Begin forwarded message: From: Evelyn Townsend <karstpat...@gmail.com<mailto:karstpat...@gmail.com>> Subject: [SWR] public lands encounter Date: January 4, 2016 at 1:08:37 PM CST To: SWR Cavers <s...@caver.net<mailto:s...@caver.net>>
Hello Cavers and public land users, Its not just Oregon and Nevada (a December 30, 2015 story.) I went to an area near the NM/Mexican border that I had been to 5-6 times before to do some rock hounding. Almost as soon as I parked off the county road an ATV approached me and the rancher said, “May I help you?” I said I wanted to do some looking for rocks and she informed me that I was on private land. I commented that I thought BLM was just across the road but was told that no she owned about 1/2 mile in the distance. (At that point I really wished I had brought my BLM map to verify this. My memory said yes I probably was close to or on private land but that BLM land was close too. My memory did prove faulty I later learned) So I agreed that I should get my maps and check it out and in the meantime leave. However, I think this lady rancher needed a catharsis and I was there. Here is an abbreviated account of the things we discussed. There were many different topics but the main one of interest was of BLM. She was very unhappy with BLM management. She said the Feds were taking over the lands.(I said I thought they traded lands but did not buy very many new ones.) She said the Organ Mountains Monument was a shame and that it took away and hurt the ranchers. And that wilderness and wilderness study areas were terrible. ( I said I had seen lots of cattle in designated wilderness areas and wilderness study areas.) She complained because BLM would not allow ATVs to go wherever they pleased on their leased land to check on cattle and added that my little tracker did more damage than her ATV. (I said I had street tires on tracker and that I only drove on roads I was confident of the tires.) She said she had owned a tracker and that it really did good getting the kids to school in the mud. She thought BLM should supply the water wells on the leased lands. Did not like having to put in own wells on leased BLM land and besides BLM was a self sufficient government agency entirely supported by the moneys from leased lands, etc. (My comment that BLM was supported by tax payers was strongly argued as not being true. I could not argue this because at this point I did not know how BLM was supported. I should have said that BLM land is land set aside for public use.) She said people like me were more a nuisance than hunters ( I strongly suspect she was a hunter.) She said that rockhounders like myself and general public should not be allowed on the land but that hunters were ok since they paid hunting fees. However she did not like it when hunters used her water tanks to clean their birds, so that she had to clean guts and feathers out. And she also pointed out the no parking within 300 feet of water tanks , siting a photographer who broke off the floatation device so he could picture water falls or whatever in the desert? She said if her young stock broke out of her corral she would send me a huge bill. (I said nothing but thought how very close the county road and NM 11 was to her corral and that a loud motorcycle just driving on either could spook her cattle if they were that wild.) I told her I really appreciated BLM public lands because coming from the midwest there was none. (I have since learned there about 1440 acres of BLM land in MN, where I don't know.) She said she loved the land and open spaces too. She told me I should not be taking rocks off BLM land because she could not. (That one I could argue.) I said I could take 25# of rock a day or 250# a year rockhounding. (That is the listed limit for petrified wood and maybe for other so called gem stones by BLM.) She did not believe me. This rancher lived very close to the Mexican border and warned me about being out alone because of kidnappings and tire stealing from parked cars and that I should not talk to anyone speaking Spanish. ( I thought that pretty much eliminates at least ½ the people in the area.) She wanted to know if I had a gun with me. She really wanted me to have a gun. I said I would not shoot anyone with it anyway. She really worried on that gun topic. Strongly advised me to get a gun.(obviously she must have been packing herself) Our conversation lasted quite a while with her doing most of the talking trying to convince me to not use BLM lands. Our parting was amiable. Although I did tell her that after consulting my BLM maps and rockhounding notes that if there was an area of her leased land that I wanted to look at rocks I would be back. Back home my BLM maps told me my memory was wrong. So I have not gone back. If I do go back I will used the odometer to count off the distances. I do have trouble estimating milage and footage. So my advice to myself an other users of public lands; 1. Bring your BLM maps and use them, 2. Dont park within 300 feet of water tanks, 3. Listen to complaints but don't get caught up in the rancher/BLM debates and politics. 4. Be polite, don't argue unless you know for sure, 5. Don't let them scare you off your public lands. There are some really strong feelings by ranchers out there. Notice Oregon and Nevada recently. Here is a quick summary of Federal Land Ownership and overview: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf interesting read, wish I had known some of this when talking to this rancher. ET _______________________________________________ SWR mailing list s...@caver.net<mailto:s...@caver.net> http://lists.caver.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/swr _______________________________________________ This list is provided free as a courtesy of CAVERNET. Remember when you are replying to a message, you are replying to ALL on this list. This a default setting. If you want to reply to the individual sender then click reply, go delete the name out of the To: field and insert who you want to reply to. 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