Letters to the editor

This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land

Dear Editor,

The public lands of the United States belong to all U.S. citizens. They are our birthright. They are places of great beauty. They are ancestral homelands. They provide connection to our history. They protect clean water and air and a great biodiversity of plants and wildlife. In these lands we hunt and fish, swim, hike, ride, graze cattle, gather firewood, and experience the outdoors and wildlife. In many places we experience inspiration and solitude; we find solace.

New Mexico is rich in public lands including:

17 National Parks, Monuments, Historic Parks and Trails: Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands, Bandolier, El Morro, Aztec Ruins, the Gila Cliff Dwellings, Ft. Union, the Butterfield Overland Trail, Rio Grande del Norte, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, Capulin Volcano, Chaco Culture Historic Park and the Salinas Pueblo Missions to name a few.

There are 9 Fish and Wildlife Refuges and 2 National Fish Hatcheries within the state.

We also enjoy the use of 7.9 million acres managed by the Forest Service, and

13.5 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management. And, although it’s a smaller percentage compared to other states, NM has 39 designated protected Wilderness areas (just under 2,000 acres) and additional acres of lands with wilderness character. New Mexico is rich in public lands.

I’m sure you have enjoyed visiting many of these unique, precious places which add to the state’s economy as well. These lands welcome thousands of out-of-state visitors every year including many international travelers. Here in Socorro, our economy is significantly dependent on these visitors.

I am more than deeply concerned, I am infuriated by and vehemently opposed to the cuts already enacted and/or proposed in staff and services and, in some cases, the very existence of our public lands! The cuts seem to be “spreadsheet decisions” with no real knowledge of or consideration for we New Mexicans or our state’s interests. These are public lands, OUR LANDS! Will you give your silent permission for them to be sold or cashed in on as an “incredible asset” that can be liquidated?

Our public lands unite us; they are the landscapes that pull us together. These lands and wildlife have no voice of their own, so raise your voice. Speak out for their protection. Speak out not only for our access, but for our children and grandchildren’s access. Speak out for the future.

Update: Thanks to the work of the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus, founded earlier this year by Representative Gabe Vasquez (D), the proposal that would have opened the door to selling off thousands of acres of public lands was removed from the reconciliation bill. Way to go Public Lands Caucus! Thanks to all!

Sandra Noll

Socorro

Fire defunding impacts Socorro

Dear Editor,

The Otero Fire, which started April 27, was in the bosque near Socorro. The fire was flush with my house (1/4 mile away) part of the time but somewhat south for the most part. I did not know about it that night but the next day I saw thin smoke which in the afternoon turned into a plume that got my attention out the window because the ground was orange, signaling the Apocalypse.

I started loading some possessions in my vehicle as a precaution. That plume was controlled and stayed that way until fully controlled 6 days later.

On April 27 high winds made a cacophony inside my mobile home all day. The fire started about 5 pm and I think the greatest danger was then--before I knew about it--during those high winds.

Because fire embers can be blown far distances, nowhere was safe and it could have travelled to Socorro proper if the authorities had not contained it. (Depending on the wind direction.)

The Forestry Division estimated $100,000 for this relatively small wildfire (490 acres). During a fire, FEMA is contacted to approve funding for it. In NM the usual federal contribution to the costs is 75%. The state pays the rest.

The funding for Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAG) is still in place. However, FEMA says that the federal-state cost ratio will be 50/50 in 2026.

That change is in the future. Right now: Firefighter training has stopped; 3500 people were fired from the Forest Service, 1000 from the National Park Service; all free legal help for disasters halted; no more door-to-door disaster help by FEMA. States must aid disaster victims; all prescribed burning and deadwood removal is halted; the Trump administration has cancelled all BRIC grants to make improvements. (Like making it less likely that electrical facilities can be flooded).

Trump has stopped allocating HGMP grants—which are usually part of disaster relief--to rebuild (better). Trump has recently denied FMAG grant approval to Arkansas, California, Mississippi, North Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Weather science and forecasting are critical for fires, but there are cuts to weather personnel, and science--500 NWS employees have left their positions; over 150 NWS forecasting positions are vacant and 23 offices have no meteorologist.

(And all of this in the face of increasing extreme weather: Disasters costing over $1 billion were a few per year in the 80s, 23/year in the last 4 years, and 27 in 2024.)

Some of the above items are scarily to the point, some are bureaucratically murky. Comprehension of the governmental ruination taking place may fail us in the face of unfamiliar acronyms, but the effect of high winds on dry bosque fuels isn’t so hard to understand.

Jan Deininger

Socorro

Ranchers are crying wolf

Dear Editor,

Regarding the article, “We are not crying wolf” Representative Armstrong is calling wolf with a lot of misinformation thrown in. Point by point:

Catron Commissioner Howard estimates needing $800,000 to manage the current wolf situation in the county. That would represent $200 for every man, woman or child in the county. Most of those folks would say that money could be better spent on other needs. *“And the wolf population in Catron County (160 official count, (280, his count) is now larger than in Yellowstone National Park!” (120). True, but it’s like comparing New Mexico’s black bear to Alaska’s grizzlies. The New Mexico gray wolf weighs between 60-80 pounds, Yellowstone timber wolves weigh 65-175 pounds. Additionally, Catron County is twice the size of Yellowstone (Catron 6,979, Yellowstone 3,471.) Armstrong wants you to think a wolf is a wolf, all of them are the same. Little side light, neither Yellowstone’s or New Mexico’s wolves have ever attacked a human.

*A local rancher said “ The wolves are already at my house.” The fact is the wolves have been at your house for thousands of years, you are the intruder. He said “we have to walk with the kids to the barn because of the wolf presence.” Educating the children to the sometimes presence of wolves should fall in with things like watching out for cars and not crossing on a red light. Teaching coexistence with all wildlife is important in our rural state. *A neighbor of theirs said “There had never been a wolf sighting in 100 years until recently.” If this is true, (and it’s not,) why all the fuss now? The neighbor also said “This is not a reintroduction, it’s an introduction of a predator that’s never been here.” Untrue, and if a wolf could talk, they would say this same thing about humans. *Representative Armstrong says, “They are moving into Socorro County and threatening economic development in rural New Mexico.” There are much larger things threatening rural New Mexico. Just a point, there are more marijuana distributors in Socorro than grocery stores but I guess that’s “economic development.”

Don’t worry Socorro, you don’t have to start locking your doors or arming the elders or building wolf proof school bus stops (all of which have been proposed in Catron County). Learn coexistence with nature instead.

Erv Nichols

Socorro