HOUSE MEMORIAL 43

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Sarah Maestas Barnes

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE AND THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE DESIGNATIONS FOR LANDS PROPOSED TO BE PART OF AN EXPANDED PECOS WILDERNESS AREA AND FOR ANY OTHER WILDERNESS PROPOSALS IN NEW MEXICO AND TO INCLUDE FOREST-DEPENDENT AND "GATEWAY" COMMUNITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR THESE LANDS.

     WHEREAS, for generations, small, rural and historically isolated communities in New Mexico depended on surrounding forests, grasslands and rivers as their primary sources of food, medicine, fuel and water; and

     WHEREAS, the health and vitality of these communities had traditionally been more dependent on the health of their environment than on commerce with urban centers; and

     WHEREAS, as a consequence of this dependence on natural systems, New Mexico developed a multitude of cultures that are rooted in a connection to land and water; and

     WHEREAS, in recent decades, forest "gateway" communities have experienced increasing restrictions on and denial of their traditional access to and use of adjacent lands and waters; and

     WHEREAS, as these restrictions have grown, the traditional economy of these communities has been undercut, and many formerly self-reliant families have become at least partially dependent on government assistance; and

     WHEREAS, when nature becomes solely a place that families visit on occasion instead of a partner that they work with on a daily basis, the next generation loses understanding of natural systems, including the importance of periodic grass fires, the value of beaver dams and the care that humans need to take when using wild lands; and

     WHEREAS, the health and safety of gateway communities remain dependent on the health of their surrounding lands, particularly with regard to the quantity and quality of water flowing from them and their susceptibility to catastrophic wildfire; and

     WHEREAS, the Pecos wilderness area sits within national forest lands that border several rural communities, and the United States department of agriculture forest service is proposing to expand the Pecos wilderness area; and

     WHEREAS, wilderness designation is the most restrictive land management alternative available for national forest land; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico recently experienced the creation of alternative land management protections, for the Rio Grande del Norte national monument, that specifically retain certain traditional uses, such as harvesting pinon nuts and wood gathering, and in which adjacent gateway communities were provided a meaningful role in the development of the land management plan;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that special care be exercised with regard to changing the land management methods for the national forest lands to maintain local cultural values, to ensure watershed health and to allow government agencies to respond to catastrophic wildfires; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States department of agriculture forest service be requested to provide gateway communities, including Indian pueblos, community land grants-mercedes and acequias, with a meaningful role in the development of appropriate and beneficial designations and management plans for lands under its jurisdiction; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States department of agriculture forest service be requested to engage in an immediate dialogue with all the gateway communities of the Carson and Santa Fe national forests with regard to potential alternative designations for the lands proposed to be included in the Pecos wilderness area; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the regional forester for region 3 of the United States department of agriculture forest service; the forest supervisors for each of the national forests within New Mexico; the principal executive office holder for each of the Indian tribes, pueblos and nations within New Mexico; the chairs of the land grant council and the acequia commission; the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation; and the governor.

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