VOTE TUESDAY, MAY 2 in the Doña
Ana Soil & Water Conservation District election.
SWCDs
were founded in 1935 as a response to the dust bowl. On April 2,
1935, scientist Hugh Bennett was asking the Senate Public Lands
Committee for more money, and getting some opposition – until a
huge dust storm swept over the Capitol.
State
and federal laws give SWCDs the power to do real good. Noting that
“the
land, waters, and other natural resources are the basic physical
assets of New Mexico, and their preservation and development are
necessary to protect and promote the health and general welfare of
the people of this state,” our Legislature charged SWCDs with
fighting soil erosion and flood damage, furthering water
conservation, promoting use of water for fish and wildlife (as well
as human) needs, and conserving and
developing the state's natural resources.
Unfortunately,
the DASWCD board opposes true conservation measures. They
haphazardly try to protect ranchers from any inconvenience, but do
little toward the other goals. They opposed the new monument. And
wolf reintroduction. One year they spent a portion of their small
annual budget to hire someone to oppose a BLM planning document –
although they hadn't identified any specific objection to it: as
longtime DASWCD Chair Joe Delk said,
“There's
no telling what's hidden in the nooks and crannies of the words
therein.”
They even passed a resolution on Agenda 21, a well-meaning and
idealistic wish-list put out by a U.N. Agency, favoring
sustainability and better economic opportunity for all. It's nothing
mandatory, but gets used to create fears that local governments will
swear fealty to UNESCO or something.
The
DASWCD also uses an unconstitutionally unequal voting scheme to keep
the board from fairly representing us.
By
contrast, in Belen we wanted to watch birds. Before dawn, we snuck
into a great wildlife refuge on the outskirts of town. Later we
realized Valencia County's SWCD was responsible for not only the
refuge but a visitor center and education programs! There too, the
chairman is an old rancher; but he understads the importance of
conservation, to everyone. Our SWCD could have that kind of
meaningful impact too.
The
May 2 election involves two board seats.
Zone
4 (City of Las Cruces) contains most of the district's population.
Environmentalist Craig Fenske opposes land-developer Kent Thurston,
whom the current board would like to see elected. As a county
extension agent in Washington, Fenske worked closely with SWCDs on
education. He says he first learned of SWCDs “as a child from my
grandfather, an Iowa farmer and an early adopter of conservation
practices.” Thurston has a record of pushing the County's
Extra-Territorial Zoning Authority to allow higher-density residences
on his land, not one of pushing conservation.
Zone
3 includes Talavera, Las Alturas, and points South (East of Highway
478). Kevin Bixby is challenging Chairman Delk. Bixby, founder and
CEO of Southwest Environmental Center, has a long and thoughtful
history of caring about our environment and acting to protect it.
Delk has written that that
“environmental cartels” seek “to elevate a secular spiritualism
while suppressing and diminishing the presence and importance of
Christian men and women.” He envisions SWCDs as “a bastion of
conservative leaders” to oppose those “environmental cartels.”
Delk
says he's “a child of an all-powerful God,” but ignores the
Biblical idea that in giving us this marvelous world God directed us
to be faithful stewards of it.
Bixby
advocates “simple, cost-effective things like rainwater harvesting
and tree-planting” to help people and the environment.
Please
take time to vote for a more balanced and conservationist board that
truly represents us.
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[The above column appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News this morning, Sunday, 23 April 2017, as well as on the newspaper's website [www.lcsun-news.com/columnists/2017/04/23/vote-fenske-bixby-swcd-election] and on KRWG's website; and recorded (and modified) versions of these columns air on KRWG Radio on Wednesdays at 7:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.]
PLEASE NOTE POLLING LOCATIONS FOR THE MAY 2 ELECTION:
Anthony Municipal Complex, 820 Highway 478
Chaparral: Betty McKnight Community Center, 190 S. County Line
Las Cruces: Dona Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd.
Las Cruces: Good Samaritan Village Social Center, 3011 Buena Vida Circle
Las Cruces: Sage Cafe Community Center, 6121 Reynolds Drive
Mesquite: Vado/Del Cerro Community Center, 180 La Fe Ave.
OPEN 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Note: Only Zones 3 and Zone 4 board-members are up for election this year:
ZONE 3 is the area south of Highway 70- between Highway 478 (west) and the county line (east)
ZONE 4 is the City of Las Cruces.
There's no question about the responsibilities the DASWCD is intended to take on:
New Mexico Statute 73-20-26, "Legislative determination; purpose of act.", provides:
A. Considered and resolved by legislative determination, it is declared that:
(1) the
land, waters and other natural resources are the basic physical assets
of New Mexico, and their preservation and development are necessary to
protect and promote the health and general welfare of the people of the
state;
(2) the
improper use of land and related natural resources, soil erosion and
water loss result in economic waste in New Mexico through the
deterioration of the state's natural resources; and
(3) appropriate
corrective and conservation practices and programs must be encouraged
and executed in New Mexico to conserve and develop beneficially the
soil, water and other natural resources of the state.
B. It is declared to be the policy of the legislature and the purpose of the Soil and Water Conservation District Act [73-20-25 through 73-20-48 NMSA 1978] to:
(1) control and prevent soil erosion;
(2) prevent floodwater and sediment damage;
(3) further the conservation, development, beneficial application and proper disposal of water;
(4) promote
the use of impounded water for recreation, propagation of fish and
wildlife, irrigation and for urban and industrial needs; and
(5) by
the application of these measures, conserve and develop the natural
resources of the state, provide for flood control, preserve wildlife,
protect the tax base and promote the health, safety and general welfare
of the people of New Mexico.
[Below, I'm reprinting Mr. Fenske's emailed announcement of his candidacy. It's gratifying that he has actual experience working with soil and water conservation districts to help them fulfill their real functions:
[Fenske Campaign Announcement:]
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I am delighted to announce I am a candidate for the Dona Ana Soil and Water Conservation District. After the last election I committed to get involved and take action at the grassroots. “Think globally, act locally” runs through my head and I decided this is a great way for me to “act locally”.
I first learned about Conservation Districts as a child from my grandfather, an Iowa farmer and an early adopter of conservation practices. As a county extension agent in Washington State I partnered with the local conservation district on education projects. As the coordinator for Keep Las Cruces Beautiful for the City of Las Cruces I started the Tree Steward program, lead recycling education programs in Las Cruces schools and partnered with the community to organize cleanups and neighborhood beautification projects. I am eager to apply my experience with our local conservation district to improve our quality of life in the Mesilla Valley.
In other parts of the country and even New Mexico, conservation districts are doing great things:
- La Ciudad SWCD in Bernalillo County, for example, has programs to promote backyard tree planting, stream restoration, master naturalist training, and rainwater harvesting.
- In the Valencia SWCD the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area has been put into a permanent conservation easement with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services Wetlands Reserve Program for restoration and protection of the area. The VSWCD views the area as an excellent opportunity for conservation education for Valencia youth as well as drawing on ecotourism to bring an added economy to Valencia County.
But not here. Our conservation district has taken a different approach, choosing to squander its limited resources passing meaningless resolutions against things like the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, wilderness and Mexican wolves, while doing absolutely nothing to help people in our community care for our land and water.
The election is Tuesday, May 2. I've attached a flyer with details about where and when to vote, and a map showing the district boundaries.
I am asking for your support:
- If you live anywhere within the Las Cruces city limits (Zone 4), you can vote for me.
- If you live in Zone 3 which includes Talavera, Las Alturas, south Main Street, and Chaparral, you can vote for Kevin Bixby, a great conservation candidate.
- Please tell your friends! Alert your networks! Spread the word on social media! Email the attached flyer!
- Check out our website:
Thanks!
I mention Joe Delk in the column. An earlier column discusses his apparent violation of the Open Meetings Act in his haste to oppose a government agency, and provides a link to his comments about "environmental cartels, which can be found here .
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