Fun & A Great Cause: 2005 Valle Vidal Great Outdoor Adventure Set for 8/19-21

WildAlert from The Wilderness Society:

Please Attend : Pack Up the Family and Head to the Hills!!
Join us at the 2005 Valle Vidal Great Outdoor Adventure

If you are looking for a family friendly weekend in the great outdoors AND a fun way to support a good cause, join us at the 2005 Valle Vidal Great Outdoor Adventure, August 19th - 21st, 2005.

This exciting weekend-long event includes a community forum with New Mexico's Governor Richardson, former President of the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association Gary Fonay, and Mayor Danny Cruz of Springer, New Mexico, and will discuss the importance of protecting "New Mexico's Yellowstone." The event includes family friendly activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, and the restoration of critical riparian and wetland areas.

For complete event details, please visit this site or contact Oscar Simpson, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, at 505-345-0117 or oscarsimpson3@yahoo.com.
**********
Brief History
In 1982, the Pennzoil Company donated 100,000 acres of Vermejo Park (located in northern New Mexico) to the people of the United States, through the Forest Service. It was the largest and most valuable donation of private land to the Forest Service. The area became known as the Valle Vidal unit, named after what the Indians and Spanish referred to as "The Valley of Life."

This 100,000-acre recreational paradise is filled with breathtaking landscapes, wildlife, lush grassy meadows, and sparkling streams set in a backdrop of lush green conifer forest. This majestic landscape starts at an elevation of around 7,800 feet and terminates at 12,544 feet - the summit of Little Costilla Peak is New Mexico's the third highest mountain.

No Management Plan
To date, there is no comprehensive Forest Management Plan for the Valle Vidal. The Multiple Use Area Guide for the Valle Vidal, published in 1982, called for the creation of a Forest Management Plan for the Valle, but was abandoned in the 1990s, and never finished.

An Irresponsible Energy Policy
The Carson National Forest is under a lot of pressure, both from the Bush Administration's Energy Task Force and the insatiable Oil and Gas Industry, to "fast track" the opening of Valle Vidal for energy development. The Carson is currently conducting studies in order to lease 40,000 acres on the Eastern portion of the Valle Vidal for coalbed methane development.

For more information About the Valle Vidal please visit https://www.ValleVidal.org or the USDA Forest Service-Valle Vidal web site at https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/plans/index.shtml.
**********
The Wilderness Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving American wilderness. Our mission is to ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water, wildlife, beauty, and opportunity for recreation and renewal provided by pristine forests, rivers, deserts, and mountains. As a subscriber to WildAlert, you join over 250,000 Wilderness Society members and supporters in our efforts to protect and restore America's wild places.

(Photo courtesy of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal.)