ACTION ALERT - VALLE VIDAL SCOPING COMMENTS

A very important message rom the Coalition for the Valle Vidal:

Tell the Forest Service to Protect New Mexico’s Valle Vidal

On June 14, 2005, the U.S. Forest Service began a formal process that will ultimately determine whether or not the eastern half of the Valle Vidal will be leased for coalbed methane development. The first step in this process is the preparation of a Forest Plan Amendment to incorporate the Valle Vidal Unit into the Carson National Forest’s overall Forest Plan. That Forest Plan Amendment will establish a specific vision for the Valle Vidal, and set out certain “management highlights,” and standards and guidelines.

The Carson National Forest is accepting public comments on this Forest Plan Amendment now through September 14, 2005. Speak up today to ensure that the Valle Vidal is not slated for energy development!

What to Do:

Send your comments to the Forest Service by September 14, 2005, urging the agency to protect the Valle Vidal by closing the entire area to energy leasing and development.

Talking points, a sample letter and background information are below.

If at all possible, please write your own, original comments that incorporate the talking points below. Original comments are the most effective way to make your voice heard in this Forest Service planning process. If you cannot write your own comments by the deadline, please use the sample letter. You must provide your name and address for your comments to count.

Talking points:

•  “The Vision” for the Valle Vidal that as it is written on page 3 of the Forest Service’s Proposed Action, does not reflect my vision for the Valle Vidal. I want to see the Valle Vidal’s "unique combination of wild land resources" -- habitat, range, fish, wildlife, riparian and watershed resources – “restored and improved” across the board, NOT simply “maintained or sustained.”

•  My vision for the Valle Vidal requires that the Forest Service establish a management framework that incorporates the common sense principle that it is easier to prevent harm to the land than to attempt to repair it later. Preventing devastating impacts, like those of coalbed methane development, is the only way that the Valle Vidal can truly be restored and improved.

•  The Forest Service should permanently close the entire Valle Vidal to energy leasing and development. The Valle Vidal should be protected for the benefit of sportsmen, ranchers, outfitters and guides, local business, outdoor enthusiasts, wildlife enthusiasts, Boy Scouts, future generations, and the public at large.

•  The Forest Service should put the entire Valle Vidal off limits to oil and gas leasing NOW, in the Forest Plan Amendment stage. They should NOT defer this decision to a future analysis of leasing. If the Forest Service believes this area should be protected, then it has the authority to “say no” now and not waste taxpayer dollars on a leasing analysis.

Sample Letter:

Mr. Martin D. Chavez Jr., Forest Supervisor
Carson National Forest
Attn: Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571

Dear Mr. Chavez,

I am writing to comment on the Carson National Forest’s Proposed Forest Plan Amendment for the Valle Vidal, or management area 21.

The Valle Vidal Unit is a tremendously unique portion of America’s public land. As a public landowner and user, I value the Valle Vidal’s abundant and broad range of wildlife, the area’s clean riparian and water resources, and its vast array of recreational, sporting and agricultural opportunities.

(Try to provide a description and personal example of what you value about the Valle Vidal, or if you have not yet been there, the opportunities it affords to you as a public land user. This can be an example of wildlife viewing or hunting, or any other recreational, agricultural, educational or ecological that is present in the Valle Vidal.)

The Forest Service’s Proposed Action outlines a vision for the Valle Vidal that includes maintaining and sustaining the Valle Vidal’s array of natural and recreational resources. I strongly encourage the Forest Service to raise the expectation for itself as it seeks to successfully manage this ecosystem. The Valle Vidal’s habitat, range, fish, wildlife, riparian and watershed resources must not simply be maintained or sustained, they must be restored and improved across the board. Furthermore, to restore and improve the Valle Vidal to meet this vision, the Forest Service should establish an Adaptive Ecosystem Management framework that, at its heart, reflects the common sense principle that it is easier to prevent harm to the land than to attempt to repair it later

Critically, in order to restore and improve the Valle Vidal’s resources the Forest Service must close the entire Valle Vidal unit to energy leasing and development now. I urge you not defer this decision to a future leasing analysis. The air, water, and soil impacts of energy leasing and development is clearly incompatible with the many uses of the Valle Vidal and will severely limit our public land managers ability to restore and improve the Valle Vidal resources.

Your Name
Your Address

Send Your Comments To:

Carson National Forest
Attn: Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571

Or email: comments-southwestern-carson@fs.fed.us

(“Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment” must be in the subject line.)

Congress has the power to protect the Valle Vidal!

Send copies of your comments to your own congressional representatives and these New Mexico members with a short note asking them to permanently protect the Valle Vidal.

Senator Pete Domenici
328 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6621, 202-228-0900 fax

Senator Jeff Bingaman
703 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5521, 202-224-2852 fax

Representative Tom Udall
Democrat / 3rd District
1414 Longworth Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6190, 202-226-1331 fax

Representative Heather Wilson
Republican / 1st District
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-346-6781, 505-346-6723 fax

Download Forest Service documents at: https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/plans/index.shtml

For more information, contact:

Jim O'Donnell
Outreach Coordinator, Coalition for the Valle Vidal
www.vallevidal.org
PO Box 238
Taos, NM 87571
505-758-3874

Are you a member of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal? Would you like to support our efforts? Join or contribute today at: https://www.vallevidal.org/involved.html