MARCH 11 — The Roosevelt County Commission approves two objections at its regular Tuesday morning meeting that “revolve around land use and allow residents to control their land without federal overreach.” bottom.
Opposition to the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LCP) as an endangered species and removal of wild livestock of the Gila monster were common themes of the conference. Commissioner Tina Dixon takes the lead on both lines of business. However, the Commission has been working on drafting a resolution on the LPC for the last month.
According to the resolution, “Designating the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) as an endangered species will impact communities, industry and the people who live, ranch, farm and use millions of livestock in a variety of ways. Acres of public and private land identified as habitat for small prairie chickens of distinct population segments in New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma.
The resolution further states that the extent of protection provided by the FWS (Fish and Wildlife Service) in listing the lesser prairie chicken as “endangered” is detrimental to working families, local industries and communities, and the state of New Mexico. It says that it is. whole.
The committee will consider the resolution at its next meeting on March 21.
Opposition to the removal of livestock in the Gila Wilderness comes after the Gila National Forest issued a decision to remove wild cattle within the boundaries of the Gila Wilderness using lethal methods.
Commissioner Dixon asked the rest of the committee to sign a letter from the Arizona/New Mexico County Union.
According to Dixon, the letter said, “Gila National Forest is being offered several humane alternatives to the Forest Service at no cost.” By signing the letter, the Commission agreed to ask Gila National Forest to use these alternative methods. The Commission approves the letter to be signed and it is sent to the Governor.
In another line of work, Hamilton provided an update on legislative action as the commission oversees more than 130 bills that could directly impact the county.
County Clerk Mandy Park recently traveled to Santa Fe to attend a hearing. Hamilton believes the county clerk doesn’t get the recognition he deserves in Santa Fe.
“There is a lack of collaboration with county clerks on some of these initiatives,” Park said, noting that they do more than just handle elections.
“I heard three bills: Senate Bill 180, House Bill 4 and IPRA Bill. All three of these bills passed,” Park said in his report. Other legislative updates were provided at Tuesday’s meeting.
“There’s been a lot of maintenance going on,” Roads Superintendent Ricky Lovato said in the commission’s report. This comes after recent storms in eastern New Mexico. Lovato said his department is working to clear tumbleweed, push sand from roads and clear cattle guards. I thanked Lovato for his department’s work to make it better.
Finally, the Commission reviewed discussions from the February 21 meeting regarding the agreement between Roosevelt County and the City of Portales regarding the Portales Communications Center. The county attorney and sheriff’s office were to submit two draft contracts for consideration, but those drafts were not completed. The Sheriff’s Office told the committee that the wording needs clarification but the draft is nearly complete.
