New Mexico

Diana M. Alba

LAS CRUCES - The status of this year's Chile Challenge off-roading event is up in the air until the federal government finishes an environmental review, an official said Monday.

"We haven't completed the analysis, but we're looking at alternatives that would include the way it was last year through not permitting it," said Tom Phillips, with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Las Cruces office.

Rosanne Boyett

Referring to recent legislation Municipal Judge Corrine Padilla stated, “I don't handle very many off-highway vehicle citations but I think the information should be out there for the public to know.” She said during the past 11 years in Grants there has not been a marked increase in OHV cases. The judge identified summer vacation months as the season when most of these citations are issued.

Last year the state legislature updated the original 2005 OHV legislation. Current law describes types of OHVs, mandates Motor Vehicle Division registration for operation on public lands, protects natural resources, lists safety requirements, defines prohibited uses and stipulates penalty categories.

Matthew Reichbach

Governor Bill Richardson echoed concerns made by sportsmen today about a land swap in the Whites Peak area . The Stanley Ranch is expected to get the land by exchanging 3,300 acres of its land for the 7,000 acres the State Land Office currently holds in the Whites Peak area.

In a five-paragraph statement, Richardson said he is “concerned” about the the swap, which he calls “ill-conceived.”

Staci Matlock

Santa Fe's Garrett VeneKlasen is a longtime hunter, angler and off-road vehicle enthusiast.

Carol Johnson in Glorieta is a longtime horseback rider and hiker.

Eric Mack

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Peace and quiet pay off in New Mexico, according to a new study by the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance and The Wilderness Society about use of public lands in the state. The report, out today, uses data from the U.S. Forest Service to find that non-motorized recreation in forest areas, such as hiking, camping, hunting and fishing, brings in three times as much income and number of jobs to local communities as does motorized recreation.

Donna Stevens, executive director of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, says communities around the Gila Wilderness depend on tourist dollars that come from people looking for some of that peace and quiet.

Garrett Veneklasen

Access into New Mexico's magnificent public lands is truly a blessing for an avid outdoorsman like myself. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands across the state for fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, camping and motorized recreation. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management manages 13.4 million acres of public lands in New Mexico and the Forest Service oversees 9.4 million acres alone.

I've been riding my quad on much of that land over the past 15 years. But the irresponsible behavior of a growing contingent of reckless off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders is not only threatening to limit my access to those trails — more importantly, it's threatening wildlife and wildlife habitat. Increased road density and OHV activity is destroying riparian areas and forcing wildlife out of critical habitat at an increasingly alarming rate.  

Susan Montoya Bryan

ALBUQUERQUE - Forest officials have decided to seek public comment on the impacts of a proposed plan that would close nearly 270 miles of existing roads to motor vehicles in three ranger districts in northern New Mexico.

Carson National Forest officials made the decision Thursday to give the public 30 days to review environmental documents and comment on the plan that also would prohibit cross-country travel and add corridors for camping.

It's a scenario that's playing itself out across the country as the U.S. Forest Service tries to designate by 2010 a system of motorized routes that will provide recreational opportunities while still protecting America's natural resources.

In northern New Mexico, off-road enthusiasts and environmentalists — typically arch enemies in the travel management debate — have found something to agree on. But it won't make the process any easier for federal land managers.