The Wild News |
|||||||
| Wild Friends of New Mexico Fall, 1999 | |||||||
| Contents | Choose
Your Legislative Project!
This newsletter contains a ballot so that each of you can have a say in the choosing of our memorial for Legislative Session 2000. It’s a short session - only four weeks. Since bills require more effort, we’ll save the bill for next year’s eight-week session. Whichever project we choose can pave the way to a bill next year. A memorial requests an action by the legislature. It is an expression of legislative desire, usually addressed to another governmental body such as a state agency or an interim committee. A bill proposes a new law, or a change to a law. A bill that became law was Wild Friends’ House Bill 249, which increased penalties for poaching. Choice #1: Wild Friends recommend that New Mexico join other states in enforcing each other’s anti-poaching laws. The Wildlife Violator Compact is an agreement among 10 states to help stop poaching. If a person loses their hunting privileges in one state because they were caught poaching, they lose their privileges in all states that are members of the Compact. The 10 states are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Arizona wants New Mexico to join the Compact. According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, poachers in Arizona and New Mexico cross state lines to continue illegal hunting activities. Bear and elk are the animals most frequently poached in New Mexico. The International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies wants all 50 states to sign the Compact. The memorial could ask the legislature to direct the Interim Courts, Corrections and Criminal Justice Committee to examine the Compact and make a recommendation to the legislature. Wild Friends mentor and Albuquerque Mayor Jim Baca votes for this project. Choice #2: Ask the legislature to revisit House Joint Memorial 34. The Wild Friends1999 memorial was a joint memorial "requesting the legislative council to direct the appropriate interim committee to study options for the effective prevention of violent acts toward wildlife that result from malicious, ignorant or evil behavior and have no legitimate purpose, and recognizing that there is a correlation between cruelty to animals and cruelty to people." Last year’s memorial made it through the House, after which Wild Friends got a standing ovation. On the Senate side, time ran out, so it was unable to vote. Choice #3: Ask the legislature to acquire more land for wildlife habitat. In the spring issue of the Wild News, we reported that New Mexico Game & Fish Department director Jerry Marrachini asked to hear from New Mexico citizens: "Should we acquire more land to be set aside for wildlife?" The memorial could ask a legislature committee to study (1) what lands have been acquired, (2) what lands could be acquired, (3) what would it cost, and (4) where would the money come from. Bear and elk are the animals most
frequently poached |
||||||
Wild Friends continue to circulate the petition asking the US Fish and Wildlife Service to support efforts to recover endangered whooping cranes in the Rocky Mountain flyway. 4,000 signatures and growing! It’s not too late to ask your teacher for a petition. A letter is going out to the governor of Idaho from the Wild Friends asking him to support westerners, such as Kent Clegg, who are working to recover whooping cranes in the Rocky Mountain flyway. The letter is included in your teacher’s newsletter. If you want to sign the letter, ask your teacher. New Mexico Wild Friends could help out Virginia in its efforts to protect wildlife. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has a new program called "Wildlife Watch" modeled after the successful "Neighborhood Watch" program. The VDGIF is asking for ideas, big or small, on how to help protect wildlife in or near communities. One example would be to plant high-growing shrubbery along roads to prevent hunters from night-hunting with spotlights. If you have ideas, contact Lt. Bill Rose at 1796 Highway 16, Marion, VA 24354, phone (540) 783-4860, Fax 783-6115, email brose@dgif.state.va.us. The Department of Interior is deciding whether to release Mexican grey wolves in the Gila National Forest to better ensure their survival away from roads and livestock. Interior is considering the Gila because it has hundreds of thousands of acres without livestock. If you want to express an opinion, write to Sec. Bruce Babbitt, Interior Building, 1849 C St., Washington, D.C. 20240. The Wild Friends program is always looking for adult mentors and volunteers. If you know Jack Pickering, we want a dozen more like him. Do you have a grandparent or know a teacher or someone in your community who loves wildlife and likes working with students? Talk to them. Invite them to join your activities and field trips. Recruit them to the Wild Friends program! Wild Oats Helping Out Wild Friends Wild Oats Community Market selected the Wild Friends program to participate in its Wooden Nickel Program. From October 1 to December 31, 1999, Wild Oats shoppers at the new Wild Oats store at Carlisle and Indian School who bring in their own bags for grocery purchases can receive special nickels to donate to Wild Friends. Proceeds go to help fund the 3rd annual Wildlife Summit. Special thanks to Wild Oats Community Market for this opportunity! The Center for Wildlife law has produced a how-to manual on its Wild Friends program for students in grades 4-12. Wild Friends: Kids Bringing People Together on Wildlife Issues explains step-by-step how to replicate this successful program, which has been operating in New Mexico since 1991. Complimentary copies of the manual have been mailed to each of the 50 state fish and wildlife agencies. The manual’s text also is available on-line at http://wildfriends.unm.edu. Membership
Cards Available
Wild Friends Memorials and Bills 1992-1999 1992: Endangered Species Memorial. Expressing Support for Protection and Preservation of Endangered and Threatened Species of New Mexico. Tabled by the Senate Conservation Committee. 1995: Common Grounds Memorial. Reaffirming the Importance of Environmental and Wildlife Resources and Reaffirming the Importance of the Economic Well-being of Our Citizens; Requesting all Resource Managers and Affected Resource Interest Groups to Create and Utilize "Common Ground" Practices. Passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives. 1996: Anti-Poaching Memorial. Requesting the Courts, Corrections and Criminal Justice Committee to Examine Laws Against Poaching to Recommend Improvements for the Effective Prevention of Poaching and to Reaffirm the Importance of Controlling the Problem of Wildlife Poaching and Ensuring Public Safety. Passed by both houses. 1997: Anti-Poaching Bill. An Act Relating to Game and Fish; Increasing Criminal and Civil Penalties for Violation of Game and Fish Laws and Regulations. Passed by both houses. 1998: State Whooping Crane Day Memorial. Requesting the Governor to Direct the Department of Game and Fish to Declare the Appropriate Day as Whooping Crane Day. Passed by both houses. 1999: Anti-Cruelty to Wildlife Memorial. Requesting the New Mexico Legislative Council to Direct the Appropriate Interim Committee to Study Options for the Effective Prevention of Violent Acts Toward Wildlife that Result from Malicious, Ignorant or Evil Behavior and Have No Legitimate Purpose and Recognizing that There Is A Correlation Between Cruelty to Animals and Cruelty to People. Passed by the House; time ran out in the Senate before vote could be taken. Watch For Wild Friends' first BILINGUAL Memorial! Garfield Middle School Wild Friends have volunteered to translate into Spanish what will be our 2000 memorial. Gracias, Nick LaRue, para esta idea fantastica. Vive Garfield! |
|||||||
|
Vote your choice for Memorial 2000 Read about each choice (click the link to find out more) Then make your decision and mark your ballot with an X in the box. Teachers: Please count the ballots and report back by October 22, 1999. |
 |
Choice #1: Recommend that New Mexico join other states in enforcing each other’s anti-poaching laws. | |||||
|
Choice #2: Ask the legislature to revisit House Joint Memorial 34. | ||||||
|
Choice #3: Ask the legislature to acquire more land for wildlife habitat. | ||||||
| After
voting, fold and give your ballot to your teacher. Your teacher will tally
the votes and report the result (phone 277-5089, fax 277-5483, or e-mail cbyers@unm.edu)
to the Wild Friends program director.
Wild Friends created this day! October 21 is just around the corner. Last fall New Mexicans in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and other places celebrated the whooping crane and created public awareness. Wild Friends have been working for the last two years to get popular support for the recovery of the endangered whooping crane. One of the surviving four cranes in the Rocky Mountain flyway died this summer, making our efforts to keep the program alive all the more important. Wild Friends in the schools have a particularly important role to play. We encourage all Wild Friends programs to be creative about activities to celebrate Whooping Crane Day. Some ideas are to set up an information table with posters and petitions, take field trips such as a visit to the bosque, write and tape radio announcements (public service announcements are free AND fun to do!), and have workshops to teach and learn how to fold paper cranes. You no doubt have your own great ideas for celebrating the day. The petition drive is still going on! We are planning a grand finale to present the thousands of signatures to policy makers and legislators. Till then, let’s keep getting signatures! Game thief goes to jail. Repeat offenders facing enhanced penalties." Have a look at the poaching article written by reporter Marti Niman inserted in your newsletter. The article appeared in the Summer 1999 New Mexico Wildlife magazine. Because of the 1997 Wild Friends anti-poaching bill that increased fines and set jail terms for repeat offenders, poachers may think twice about poaching in New Mexico. Wild Friends can take a lot of the credit. Good job, Wild Friends! The 3rd annual Wildlife Summit is happening Monday, April 10, 2000, close to Earth Day. Students and teachers from out-of-state are planning to come this year. Mark your calendars now for what is shaping up to be a "wild" day.
|
|||||||
| d | |||||||
We welcome new groups of Wild
Friends from all over the state. Call 505/277-5089 or e-mail
us if you are interested! The University of New Mexico Center for Wildlife Law School of Law, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC LAW 1117 Stanford NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1446 |
|||||||
Back to Wild News Index