A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR, THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, THE STATE GAME COMMISSION AND THE VALLES CALDERA NATIONAL PRESERVE TO WORK WITH THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE IN ASSURING SCIENCE-BASED DECISION-MAKING AND PROTECTION OF LOCAL CUSTOM, CULTURE AND ECONOMY.

WHEREAS, livestock production in the forests of northern New Mexico and elsewhere in the state has been a part of the customs, culture and economy for more than four hundred years; and

WHEREAS, drought has been a regular part of environmental cycles over that time; and

WHEREAS, livestock numbers in New Mexico forests have been declining since the early 1900s, largely at the direction of the United States forest service; and

WHEREAS, elk numbers have been increasing exponentially since their introduction during the last century; and

WHEREAS, forest health has been steadily declining for decades, leading to negative impacts on the customs, culture and economy of northern New Mexico and across the state; and

WHEREAS, there has been a lack of coordinated management of elk populations in the forests of northern New Mexico, including the Valles Caldera national preserve; and

WHEREAS, this lack of management has resulted in harm to both the forests and livestock-producing families in the region; and

WHEREAS, the current drought has compounded all these negative impacts; and

WHEREAS, it is only the livestock producers, their families and their local economies that are paying the consequences of the lack of management of forest health and elk populations, as well as the drought;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor and the New Mexico congressional delegation be requested to work with the United States forest service to ensure that only sound, peer-reviewed science be used in decision-making processes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor and the New Mexico congressional delegation work with the United States forest service to ensure that the customs, culture and economic viability of the local communities of northern New Mexico and across the state are not harmed by actions of the agency; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States forest service work cooperatively with the state game commission, the department of game and fish and the Valles Caldera national preserve to ensure that elk populations do not displace local families and local economies; and