HOUSE MEMORIAL 60

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Antonio "Moe" Maestas

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TOGETHER WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE AND THE PLAINTIFFS IN JARITA MESA LIVESTOCK GRAZING ASSOCIATION ET AL V. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE ET AL TO WORK TOGETHER TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES IN THAT LAWSUIT.

     WHEREAS, since the seventeenth century, Hispanic and Native American ranchers in northern New Mexico have grazed livestock in the productive forests of that region; and

     WHEREAS, during the passage of time, predating the United States authority over the region and continuing today, unique and thriving Hispanic and Native American cultures have developed in northern New Mexico in which the sustainable use of forest lands, a significant portion of which was at one time under land grant status, is a central tenet; and

     WHEREAS, in Article 8 of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, between the United States and the Republic of Mexico, the United States committed to respecting the property rights of the residents of northern New Mexico who had previously been under Mexican authority; and

     WHEREAS, in the late 1800s, a federal land claims court granted ownership of many of the lands in northern New Mexico used by Hispanic and Native American peoples to the federal government, part of which lands in 1908 became the Carson national forest, located generally north of Española and west of Taos; and

     WHEREAS, the Hispanic and Native American people in northern New Mexico live close to the land, and the land supplies a substantial portion of their economic livelihood; and

     WHEREAS, in recognition of the Hispanic and Native American communities use of resources in the Carson national forest, in 1948, the United States forest service created the Vallecitos sustained yield unit to provide permanent support to Vallecitos and surrounding communities; and

     WHEREAS, in 1972, the regional forester for region 3 of the United States forest service, which encompasses the Carson and Santa Fe national forests in northern New Mexico, recognized the uniqueness and value of Hispanic and Native American cultures in the southwest, asserting that they must be recognized and efforts of the forest service must be directed toward their preservation. The regional forester's policy statement provided that "These cultures should be considered 'resources' in much the same sense as wilderness is considered a resource with Forest Service programs and plans made compatible with their future well-being and continuance. . . . Forest Service employees at all levels of the organization must have a burning desire to perpetuate these unique values. . . . Forest Service objectives and policies must be altered to the extent possible to recognize and be responsive to the culture and peoples"; and

     WHEREAS, despite the best intentions of all parties, differing views as to the proper management of the Vallecitos sustained yield unit have created periods of conflict between the local communities and the United States forest service, including disputes over grazing on forest land; and

     WHEREAS, in 2010, the United States forest service ordered eighteen percent reductions in the number of animals permitted to graze in the Jarita mesa and Alamosa grazing allotments within the Vallecitos sustained yield unit, despite the fact that a forest service environmental assessment recommended no reduction, claiming that current grazing levels were within areas affected by severe drought, that previous grazing levels were unsustainable, that areas of the allotments revealed overuse and that fences were poorly maintained; and

     WHEREAS, on January 23, 2012, representatives of local ranchers with grazing rights in the Vallecitos sustained yield unit filed a federal lawsuit against the United States forest service, captioned Jarita Mesa Livestock Grazing Association et al v. United States Forest Service et al, in the United States district court for the district of New Mexico, challenging the grazing level reduction; and

     WHEREAS, the plaintiffs in the Jarita Mesa lawsuit claim that the United States forest service ignored its own recommendation that grazing levels be kept at current levels, that the forest service was attempting to undermine the local economy and culture and that the reductions represent thousands of dollars in lost income to local ranchers and lost revenue to Rio Arriba county and local public schools;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that:

          A. the United States forest service be requested to adopt the recommendation of its environmental assessment and rescind the eighteen percent grazing reduction in the Jarita mesa and Alamosa grazing allotments; and

          B. the plaintiffs in Jarita Mesa Livestock Grazing Association et al v. United States Forest Service et al, in consultation with the federal secretary of agriculture and the New Mexico congressional delegation to the extent permitted by law, be requested to settle their dispute by working together to find common ground and purpose that respects the needs and desires of all stakeholders in the viability of the Vallecitos sustained yield unit and that permits the reasonable and sustained use of that honored land by those to whose lives the land gives meaning and purpose; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the parties in the Jarita Mesa lawsuit, to the federal secretary of agriculture and to the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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