"We Just Want To Manage Our Own Lands So We Can Live In Safety"

(Ruidoso Free Press July 3, 2012)  In between the compelling stories of people who lost their homes, local dignitaries delivered speeches citing the immediate need to return control over public lands to the local level. Acting Ruidoso Fire Chief Harlan Vincent opened the rally expressing thanks and gratitude to the first responders that risked their lives for the sake of homes and properties. “We all know the problem does not lie with those on the front lines, but with the policy makers on high,” Vincent said.

Smoked Bear, Ruidoso Acting Fire Chief Harlan Vincent , Congressman Steve Pearce and a group of Ruidoso Firemen presented the perils of long-term mismanagement of national forests and wilderness areas during Saturdays rally “For our Forest’s Health” held at Wingfield Park. Smoked Bear’s mission is to protect millions of animals from burning and to stop wildfires from polluting our nation by increasing grazing and logging to reduce wildfire fuel.

“It may not be true that all wildfires can be prevented, but they can be mitigated by maintaining the health of the forest through thinning and removal of ladder fuels. Fires will still come, but they need not be as destructive,” Vincent said.

Vincent further noted that the Little Bear Fire, as bad as it was, was not the bad one. “Grindstone Mesa, Upper Canyon and Perk Canyon, Brady, Ponderosa, are all dangerously overgrown and filled with dead or dying trees. A fire started in any one of those areas, spurred on by dry conditions and high winds, would bring this town to its knees in four to six hours.”

Lincoln County Commissioner Mark Doth presented a summary of the series of emergency county commission meeting called to dedicate more than $2million dedicated from the county for immediate recovery effort needs. “Today the fire is a painful memory, but the knowledge of the destruction burns bright in my mind. More than 44,000 acres, 273 homes and outbuildings were destroyed. Market value on the structures is right at $40 million and the loss to the County in terms of property tax and tourism will be huge. Based on the number of homes lost, this is now ranked as the number one disaster in New Mexico history, a title we would rather not have,” Doth said.
The rally concluded with Congressman Steve Pearce’s continued promise to stand with the citizens of New Mexico and other western states and to stand as one voice in Washington D.C. to regain local control over public lands with responsible management, the economic development of ethical logging, grazing and recreational use of western Forests and wilderness areas starting with the citizens of Lincoln County. “We just want to manage our own lands so we can live in safety and harmony with nature, that’s all were saying,” Pearce said.