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SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 13
48
TH LEGISLATURE
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
SECOND SESSION
, 2008
INTRODUCED BY
Phil A. Griego and Jeannette O. Wallace
A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THAT THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, IN THE STATE
OF NEW MEXICO, ENSURE THAT THE TRADITIONAL, RURAL, CULTURAL AND
RANCHING WAY OF NEW MEXICAN LIFE WILL NOT BE ADVERSELY IMPACTED
BY ITS OWN TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL OF MOTORIZED ROUTES AND
THAT ANY NEW MEXICO NATIONAL FOREST PLANS UNDERGOING REVISION
SHOULD CONTAIN CRITERIA TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE TRADITIONAL
NEW MEXICAN WAY OF LIFE.
WHEREAS, the United States forest service has created the
travel management rule in order to better manage recreational
off-highway vehicle use, describing it as one of the four major
threats facing the national forests today; and
WHEREAS, according to the United States forest service,
recreational off-highway vehicle use can have various adverse
impacts, including:
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A. conflict between recreational off-highway
vehicles and quiet recreationists;
B. impacts to significant historic sites;
C. severe soil erosion and spread of invasive
weeds;
D. disturbance of wildlife habitat and interruption
of wildlife migration;
E. destruction of valuable watersheds and
sedimentation;
F. wildfires; and
G. vandalism to private property; and
WHEREAS, rangers from the federal bureau of land
management and the United States forest service agree that off-
highway vehicles represent "a significant law enforcement
problem" and are "the biggest drain on ranger's resources and
generate more law enforcement citations than all other criminal
activity combined"; and
WHEREAS, the United States forest service does not appear
to have a practical plan or budget for enforcement of the
travel management plan or the maintenance of a reasonable
system of motorized routes; and
WHEREAS, areas of the Santa Fe national forest, such as
Glorieta mesa and the Jemez mountains, host unique
archaeological sites and serve as vital wildlife corridors
between core areas in the north and south, allowing species to
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migrate and maintain healthy populations; and
WHEREAS, there are ranchers and federal grazing permit
holders in and adjacent to New Mexico's national forests, some
of whom have lived, ranched and gathered wood there for more
than five generations, who have proven themselves to be
responsible, careful stewards of the forest; and
WHEREAS, the Santa Fe national forest management plan
calls for protection of the "traditional, cultural and ranching
way of life" and the United States forest service region 3
travel management rule guidelines state: "As a critical
component of allotment management, the implementation of the
TMR should be conducted in careful and considered consultation
with the grazing permit holder"; and
WHEREAS, for more than a year, the Santa Fe national
forest has actively solicited the direct involvement of
recreational off-highway vehicle users by explaining the travel
management rule and requesting input and assisting this
stakeholder group in documenting and mapping their preferred
routes, but the Santa Fe forest service has not made a similar
effort to solicit input from its grazing and other special use
permit holders; and
WHEREAS, there are property owners in or adjacent to the
New Mexico national forests and grazing permit holders that
live in a climate of intimidation, such as on Glorieta mesa,
where ranchers and their families have been shot at, had their
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pets killed, livestock harassed and property damaged, are
afraid to speak up for fear of retribution, and in spite of
making these events known to the United States forest service,
there has been no significant action taken to prevent loss of
life or damage to private property or to in any way deter these
criminal activities on forest land; and
WHEREAS, in some national forest areas such as Glorieta
mesa, where there is no history of extensive recreational off-
highway vehicle activity, the little use that exists now has
created a disproportionate disturbance to the land and
ranchers' livelihoods due to destruction of earthen dams and
stock tanks, livestock escaping from gates left open and fences
cut, harassing of livestock, the creation of unauthorized roads
and general vandalism; and
WHEREAS, the off-road abuse in the Jemez mountains is
monumental, causing extreme erosion, sedimentation of surface
water, trail degradation and illegally created trails, property
damage, intimidation and threat to the property inholders and
grazing permit holders, including one long-standing rancher who
was forced to give up his permit after motorcyclists repeatedly
chased his cattle and severely rutted the rangeland; and
WHEREAS, it is illegal to operate all-terrain vehicles on
paved roads and there are access roads to the national forests,
such as Santa Fe county road 51, that are unsafe for off-
highway vehicles and trailering, that serve as "attractive
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nuisances" for illegal all-terrain-vehicle use and that
recently had one all-terrain vehicle-related death;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the preservation of traditional
culture be established as a mandatory filter in evaluating any
potential designation of routes open for motorized travel,
requiring the United States forest service to actively solicit
input on motorized route designations from all stakeholders in
or adjacent to the forest, such as local ranchers, farmers,
other permit holders, adjacent property owners, in-holders and
local quiet recreational interests; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the preservation of existing
wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors, as well as protection
of watersheds, rangeland, natural resources and archaeological
sites, be established as a mandatory filter in evaluating any
potential designation of routes open for motorized travel,
particularly as applied to off-highway vehicle and dirt-bike
use; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that safe access to areas
designated for recreational off-highway vehicle traffic,
particularly dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles, be
established as a mandatory filter in route designation,
prohibiting access directly from roads that are inherently
unsafe for a particular class of vehicle, for example, off-
highway vehicles or dirt bikes, so as not to create an
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attractive nuisance that could result in injury or death to
recreationists or rural residents; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that recreational off-highway
vehicle activities be adequately enforced and monitored and
that violation of designated closed routes and areas result in
sufficient penalties and, if any designated routes and areas
are shown to be unenforceable, that they are closed permanently
or until sufficient enforcement can be guaranteed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States forest
service seriously consider the recommendations of the
department of game and fish with regard to motorized use in the
New Mexico national forests; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States forest
service travel management plan proposed actions be suspended
until adequate input from all major stakeholders can be
collected, that the scoping period for proposed actions be
ninety days and that the state forester and the department of
game and fish be requested to report by December 1, 2008 to the
appropriate committee designated by the New Mexico legislative
council on the United States forest service response to this
memorial; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States forest
service, in the process of rewriting their forest plans for the
national forests in New Mexico, should contain criteria to
protect and preserve the traditional New Mexican way of life;
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and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the federal secretary of agriculture, the chief
of the United States forest service, the New Mexico
congressional delegation and the state forester.
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