By Mary Alice Murphy

In this continuing article on the Grant County Commission regular session on Jan. 11, 2018, several spoke against the proposed letter to the Forest Service, with a few supporting the premise. Also heard in public comment, were those supporting the county becoming a partner in ownership with Santa Clara for Fort Bayard.

At the beginning of public input, County Treasurer Steve Armendariz asked for a moment of silence to honor Lloyd Alexander, who died on Saturday, Jan. 6. "He was 87, but had always been very active in the community in Silver City."

Sonnie Sussillo addressed the draft letter to the Forest Service on the wilderness inventory. "I've been part of creating that wilderness inventory. It is required by law to do the inventory to find landscape driven by the forces of nature, which has solitude and no human activity." She said the particularity for no human activity is determined by how noticeable it is. "For instance, a hillock that was once a mining operation, is now covered with vegetation and is substantially non-noticeable. Grazing is permitted in the wilderness. Fence lines and corrals are often not noticeable. Logged areas are not noticeable. We have walked trail and have documented roads, which are not allowed in wilderness areas unless needed for access. We take notes of characteristics. I have crossed from not wilderness to wilderness without being able to see the difference. Primitive camping can take place in wilderness. Additions to wilderness are the highest and best use of the forest."

Doug Dinwiddie, the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society vice president, said he grew up in the area. He has a Ph.D. in history and was the former director of the Western New Mexico University Museum.

"I am in favor of the county proceeding with the possibility of ownership of Fort Bayard with Santa Clara to take at least partial ownership," Dinwiddie said. "When I returned after 30 years away, I was heartbroken by the deterioration of the buildings. I remember it as a dynamic place full of life. There are many reasons to save the fort, including tourism and a sense of community responsibility to leave a rich inheritance to our descendants."

He said Fort Bayard was founded on Aug. 21, 1866, two years before the founding of Grant County and four years before Silver City, as well as about 20 years before the founding of the university.

"Without this fort, it might have been longer before the county, city or university were created," Dinwiddie said. "It began as a fort, then became a hospital for soldiers, then a veterans' facility. It s last function was care for people in the area as a New Mexico state hospital. Most people around here have family members who have benefitted by the hospital.

"I encourage Grant County to go into this partnership before the window of opportunity closes," he continued. "The Society is 100 percent behind this."

Commissioner Brett Kasten thanked Dinwiddie for the great history lesson.

Jeff Boyd, resident, said: "The spirit of the Grant County letter to the Forest Service is contrary to what I've experienced in the roadless and many times trailless areas I've visited. Many of the roadless areas meet the wilderness requirements better than the Gila, Aldo Leopold or Blue Range wilderness areas. Some places are so spectacular that if you were to be taken in blindfolded you would be unable to tell whether it was wilderness or not. The listed places are just as wild, remote and beautiful as the designated wilderness areas. They are our treasure in southwest New Mexico."

Donna Stevens, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance director, said she, too, wanted to comment on the letter to the forest service. "I have attended all the planning process meetings. This draft letter misunderstands the planning process and all the steps that must be taken. Whoever wrote this letter wrote an irrelevant letter. This Forest Service document is a draft. It's the first of four steps. It is abundantly clear what the process is. The letter clearly ignores all this information. It is a counter-productive letter. It is no surprise that there are lands that have been maintained as wildernesses. These possibly designated lands will be whittled down. There is no way there will be an additional one million acres of wilderness."

She said the factual errors in the county draft letter were so inaccurate that "I urge the commissioners to vote against sending this letter."

Michael Schulte, who said he is also known as Miguel, said he is part of the group that has spent 14,000 hours looking at areas with potential wilderness characteristics. "We have created 179 track logs with software that utilized GPS. We walked many miles to check the conditions, with photo way points and extensive notes. The Gila National Forest is to be commended for creating this land inventory. The draft inventory is an apolitical inventory created by a highly structured process. It's doesn't select approval or disapproval that it should elicit such a reaction as your letter. It seems like you are trying to put a political spin into it."

Michael Fugagli said: "As commissioners, you can decide to comment. But the best available science predicts an almost complete loss of needle-leaf trees by the end of the century. The value of wilderness lands is increasing. Scientist predict we are into the sixth greatest extinction age. The forest is addressing resiliency, restoration and refugia. Resiliency is recovery; restoration is reaching resiliency, which will require vision; and refugia are where species will have to take refuge in the most resilient areas. Wilderness is a form of intelligence we cannot live without. The Gila River is plagued with feral cattle. We need a corridor of refuge."

Cecilia Bell, Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society president, described Fort Bayard as a sanctuary because of its potential for others. She talked about where she grew up near Fort Robinson and Fort Laramie. "To stay at Fort Robinson, you have to have a reservation by January for June. Every day I'm at Fort Bayard, people come from out of state and out of country. Children ride their bicycles through the streets. Young teenage drivers practice their skills there."

She said the Society was created in 1997 simply to promote the 100th birthday of the military leaving the fort. "Dr. Bell and I stood up for the health care givers. Fort Bayard was called a healing site and became a healing area for those with tuberculosis. Little trees were planted by Dr. Bushnell. He led the country in the cure for TB. The beginning of the U.S. Army Nurses Corps began with Dita Kenny, who served at Fort Bayard. We would like to promote Fort Bayard as an educational site for our children, with field trips from the schools We also want to promote cleaning up Fort Bayard. How would you feel if you were following the hearse with your loved one out to Fort Bayard National Cemetery? It's a disgrace on the way."

Dan Otero, Hidalgo Medical Services chief executive officer, said he wanted to express "how much we appreciate the opportunity to take care of our seniors. We will make sure seniors are well taken care of during the changes in the Aging and Long-Term Services Department."

Commissioner Harry Browne asked what the implications are for the changes.

"The department is trying to switch contracts from the New Mexico Area Agency on Aging to the Aging and Long-Term Service Department," Otero said. "We are working to continue the contracts without delay. We have resources to continue to support the seniors for a time."

Commission Chairman Billy Billings said HMS, as a partner with the county, can come anytime to address the work sessions. "You are an integral part of the county, as the manager of the senior centers and the soon-to-be open Tu Casa. I would like to offer my apology to Edith Lee in letting a few things happen because of misinformation by some seniors."

Billings said that Commissioner Alicia Edwards has volunteered to go to the Gila Senior Center to help them realize the truth. "We hope we can resolve their concerns."

"I couldn't be more proud of the work done by Edith and her team," Otero said.

Edwards said: "As having been involved in senior issues, I appreciate HMS taking over the senior centers. I feel like HMS has taken the heat for things they had no control over."

A resident named Scott declare his opposition to comments in the letter to the forest service. "The opinions do now reflect my views. There are many factual errors on the process. It disregards what the forest service has said. I feel strongly about having open and fair meetings with public dialogue. It disenfranchises the public if you don't. You have to have the obligation to let the public be aware when someone tries to pass a resolution. You don't play by the rules. Last minute tricks are not a way to run the commission. Give the issues and give the people who work on the issues a chance to speak."

Richard Martin said he, too, is in opposition to forwarding the letter to the forest service. "It is shrill, premature and not necessary. I find this letter counter-productive. The last thing we need is stalling. We have an excellent cadre of professionals doing the planning. Their recommendation of wilderness is only up to Congress. The wilderness and the forest are the prime things that bring people here. The letter should have been drafted in a cooperative way with the professionals. To me wilderness is freedom. I don't feel locked out. Mother Nature can heal what was deprecated. It's a very premature letter. Don’t become a wrench in the gears."

Dave Chandler said he has served on the Fort Bayard Restoration and Development Coalition for eight years. "Our focus is on restoration and economic development on the fort. We support Santa Clara's business plan. It is thorough. We have been instrumental in working with (General Services Department Secretary Ed) Burckle and we have been instrumental with bringing in Americorps and the YCC (Youth Conservation Corps), so we can stop the deterioration of the structures."

"This is an opportunity to have the Gila National Forest as a major tenant," Chandler continued. "It would almost ensure the success of the project. We pledge our support. We appreciate your leadership role."

Carol Martin said she is part of the wilderness inventory team, which surveyed more than 600,000 acres. "We spent hundreds of hours on foot gathering data. We belong to the Sky Island tracking team, and the Native Plant Society. We have worked on habitat restoration. Each member of the team brings a different expertise, such as biology, geology and botany. We follow the requirements in the 2015 Land Management Act. Substantially noticeable does not mean all human changes. A line of power towers is noticeable, but a telephone pole or fence blends in. Dirt roads are not necessarily permanent structures. They are taken back by weather and flora. Wilderness brings economic development, because it brings people here. It equals money and jobs. This is our chance to protect the forest. Once it's gone, it's gone forever."

Billings noted that just because an item is placed on the agenda doesn't necessarily mean it will go forward. "It can be disapproved."

Dan Dietzel said he came to comment on whether to expand the wilderness. "I can also comment on the process. It's important to make a comment on the process that raises concerns. There is no opportunity in the draft to talk about the loss of potential use to the public. My problem is with restrictions. I'm a mountain bike rider. I will lose access to trails with more wilderness designations. Mountain bikers have been losing access throughout the country—in Taos, in Montana and Idaho because of designations or recommended wilderness designations."

"We had a meeting with the Forest Service and asked how they could help with a mountain bike race on Fort Bayard," Dietzel continued. "We expressed interest in maintaining trails. We've been trying to figure out how to be involved in the process. It's an issue of multi-use or no use. The trails have been maintained by the riders. Half of the Continental Divide Trail south of the wilderness is being maintained. We need to think of other ways to manage the forest other than recommending wilderness."

Browne noted that step 3 of the process addresses loss of use.

Cissy McAndrew commented on the recent Open Letter to the community about the process the county is going through on the hospital. "It sounds as if you are already at the point of partnership. Juniper Advisory, on its front page, notes that it prepares hospitals for sale. Juniper is a broker. I'm concerned about that aspect. Research I've done shows new management is improving the bottom line. I look forward to your sharing the data. Please continue to be transparent to the county."

A man named Larry said he has a resource economics master's degree. "Today is the birthday of Aldo Leopold. How important he was to the country. He was the father of wilderness and the father of ecology. He figured it out in the Gila. The problems of the letter have come out. We need to consider that wilderness is not no-use. A number of scientists, including E.O. Wilson, think half of our land mass should be protected. I encourage you not to sign onto this letter."

Billings said he would like to see the research in writing. "Or in email," Browne said.

The next article will address the remainder of the meeting including the decisions on the letter to the forest service and the letter to Santa Clara referring to a Fort Bayard partnership.

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