[Coalition_for_valle_vidal] New Action to Take to Protect the Valle Vidal!!!!

[Jim O'Donnell]

ACTION ALERT  - VALLE VIDAL SCOPING COMMENTS


Tell the Forest Service to Protect New Mexico’s Valle Vidal

On June 14, 2005, the U.S. Forest Service began a formal process that 
will ultimately determine whether or not the eastern half of the Valle 
Vidal will be leased for coalbed methane development.  The first step 
in this process is the preparation of a Forest Plan Amendment to 
incorporate the Valle Vidal Unit into the Carson National Forest’s 
overall Forest Plan.  That Forest Plan Amendment will establish a 
specific vision for the Valle Vidal, and set out certain “management 
highlights,” and standards and guidelines.

The Carson National Forest is accepting public comments on this Forest 
Plan Amendment now through September 14, 2005.  Speak up today to 
ensure that the Valle Vidal is not slated for energy development!


What to Do:

Send your comments to the Forest Service by September 14, 2005, urging 
the agency to protect the Valle Vidal by closing the entire area to 
energy leasing and development.

EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN TO THE FOREST SERVICE, THEY NEED TO 
HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN.

Talking points, a sample letter and background information are below.

If at all possible, please write your own, original comments that 
incorporate the talking points below.  Original comments are the most 
effective way to make your voice heard in this Forest Service planning 
process.  If you cannot write your own comments by the deadline, please 
use the sample letter.  You must provide your name and address for your 
comments to count.

Talking points:

•	“The Vision” for the Valle Vidal that as it is written on page 3 of 
the Forest Service’s Proposed Action, does not reflect my vision for 
the Valle Vidal. I want to see the Valle Vidal’s "unique combination of 
wild land resources" -- habitat, range, fish, wildlife, riparian and 
watershed resources – “restored and improved” across the board, NOT 
simply “maintained or sustained.”

•	My vision for the Valle Vidal requires that the Forest Service 
establish a management framework that incorporates the common sense 
principle that it is easier to prevent harm to the land than to attempt 
to repair it later. Preventing devastating impacts, like those of 
coalbed methane development, is the only way that the Valle Vidal can 
truly be restored and improved.

•	The Forest Service should permanently close the entire Valle Vidal to 
energy leasing and development.  The Valle Vidal should be protected 
for the benefit of sportsmen, ranchers, outfitters and guides, local 
business, outdoor enthusiasts, wildlife enthusiasts, Boy Scouts, future 
generations, and the public at large.

•	The Forest Service should put the entire Valle Vidal off limits to 
oil and gas leasing NOW, in the Forest Plan Amendment stage.  They 
should NOT defer this decision to a future analysis of leasing.  If the 
Forest Service believes this area should be protected, then it has the 
authority to “say no” now and not waste taxpayer dollars on a leasing 
analysis.


Sample Letter:

Mr. Martin D. Chavez Jr., Forest Supervisor
Carson National Forest
Attn:  Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571

Dear Mr. Chavez,

I am writing to comment on the Carson National Forest’s Proposed Forest 
Plan Amendment for the Valle Vidal, or management area 21.

The Valle Vidal Unit is a tremendously unique portion of America’s 
public land.  As a public landowner and user, I value the Valle Vidal’s 
abundant and broad range of wildlife, the area’s clean riparian and 
water resources, and its vast array of recreational, sporting and 
agricultural opportunities.

(Try to provide a description and personal example of what you value 
about the Valle Vidal, or if you have not yet been there, the 
opportunities it affords to you as a public land user.  This can be an 
example of wildlife viewing or hunting, or any other recreational, 
agricultural, educational or ecological that is present in the Valle 
Vidal.)

The Forest Service’s Proposed Action outlines a vision for the Valle 
Vidal that includes maintaining and sustaining the Valle Vidal’s array 
of natural and recreational resources.  I strongly encourage the Forest 
Service to raise the expectation for itself as it seeks to successfully 
manage this ecosystem.  The Valle Vidal’s habitat, range, fish, 
wildlife, riparian and watershed resources must not simply be 
maintained or sustained, they must be restored and improved across the 
board.  Furthermore, to restore and improve the Valle Vidal to meet 
this vision, the Forest Service should establish an Adaptive Ecosystem 
Management framework that, at its heart, reflects the common sense 
principle that it is easier to prevent harm to the land than to attempt 
to repair it later.

Critically, in order to restore and improve the Valle Vidal’s resources 
the Forest Service must close the entire Valle Vidal unit to energy 
leasing and development now.  I urge you not defer this decision to a 
future leasing analysis.  The air, water, and soil impacts of energy 
leasing and development is clearly incompatible with the many uses of 
the Valle Vidal and will severely limit our public land managers 
ability to restore and improve the Valle Vidal resources.

Your Name
Your Address


Send Your Comments To:

Carson National Forest
Attn:  Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571

Or email: comments-southwestern-carson at fs.fed.us
(“Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment” must be in the subject line.)

Congress has the power to protect the Valle Vidal!   Send copies of 
your comments to your own congressional representatives and these New 
Mexico members with a short note asking them to permanently protect the 
Valle Vidal.

Senator Pete Domenici
328 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6621, 202-228-0900 fax

Senator Jeff Bingaman
703 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5521, 202-224-2852 fax

Representative Tom Udall
Democrat / 3rd District
1414 Longworth Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6190, 202-226-1331 fax

Representative Heather Wilson
Republican / 1st District
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-346-6781, 505-346-6723 fax

Download Forest Service documents at: 
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/plans/index.shtml


Are you a member of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal?  Would you like 
to support our efforts?  Join or contribute today at: 
http://www.vallevidal.org/involved.html