>HI all,
> At the Memorial Day Regional I discussed the BLM's Fort Stanton-
>Snowy River Cave NCA Draft Management plan which is available for
>public comment until June 9, 2011. Several asked me to post the on
>line address so they could look at it. The address is: http://
>www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/fo/Roswell_Field_Office/fort_stanton_snowy.html
>
> I encourage everyone to read it and make comments. I have serious
>concerns about many aspects of the document and have written
>comments, some of which I brought up at the regional. As this
>National Conservation Area is BLM New Mexico's showpiece, as far as
>caves go, I think it's really important that we help BLM with the
>management of the area, and the cave specifically.
> The comments can be made via e-mail, and I believe they actually
>prefer it that way. Jim Goodbar assured us that they read every
>comment, and are obligated to consider each one. Numbers make a
>difference. The more people who comment on any aspect of the plan,
>the more likely it will receive attention.
>
>Steve Peerman
The central problem with that management plan is that it seems to be
written as if "business as usual"--exploration, survey and study--is going
on normally, whereas in reality, they have closed down all of this for a
time expected to be at least two years. My own comments are focusing on
the critical need to get exploration going again, as the only way to get
the information needed to manage the NCA responsibly. The most relevant
points in the plan are handling water rights and water management (and
ownership issues if the cave goes outside the NCA boundary), for which
it's necessary to find the source of Snowy River; and the need to put
higher priority on study and planning for an artificial access portal,
which is the only obvious way to resume exploration without conflict with
the WNS closure. (Only one of their four proposed alternative plans--not
the "preferred" one--permits consideration of an access portal.)
--Donald
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