Good News

The story in the Journal this morning about the compromise on Forest Thinning in New Mexico was a really welcome development. The environmental groups, such as Forest Guardians. Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Forest Service and PNM have all agreed on a set of rules for getting into the forests and doing much needed thinning. This is a plus for everyone involved and a really healthy thing to do for the forests. I especially like the no net gain in forest roads position.

I will be headed up to Ruidoso today and Alamogordo tomorrow. There is currently a big controversy in Ruidoso over a place called Moon Mountain. It is a full square mile in the middle of Ruidoso that Pat Lyons, the current land commissioner, was trying to trade away to a developer. The community there is against it as it is the last decent open space there.

This should not be developed and should be protected. That is why I want to work on a constitutional amendment that will allow for the creation of a State Land Conservation System that will protect these last great places. Ray Powell, my primary opponent said in the Journal this weekend that he didn't support this because it would be a bad use of public funds. Astonishing!