Native Plant Society of New Mexico Native Plant Society of New Mexico

Conservation News - October 2024

Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks Management Comments
The Native Plant Society submitted comments on the proposed management options for the Organ Mountains -Desert Peaks National Monument. The Forest Service proposed four options. The Society favored an option that promotes more plant conservation by putting sensitive areas off limits from livestock grazing and off-road vehicle use. The letter can be viewed at https://www.npsnm.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NPSNM-BLM-Organ-Mts-comments.pdf

Support for Mimbres Peaks National Monument
The Las Cruces chapter and the State NPSNM have written letters of support for creation of the Mimbres Peaks National Monument. Mimbres Peaks include many rare plant and animal species and culturally important sites that deserve special protection.

Weakening the Wilderness Act
Utah Senator Mike Lee has proposed a bill that would open Wilderness Areas to mountain bikers, strollers and game carts. The International Mountain Bicyclers Association is opposed to the bill, although there is much disagreement among the mountain biking community. The Senator says that because bikes were not expressly prohibited in the Wilderness Act, they should be allowed even though the Act states that “There shall be…no other form of mechanical transport….”. Opponents of the bill feel this could open Wilderness Areas to a whole host of other uses, or even if limited to mountain bikes, could lead to further degradation along trails and creation of new trails.

Forest Service Prescribed Burn Plans
At the request of Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernadez (3rd District, NM), The Government Accounting Office (GAO) investigated the Forest Service Prescribed Burn protocols and released its report recently (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106239). The report found that some escaped prescribed burns did not use weather forecasts specific to the sites, had insufficient trained staff and resources available, and the plan sometimes used the wrong type of vegetation or did not consider drought impacts. The Forest Service has started implementing improvements as it foresees the need for continued prescribed burns in the face of climate change and human impacts on landscapes.

Native Plant Day and Native Plant Month
Consider using New Mexico Native Plant Day (the third Saturday of August) and Native Plant Month (April) to host a field trip or other activity or to write an editorial on the importance of native plants for your local newspaper. Each year the Native Plant Society of New Mexico requests a Native Plant Day proclamation and supports the Native Plant Month resolution submitted to the state legislature.

Conservation News Archive

• Old Growth Amendment comments 2024. September 14,2024 (PDF)
• The Native Plant Society of New Mexico is in strong support of the protection of the Mimbres Peaks as a National Monument. August 19,2024 (PDF)
• AMLER NEPA ESA Concerns Sign On letter July 16, 2024 (PDF)
• Comments on the BLM resource management plan for Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. July 5, 2024 (PDF)
• Letter to DarkSky International in support of the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument to be a Dark Skies Sanctuary. February 5, 2024. (PDF)
• Sign on to a letter petitioning the Forest Service to protect fens. October, 19, 2023. (PDF)
• Letter to the Gila National Forest in support of the removal of unauthorized feral cattle from the Gila Wilderness. December 13, 2022. (PDF)
• Letter to the Bureau of Land Management in support of proposed mining and leasing withdrawal of lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. April 4, 2022. (PDF)
• Letter to the supervisors of all New Mexico National Forests, encouraging them to take advantage of an opportunity to hire professional botanists as enabled by recent federal allocations and made necessary by the challenges of new forest management plans and projects. February 7th, 2022. (PDF)
• Letter in support of a proposed rule change by New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, Forestry Division, to strengthen protections for endangered plant species. November 5th, 2021. (PDF)
• Comments on the draft Land Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement released by the Lincoln National Forest. November 4th, 2021. (PDF)
• Letter of support for the New Mexico Environment Department, Surface Water Quality Bureau, which is seeking grants from the federal EPA to fund its wetlands mapping and restoration projects. June 9th, 2021. (PDF)
• Comments to the National Park Service regarding its zoning plan for visitor management in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. May 5th, 2021. (Not a letter; these are formatted as required by the online comment portal.) (PDF)
• Letter to the Lincoln National Forest regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Non-native Invasive Plant Management. November, 2020. (PDF)
• Letter signed by NPSNM Las Cruces chapter and 2 other groups, opposing the potentially destructive ORV "River Run" scheduled for October, 2020. (PDF)
• Letter to the BLM Farmington Field Office and the BIA Navajo Regional Office regarding the Farmington Mancos-Gallup Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and associated Environmental Impact Statement (RMPA/EIS). September, 2020. (PDF)
• Letter signed by NPSNM and other concerned organizations in opposition to the cursory approval by BLM, Las Cruces Disctrict, of surface mining in the Florida Mountains, Luna County. (Summary page of a 33-page technical analysis.) June, 2020. (PDF)
• Letter to NM Department of EMNR, Forestry Devision, regarding the need to prioritize the Rare Plant Conservation Strategy within the Draft 2020 Forest Action Plan. May, 2020. (PDF)
• Letter to the Gila National Forest commenting on their draft management plan for GNF. April, 2020. (PDF)
• Letter to New Mexico's Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department in support of  proposed rule changes affecting state listing of endangered plant species. March, 2020. (PDF)
• Letter to the Cibola National Forest regarding its draft revised management plan and associated environmental impact statement. November, 2019. (PDF)
• Letter to the Santa Fe National Forest regarding its draft revised management plan and associated environmental impact statement. November, 2019. (PDF)
• Letter to the Carson National Forest regarding its draft revised management plan and associated environmental impact statement. November, 2019. (PDF)
• Letter to Santa Fe National Forest commenting on a proposed forest and watershed resiliency plan involving remediation using mechanical thinning and prescribed fire. July, 2019 (PDF)
• Letter to the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers regarding proposed change in the rule governing the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction over Waters of the United States (WOTUS), eliminating most of New Mexico's waterways, ditches and wetlands. April, 2019 (PDF)
• Letter to the US Forest Service Regional Forester and three Forest supervisors regarding timing of the release of draft management plan revisions in order to allow reasonable time for public review and input. February, 2019 (PDF)
• Letter to BLM Carlsbad Field Office re request for public comment on the Draft Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. November, 2018 (PDF)
• Letter to Lincoln National Forest re request for public comment on the recently released Draft Assessment of Sustainability Conditions and Trends, Volume 1 - Ecological. October, 2018 (PDF)
• Letter to Bureau of Reclamation re infrastructure that would divert, store and convey water from the Gila River to downstream users July 2018 (PDF)
• Letter to Gila National Forest re their Preliminary Draft Land Management Plan April 2018 (PDF)
• Letter to NM Dept of Transportation encouraging their adoption of Integrated Vegetation Management for highway rights-of-way October 2017 (PDF)
• Letter to US Fish and Wildlife Service re de-listing Wild Gypsum Buckwheat and down-listing Kuenzler Cactus July 2017 (PDF)
• Comments submitted to Department of Interior re review of national monuments July 2017 (PDF)
• Letter to Governor Martinez in conjunction with New Mexico Wildlife Federation opposing the proposed border wall February 28, 2017 (PDF)
• Letter to Gila National Forest re GNF Plan Revision Draft Assessment Report December 13, 2016 (PDF)
• Letter to NM Game & Fish commenting on SWAP document August 19, 2016 (PDF)
• Letter to Santa Fe National Forest re Forest Plan Revision NEPA Scoping August 10, 2016 (PDF)
• Response to NPSNM letter to Santa Fe National Forest requesting proper management of Ipomopsis sancti-spiritus (PDF)
• Letter with New Mexico Wilderness Alliance requesting Senator Udall draft legislation to permanently protect the Gila River July 22, 2016 (PDF)
• Letter to Federal Land Managers re NPSNM support for continued federal ownership and management of federal public lands July 5, 2016 (PDF)
• NPSNM endorsed The Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Masterials Research, Restoration and Promotion Act (PDF)
• Letter to Carson National Forest re Plan Assessment report and Needs to Change Document December 31, 2015 (PDF)
• Letter to Santa Fe National Forest re National Forest Plan Draft Assessment Report Volume 1 on Ecological Resources December 2, 2015 (PDF)
• Letter to Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition supporting conservation of the US Army Fort Bliss Castner Range in El Paso July 26, 2015 (PDF)
• Letter to Drs. Carruthers and Howard at NMSU re Proposal to Combine Two NMSU Herbaria and Establish Permanent Curator Position February 4, 2015 (PDF)
• Letter to Scott Hall at Bureau of Land Management re Saddle Butte San Juan Midstream Pinon Pipeline Project December 30, 2014 (PDF)
• Letter to Messrs. Verhines and King re the Application for Massive Transfer of Water Rights out of the San Agustin Basin March 10, 2014 (PDF)
• Letter to Dr. Steiner at USDA Agricultural Research Service re non-native species in New Mexico June 26, 2013 (PDF)