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| Valle Vidal |
August 17, 2005 |
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Dear Friends,
The Valle Vidal is a piece of land near Cimarron, New Mexico that Pennzoil Corporation gave to the Federal Government for tax reasons back in 1982. Since then, it has been managed by the Forest Service.
A few years ago, an energy company expressed interest in developing the eastern end of the area for coal bed methane and last year, the Forest Service announced that it was going to formalize a management plan for the area. That process is now underway.
I`ve heard from a lot of people concerned about the Valle, and last weekend I decided to go up, meet with people and see the place. We kept the hiking gentle and the kids came along too.
I learned some things.
The Valle is adjacent to Philmont Scout Ranch, the largest Boy Scout high adventure camp in the nation. My husband and I have a long association with Philmont and we had dinner Saturday night at the St James Hotel with Keith Galloway, its director. (I didn`t see any of the ghosts from the hotel`s colorful past.)
The Scout Ranch has a 30 year agreement with the Forest Service to allow up to 3,000 scouts a year to hike on the Valle Vidal. This summer, about 2,000 Scouts from around the nation had their high adventure itineraries take them through the eastern end of the Valle.
On Sunday, after breakfast with the Forest Service planner responsible for the area, we went for a hike with some people who know the area well. It wasn`t long or strenuous, but it was certainly beautiful and gave me a better feel for the area. The streams were swollen from an overnight rain and the wildflowers were still in bloom.
I learned a little more about the geology of the area, about coalbed methane development in the Raton basin, about the development on Ted Turner`s Vermejo Park Ranch adjacent to the Valle Vidal, about trout streams and elk habitat. We scared up a red tailed hawk and about 30 wild turkeys as we drove into the valley on the Forest Service road. The turkeys seemed a little indignant.
I`m chewing through all this, thinking about it, and hope to make a formal comment to the Forest Service by their 15 September deadline.
Good to be home,
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