NEW MEXICO - A coalition of the nation’s leading hunting, fishing and conservation organizations today applauded the president’s signing of the Valle Vidal Protection Act, a measure that restricts energy development of a 101,794-acre parcel of land in New Mexico’s Carson National Forest.
“Not only have 100,000 acres of the best wildlife habitat in New Mexico just been conserved, but we as a nation have begun to recognize that some places in this country are just too important for fish and wildlife resources to drill for oil and gas,” said Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Vice President Dr. Terry Riley, who lives in Tijeras, N.M. “Conserving special places like the Valle Vidal has been a priority of the hunting and fishing community – with leadership from the Valle Vidal Coalition – and we’re incredibly happy that the president has listened to our concerns.”
This belief, that some areas of the country are too valuable for their fish and wildlife resources to be developed for their energy resources, is a central tenet advanced by the TRCP Fish, Wildlife and Energy Working Group. The working group has been meeting for more than a year in an attempt to strike a balance between our nation’s need to promote domestic energy sources while conserving fish and wildlife. It includes representatives from a diverse group of the country’s leading hunting, fishing and conservation organizations.
The working group’s core principles, which are encapsulated in its “Energy FACTS for Fish and Wildlife,” address five main principles designed to give wildlife a better future and have been submitted for consideration to senior administration and agency officials.
“We hope that this bill and another currently before the president that will limit energy development on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front will serve as models for designating areas that are too special or unique to drill,” said Dr. Rollin Sparrowe, Chair of the TRCP Fish, Wildlife and Energy Working Group.
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The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a coalition of leading hunting, fishing and conservation organizations and individual partners working together to guarantee access to places to hunt and fish, conserve fish and wildlife habitat, and increase funding for conservation.
The TRCP is a proud member of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal.