Rio Grande Valley Broadband • Entered by Susan Ostlie on December 30, 2020
Magdalena Collaborative Mtg.
September 29, 2020
Participants and Hours
| Pre Planning hours | |
| Post Admin hours | |
| Activity Hours | 2 |
| Participants | 1 |
| Total Hours | 2 |
Key Issue: Public Lands Health & Protection
Activity Type: Other Administration (reporting, emails, calls, planning)
Key Partners: District personnel, Audubon, Sierra Club, Native Plant Society RGVBB
Landscape/area: Cibola National Forest (1616435 acres)
Short Description of Activity
I found more information to add to the last posting, but of course I couldn’t edit it once it was submitted. What I did find was the notes that Linda took, which I will post below, and also that I was actually able to be in the meeting via phone…
Reflection/Evaluation
I was disappointed that I was the ONLY conservation representative there, except for Mary Kay, who lives in the area. Come on – no one had to drive. No Oscar, No rancher guy. No one from Wilderness Society or any other non-profit organization. Sad. It wasn’t much of a collaboration – mainly the USFS side.
Salazar’s big thing is landscape management, so that entails timber, livestock, water, outdoor recreation, air, etc. He is not into timber production at all as far as I know. It appeared that he is more interested in tree and soil restoration, especially in lieu of fire. So, yes he’s trying to cover all pertinent issues affecting the forest. He did not mention native plants, wildlife or wilderness. So we have to push these issues, but his priorities are looking at access for recreation to please the public, accommodations within regulations for ranching, and forest maintenance. We really need to show a better presence with the conservation groups next time. We need to get other people beyond the USFS front and center if we want to change. Of course, he is limited by the supervisor and region. It can’t just be about wilderness, it’s got to be about the entire landscape to include wildlife and plants. That’s got to be our power to the people. Though the FS info is useful, I would like to see more real collaboration outside of the land management agency.