the New Mexico State Game Commission to open a few streams to legal Gila trout fishing for the first time in decades. Subsequently, my friend Greg McReynolds and I journeyed to Black Canyon Creek to

Jason Amaro with a 20 inch Gila trout in the Forks area. / Jason Amaro

Richard Frias is a lawyer in private practice in New Mexico. His practice focuses on Indian law, commercial transactions, and corporate formation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in creative writing in 1990 from the University of California, Irvine and a Juris Doctor with a Certificate in Indian Law from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2011.

Richard founded Frias Indian Law and Policy, LLC in 2017. Prior to entering private practice Richard had worked as the Legislative Director for the National Indian Gaming Association in Washington, D.C., and as Chief Counsel to the Governor at the Pueblo of Pojoaque. He is an enrolled member of the Chihene Nde Nation of New Mexico.

see if this “new” fish was worth all the fuss.

The day drizzled, the creek was low and clear, and at the first good pool we could see these yellow-flanked trout hiding beneath an undercut bank. Greg’s dry fly was ignored.

Thinking them spooked, I nonetheless tossed in a beadhead nymph.

As it drifted and sank a trout came casually out from cover and just as casually inhaled the fly. Once I tightened up he went nuts. Lacking the discrimination of the cagey brown, or the leap of the rainbow, he was nonetheless the hardest fighting trout for his size (about 11 inches) I can recall. As we battled, it was flashing those yellow-bronze flanks, decorated with tiny black speckles, in his lengthy, desperate, athletic attempt to shed the hook.

In the end, I shed the hook for him; as he swam off I felt he had vindicated his race and fifty years of species renovation conducted by fits and starts. In the end we only caught about seven between us, up to 13 inches long, but each giving meaning and substance to the fly fisher’s ultimate quest for “wild trout.”

Problems remain. Over 20 miles of the upper West Fork of the Gila have been treated multiple times; this would bring Gila trout range in New Mexico close to 100 stream miles but getting all the non-native browns removed is still incomplete.

Even after a successful renovation of a stream, a few rainbows often slip back in by hook or by crook

and this can compromise the 100 percent purity standard of the Gila stock demanded by the agencies.

We need about 150 miles of Gila trout stream habitat, including several Arizona streams, to achieve a delisting from “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act to full state management. It won’t be easy and there is no consensus among the public regarding either the methods or the goals.

Still, the Gila trout has earned some defenders now that a measure of legal fishing has been achieved. Overstocks of hatchery Gila trout are being released in The Forks area of the Gila, among other streams. If you can “swamp” a species close to oblivion perhaps you can also “swamp” it back to prominence. These are “recreation” waters and you can keep the fish. “Recovery” streams, like Black Canyon above the barrier, are strictly catch and release, artificials only, single barbless hooks, and you need to get the free Gila trout fishing permit. Check the current Fishing Proclamation for all the details as the rules can change year by year.

I was certainly impressed with the Gila trout as a game fish; they were born and raised for pursuit with a #12 Prince nymph and about a 4-weight rod. As for herding them into a pool and scooping them out with your hat, I’d suggest you confine that pursuit of these speckled beauties to a reading of Captain French and his Recollections!

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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How the Outdoors Has Helped to Heal

By Ruben Roybal Retired United States Marine

I am a Combat Marine Veteran.

Coming home from the war zone was a shock to my system, I just did not know or understand the ext ent. Even though I realized coming home was safe, I just did not understand the changes within me.

I spent many years dealing with the effects of the war and all things associated with war.

I could not heal and progressively my life got out of control. I ended up turning to all the negative things that come with PTSD. There was great use of alcohol, drugs, anger, and violence. All these issues took a toll on my life and those around me. I lost my marriage and all of this placed a great strain on my relationship with my children.

I was in a very dark place at this point of my life. I really believe

the lowest I have ever been in my entire life. One night after coming home from a very bad time of drinking and a drug binge I contemplated suicide. When I awoke after passing out, I found myself with a 45 pistol in one hand and the picture of my two children in the other.

I knew at that time that I had a decision that needed to be made if I wanted to continue to live.

I drove to the veterans hospital in Albuquerque and checked in with the Beacon Team. I asked that they “PLEASE HELP ME.” I wanted to live. It was one of the hardest days of my life. I was admitted and spent 30 days there. I was broken and felt so weak and confused. I stayed until I was ready to be released.

I was given an option to continue treatment by enrolling in an alcohol and substance abuse program.

The program was for a period of one year. I enrolled and completed the program.

Veteran Ruben Roybal and Director of Outreach Andrew Black on a fishing trip on the San Juan River.

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the time and not motivated to do I remember telling my mom on the anything. I had become a loner and way to the veterans hospital that recluse. I would not leave my home day after the suicide attempt that I for many days and had trouble bewas willing to give up everything in ing in crowds and where there was my life, but I won’ noise. I dealt t give up my life. with pain all I had just forgotten for My parents are the the time. I a while the joy that the two strongest peoam in a betple I know. They ter place now outdoors brought to my believe in me and even though soul. are my strongest I still have supporters. They physical pain treat me with unall the time. conditional love and understanding.

I have been on several fishing and camping trips with the New Mexico Since then, I have continued with Wildlife Federation. I found these many hours of counseling and med- men have walked a mile in my ical care through the veterans hos- shoes; they listen and seek to unpital. I have now completed eight derstand. years of sobriety. Being alcohol free has changed things in my life for Over the last two years I have been the better. My children and I have a out fishing, camping, and hiking. I good relationship. My ex-wife and I have found a sense of peace on now talk and we have been able to these outings. I can feel a sense of raise two amazing children. I have rejuvenation of my mind and spirit. found my faith in God and that re- I remember a day while attending mains strong. my alcohol and rehab course first hearing the term “forest bathing.” I Now, on to how the outdoors has never understood what that meant. helped me heal. The transition from In the last six months I did some military life to civilian existence can research and reading and started be difficult. I discovered through my putting some of the recommendacounseling with other veterans that tions into practice. I try to get daily we all suffer from PTSD and this walks into my routine and therapy comes with depression, anxiety, to keep me balanced. This practice and substance abuse. In one of my works very well with the time I have counseling groups, I met Andrew spent with this group.

Black and Jeremy Romero with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. Today, I have to say that I realize Both spoke to our group of several all the time what I have lost due to outdoor options available to veter- depression and anxiety, but I am ans through the Federation. healing. I have allowed myself to get outdoors more often and feel I contacted Andrew, who is the the awe of the feeling of an emoFederation’s director of veterans tional high in a positive way. outreach, and scheduled my first fishing trip. I felt I would give the One of my treatment doctors asked program a try and approached it me, “when was the last time I felt with an open mind. Growing up, I free and happy?”: I responded was always an outdoorsman and I when I was growing up in the mounhad lived on a ranch. At this time in tains of northern New Mexico as a my life, I found it very difficult to be child. I had just forgotten for a while outdoors, much less be around oth- the joy that the outdoors brought to er people. I was depressed most of my soul.

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

... “Heal” Continued from Page 12 The last few fishing trips have had a real positive impact in my life and helped with the healing. I can hardly wait for future trips. I have met many new veterans that are now friends and inspire me. The last

trip, I caught one of the largest trout in my life. It was an awesome day!

In the last couple of years, I have allowed myself to try and get to the outdoors more.

Every trip is a soul-searching experience. It’s good stuff to say the least. I have been able to get back a sense of purpose in my life, a new mission. I get outdoors on a fishing

or camping trip and now it’s difficult to return back home. Most times I feel really relaxed and I tell myself before a trip I am off to the outdoors to lose my mind and find my soul.

In closing, I have found that between continued, spiritual guidance, follow up treatment at the veterans hospital and the great outdoors I have a new lease on life.

I am truly blessed. War tried to bury

me, but the enemy forgot I was a seed and I grew.

Throughout the spring, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation will be hosting fishing trips for veterans on the second and fourth Tuesday each month. If you are interested in these fishing days or want to get involved in veterans work, email andrew@nmwildlife.org.

Veterans enjoy a day fishing on the San Juan. / Andrew Black

Donate Your Unused Hunting Tag

By Susan Torres New Mexico Wildlife Federation

Did your hunting plans change? If you can’t use your hunting tag this season, you can now donate it for a youth to use through the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

This year, the State Game Commission authorized the New Mexico Wildlife Federation to accept unused tags for youth 17 and younger to go hunting with donated licenses. We pride ourselves in our youth outreach and engagement and we’re excited to offer this opportunity to New Mexico youth throughout the state.

In February we were honored to take a young man from southeast

New Mexico on his first hunt through this program. While we didn’t harvest a barbary sheep on this trip, it was an unforgettable weekend on Otero Mesa discussing the importance of public lands, ethical hunting, and our strong ties to the land in southern New Mexico.

Help us give more youth this experience!

To donate your unused tag to the New Mexico Wildlife Federation for a youth hunt, contact the Department of Game Fish Information Center, (888) 248-6866 or ispa@ state.nm.us and tell them you’d like to donate your unused tag for a youth hunt to the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. It’s all about the next generation!

Alejandro on his first hunt ever, on Otero Mesa /Gabe Vasquez

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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Letting Go of Perfect in the Name of Conservation

By Sophie Shemas New Mexico Wildlife Federation

A very wise woman named Mamie Parker, former Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, once told me, “Don’t let perfect get in the way of amazing.” While said in a much different context, it got me thinking about the current state of the conservation movement.

As much as I hate to admit it, we’ve started to take cues from our friends in Congress, and not in a good way. Our leaders in Washington have come under fire in recent years for their inability to overcome their differences, step beyond a set of talking points, and collaborate on policy. While we may groan or even laugh at this lack of leadership, I

see flickers of this division within the conservation community, especially when it comes to the management of our public lands.

By nature, public lands conservation is complex. After all, every American has a right to participate in their management. This is why we as conservationists are constantly asking agencies to hear all public land users in order to strike a balance for land management.

No one person has all the answers, and no one is right all the time.

But sometimes, especially lately, our words don’t match our actions.

Too easily we judge others by an arbitrary standard of ideological purity, refusing to collaborate with anyone or support anything that doesn’t

abide by our exact conservation ideals. We assume with enough facts on our side, everyone should agree with us, and when all else fails, we’re much too quick to write off the folks who don’t entirely agree with us.

We assume with enough Given If we don’t, we risk befacts on our side, everyone the comcoming entirely unproshould agree with us, and plexity ductive. It’s not wrong to when all else fails, we’re of land stick by our beliefs, but at m a n what point does a hardmuch too quick to write off agement line approach to our perthe folks who don’t entirely there is sonal conservation ideals agree with us. rarely a undermine the very foun“make dation and vision of pubeverylic land management? By one happy” option. Like our “lead- waiting for “perfect” could we be ers” in Congress, it can seem to the missing out on amazing? everyday citizen that the conservation community has lost the ability

Student Wildlands Adventure Program

By Susan Torres New Mexico Wildlife Federation

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation is pleased to announce we’re teaming up with multiple federal and state agencies to send a group of enthusiastic natural resource students to Tennessee for a week-

long adventure learning about eastern ecosystems. The Student Wildlands Adventure Program (SWAP) is designed to target under privileged youth throughout New Mexico for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will hopefully leave a mark and solidify their commitment to protecting our natural resources.

Students selected for this year’s SWAP event will have all their travel, lodging, and food expenses covered for the trip which will take place August 5-12, 2018.

This year’s destination will be East Tennessee, just outside of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cherokee National Forest.

Field trips are planned throughout the area to expose students to resources not ordinarily found in the Southwest.

Applicants must be 18 or over and considering a career in a Natural Resource Program, preferably wildlife. Students from Native American communities will be given priority but it is not a requirement. We are looking for students who would not ordinarily get this opportunity!

Students from Cleveland State Community College in Tennessee taking part in last year’s SWAP trip in Northern New Mexico.

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to compromise. Perfect could be years away, or never come, but amazing collaboration and progress could be around the corner if we could all learn to make some reasonable concessions every once in a while.

Last year this program brought college students from Tennessee to the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument for an eye-opening day outside conducting citizen science and hiking in the Rio Grande Gorge.

students realize what a diversity of wildlife and natural resources we have here. In New Mexico we would visit a stream that would have five species of fish. Visit a similar stream here and we have 50 species of fish,” said Robert Brewer, a wildlife professor at Cleveland State Community College (CSCC) after the trip.

We’re excited for the opportunity to have our young people in New Mexico experience a new part of the country with new land management challenges for them to learn about.

The applications deadline is May 31, 2018. To apply, please see the application on our website: http://nmwildlife.org/program/student-wildlands-adventure-program/.

Please note that this event is tentative based upon finalization of a Forest Service grant.

“Going to New Mexico helped my

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

The Fight for Stream Access Continues

By Todd Leahy New Mexico Wildlife Federation

In December 2017, the State Game Commission passed a rule designed to allow landowners to certify a stream crossing their land as non-navigable. This certification allows landowners to close off that stream to the public. This rule sets an alarming standard to legally allow the few to block out the many.

The New Mexico Constitution states that the waters of the state are to benefit the public, and are in fact owned by the public. This move is only the latest in a battle for our waters. Now, our rivers and streams are being turned over to a wealthy elite. This elite will control who can and can’t fish and float New Mexico’s most cherished resource--a resource constitutionally mandated to be for all of us.

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation has fought this growing trend on all fronts; stopping those who seek to take our public lands, make our wildlife their own, and now take our most valuable resource, our

water. We are not proposing a radical solution - we are only proposing that our state leaders follow the New Mexico Constitution, a ruling from the state Supreme Court, and the opinions of multiple Attorneys General. The streams of New Mexico belong to all of us.

Opponents will immediately point out that NMWF is advocating for a right to trespass. Nothing could be further from the truth. NMWF encourages its 80,000 members to respect private property rights.

However, when those private rights overstep public rights, then NMWF takes action. No boater or fisherman has the right to cross private property to get to a stream. No paddler or angler has the right to leave a stream and walk onto private land. But no landowner has the right to keep boaters and anglers out of waters accessible by public land. The waters of New Mexico belong to us all, not a wealthy few who can afford the fees charged in a state where waters are only for the one percent.

A no trespassing notice over public waters. / Garrett Vene Klasen

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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What Makes for a Successful Hunt?

By Gabe Vasquez New Mexico Wildlife Federation In today’s age in which instant gratification can be found on the screen of a smartphone, rekindling the millenia-old tradition of hunting and fishing can be a challenge, especially with our youth.

And the numbers show it. Fewer Americans are hunting.

According to the latest U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services numbers, only 4.4 percent of the adult population in the United States hunts, down from 7.3 percent in 1991. For youth, that also means fewer teachers of the sport.

Getting young people to care about hunting and fishing is important for many reasons, but perhaps most especially for conservation. State wildlife agencies like the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, as well as our national wildlife conservation system, are heavily dependent on license fees, habitat stamps, and taxes on sporting equipment to fund conservation and wildlife management. Without adequate funding for conservation, we not only lose a tradition, but we potentially lose species, habitat, and our place as one of the world’s leaders in conservation.

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation is working to reverse that trend, and our recent Barbary Sheep Youth Hunt is a testament to that work.

On a stinging cold and windy morning before daybreak in February, former NMWF President Ray Trejo, his son BJ Trejo, and myself met 14-year-old Alejandro Rubio and his father Edward Rubio at an Alamogordo gas station to load up on coffee and breakfast burritos. Ray, BJ, and I were hoping to spark Alejandro’s interest on what would be Alejandro’s first ever hunt.

From Lake Arthur, N.M., near Roswell, Alejandro was already accustomed to rural landscapes, outdoor living, and the slow pace of life and charm that many small towns in New Mexico offer.

But he had never hunted.

“When my other kids were younger, I used to take them hunting,” Edward, his father told us. “But for some reason I just stopped hunting, and I never thought to take Alejandro. I regret it, because I remember all of those experiences, and they were memories I will never forget.”

In some sense, Ray, BJ and I were there to weld that chain link back together. To bridge the generations.

A tough barbary sheep hunt on Otero Mesa. / Gregg Flores

Hiking through miles of rugged backcountry in the high and lowlands of the Otero Mesa, we looked at barbary sheep prints, examined Permian-era fossils, glassed from the tops of hills tall, steep, and small, and explored with anticipation every nook and cranny of the small arroyos and the fingers of draws that make up the Otero Mesa.

We spent at least seven hours searching for barbary, only finding

tracks and an old barbary sheep hoof that kept our hopes alive and Alejandro’s interest piqued.

Just as the rigors of several miles of backcountry hiking and glassing set in, followed by a short ride in a side by side that had finally lulled Alejandro to sleep, we found them.

Three huge rams, at least 25-inchers, right around the corner of a bend, bedded down in the wash of a sandy arroyo.

“Get up, get up!” we yelled at

Send NMWF Your Lightly Used Gear!

We’re gearing up for lots of outdoor events this spring and summer and we need your help!

Send us any slightly used fishing, camping, or outdoor gear you no longer use and you’ll go a long way in making it easier for us to bring more people out on their public lands!

Many of the communities we are working with do not have the means to purchase gear or licenses. Your tax-deductible donation will go a long way in introducing a new generation to the outdoors.

Page 16

Include your name and address so we can send you a receipt for tax purposes.

Mail donations to: 6100 Seagull St. NE., Albuquerque, NM 87106

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

... “Successful” Continued from Page 16 Alejandro. His eyes opened in record time and he flashed a huge grin of excitement before stumbling out of the ranger.

The spark was lit.

That evening, we ate, exchanged stories, and did a little bit of target shooting before parting ways and saying our goodbyes.

And unfortunately for us, the barbary sheep had gotten up, too, and had started to make their way up the side of the rocky hill.

Successful hunts are not always about the kill, they’re about the experience, about the land, and about the people.

As we got Alejandro loaded and into the prone position, the rams had already topped the hill and were looking down at us from about 500 yards away, as if to say “nice try, guys.”

Edward texted me later that night: “That was an experience that Alejandro and myself will never forget. We need to plan another trip.”

“We just missed them,” said Ray. “Off by just a few seconds.”

Although we may have missed our shot, we were right on target in thinking that all it would take was to get a barbary sheep in Alejandro’s crosshairs to spark his interest and love for hunting.

“Guys, that was so cool. Oh man, we just barely missed them,” he said. “We finally saw them!”

I would call that a successful hunt.

About Otero Mesa: Otero Mesa, within Game Units 29 and 30, contains the largest and wildest Chihuahuan Desert grassland left in America​and provides habitat for an incredible variety of native wildlife species​, such as​mountain lion, black-tailed prairie dogs, golden and bald eagles, more than 200 species of migratory songbirds, and game species that New Mexico sportsmen and women rely on such as mule deer, barbary sheep, and the state’s healthiest herd of pronghorn antelope.​ The Mesa is also home to a critical resource for all New Mexicans, the Salt Basin Aquifer, which is likely the largest, untapped, fresh water aquifer left in our state.

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation supports the withdrawal of extractive activities and high-impact development and conservation-based management for the entire Otero Mesa​, but particularly in the following habitat-rich areas: • Brokeoff Mountains • Rough Draw • Nighthawk Ridge • Cornudas Mountains and surrounding grasslands The Otero Mesa represents a landscape rich in traditions for sportsmen and women, surrounding local communities, and Native American communities who tie their history back to this land for thousands of years. Additionally, BLM public lands such as Otero Mesa have a positive impact on our state’s local economy, including the surrounding communities of Alamogordo, Artesia, and Carlsbad.

For more information about how you can get involved to protect Otero Mesa for future generations, visit www.nmwildlife.org/news/otero-mesa-petition.

Scoping barbary sheep on Otero Mesa with Alejandro Rubio, Ray Trejo, BJ Trejo, and Gabe Vasquez/ Gregg Flores

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

Page 17

... “Border Wall” Continued from Page 3 culture, and we don’t want it,” Vasquez continued. “People talk all the time about state’s rights and some of these folks are the same ones who want the wall, but you can’t have it both ways. This is terrible for sportsmen and women in New Mexico and terrible for anyone else who uses these public lands.”

NMWF’s Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, a program that helps underserved and Hispanic communities connect with the outdoors, has been advocating against the border wall since its inception, and the following is from its factsheet: • President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to build a massive border wall across the U.S.-Mexico border is misguided, xenophobic, technically infeasible, and will deteriorate the country’s relationship with Mexico.

• A massive border wall, on the scale that Trump has proposed, will also have a tremendously negative impact on wildlife and the natural environment.

Disrupting the flow of water: • In many places across the border, existing fences already act as dams during periods of heavy rainfall, which cause severe soil erosion, degraded habitat for wildlife, and flooding in rural and urban population centers. A concrete wall would likely amplify these existing problems.

• According to the National Park Service, the pooling of water against existing border fences in Arizona has already caused severe soil erosion and damage to riparian vegetation.

• When it rains in Palomas, Mexico, which neighbors Columbus, N.M., the town’s streets, many of them dirt roads, flood badly. Engineers have concluded that the existing border fencing and infrastructure is largely to blame. Additional and larger border infrastructure could severely flood our southern neighbors by altering the course of naturally flowing arroyos, impacting both their health, infrastructure, and economy.

Severe disruption to wildlife habitat: • Reinforced fencing – in particular solid walls – along the Southwest

Gabe Vasquez in southern New Mexico. / Lew Carpenter

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From top left: Fernando Clemente, Lew Carpenter, Gabe Vasquez.

Bottom from left: Ray Trejo, Hal Herring. / Tom Fowlks border will continue to disrupt the migratory ranges of wildlife in the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts and their endangered species.

• Current border fences have already hindered efforts to save the native jaguar, which was listed as an endangered species since 1977 and is slowly recovering from near extinction. Restricting the movement of these creatures will almost certainly eliminate their ability to reach their traditional breeding areas.

• The current wall has seriously hampered the distribution of the ferruginous pygmy-owl and bighorn sheep and could isolate other endangered populations of large mammals, particularly in Arizona’s Sky Island region, including black bears.

Building a massive border wall to divide these two great nations will destroy the cultural heritage that the land represents to its modern day inhabitants and will severely impact wildlife habitat and endanger binational communities. Nuestra Tierra strongly believes that to preserve our frontera culture, and to move forward as a nation, the border wall must not be built.

“We need to act, Clemente said.

“We need to come together. One of the great things about this country is when people come together they are very strong. And we need to come together to understand our natural resources, and how important natural resources are to future generations. The United States has always been the leader in wildlife management and the conservation of natural resources, and I don’t understand why we would head down this route (of a border wall).”

Trejo fortified that notion, “We work very hard to articulate just that, on the landscape and on the border. It is our responsibility to bring people who are making decisions down (to the border), and to look at the landscape – otherwise they don’t understand. We are connected with Mexico and we have always been connected with Mexico. And that wall is going to create a barrier that impacts the ecosystem that spans the border, and what happens to the people, the wildlife, the habitat and the work between the countries?”

As we drove into the boot heel of New Mexico — the northern part of the Chihuahua Desert – the exotic

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... “Border Wall” Continued from Page 19 landscape opened up with magnificent grasslands, mountain ranges and rich colors of gold, brown and green. Our campsite was at 5500 feet altitude and the temps ranged from 14 to 75 degrees.

Trejo, a high school administrator in these parts, brought his two German short haired pointers and Clemente, who owns NM Specialized Wildlife Services, brought his pointer as well. Both men are experts in wildlife conservation and Clemente manages wildlife populations on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We are supposed to be a country that creates relations, and I hope that nothing will happen, but if the wall gets created, what will happen to those relations?” Clemente rhetorically asked. “And what do I mean by that? I’m going to talk about waterfowl, migratory birds, and many people say that ‘They can fly over the wall,’ but that’s not the point. The point is there are tri-lateral meetings every year between the US, Canada and Mexico.

“They meet to create a management plan for the migratory birds, and I’ve been fortunate to be a part of that within the Central Flyway.

And they get to get together and talk about everything from habitat restoration and resting places (wildlife refuges) all the way to bag limits and how many each country harvests,” Clemente continued.

“Why is that? Because they fly from Canada to Mexico and then back each year. It’s not a species that somebody owns – everybody owns them, and their habitat, and home range is from Canada to Mexico, so that’s the way it needs to be managed. So let’s say there is a break in our relationships, and now they don’t care because we don’t care about them – so we will change things to keep more birds for us.

The problem is that if we start changing how we manage those

migratory birds in order to keep numbers for each country, what will happen in 20 years?”

The same could be said about relations on Sonoran pronghorn, Coues deer, desert bighorn sheep – just a few in the game species category.

“We have a great population of Goulds turkeys because of releases from Mexico, and Mexico is doing great with Gould’s turkeys – almost half the country has Gould’s turkeys,” Clemente said. “So all those relationships have been created to build population sustainability with wildlife populations. If we damage that then it will be 10 times harder to be able to sustain a wildlife population. Now, with that being said, what kind of message are we sending to the wildlife biologists and ecologists about all that work from the past? When we build that wall we are saying we don’t care about the work.”

Heading out into the National Forest I was struck by the glowing, golden high grasses – excellent quail habitat. The quality of the landscape was like nothing I had seen further north. Un-grazed public land as far as the eye could see – challenging us as we searched for quail.

Tracking along a small wash, which was wooded along the southern face, we came upon that first covey and flush. Holding a Montezuma in my hand for the first time, I could easily see what the fuss was about with these birds. To detail all its beauty in words would be nearly impossible considering the diversity of colors and patterns throughout its plumage.

Exploring a small slice of this incredible grassland ecosystem was a gift. Thick golden fields of grass; rocky, woodland washes and hills; and open space without structure extending well beyond sight (with occasional groups of Coues deer busting forth).

“Culturally we refer to this little piece

Fernando Clemente, New Mexico Wildlife Services and NM Wildlife Federation board member with a Montezuma Quail. / Lew Carpenter on the landscape as the border, but it’s a landscape just like any other,” Vasquez said. “It is diverse, it is beautiful and to us it is our home.

It is becoming more dangerous to us as we see what is happening in Congress.”

I admit, it’s hard to weave a hunting story with an issue as significant, deep and connected to so many people, cultures and conservation values. The hunt left a mark on me. The conversation about the wildlife impacts of a border wall left an impact on me. My life is forever changed by this type of experience, when being present in a special place merges with responsible, pragmatic dialogue about common values. And when we connect with each other physically in a place that is meaningful, one can’t help but be transformed forever.

And, while we sought both Montezuma and Blue (Scaled) quail, we encountered Gamble’s quail, too – all remarkable game birds. Afternoons in this area beg a hat trick.

Though I didn’t shoot as well as I would like, the hunt will be one of my greatest sporting memories.

The combination of epic habitat, spectacular wildlife and the best of companions (dogs included) made the trip truly special.

I am invested in my role with conservation, and even more invested in my relationships, but to be in a place that not only connects people and culture from two nations, and touches upon the values of wild places and wildlife, I can’t help but be transformed even further in my resolve to protect the things I love – people, wildlife, heritage and the vast beauty of the public estate.

New Mexico Wildlife Federation • www.nmwildlife.org • facebook.com/nmwildlife • @nmwildlife

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