In mid-2002, the Houston-based El Paso Corporation asked the USDA Forest Service to open the Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest to fossil fuel exploration. Specifically, El Paso wanted to mine the coalbed methane deposits located in the eastern half of the Valle Vidal.
The Valle Vidal has long been one of northern New Mexico's most treasured outdoor recreation areas. Home to the state's largest elk herd, the Valle Vidal is a hunter's dream. With dozens of miles of rich trout streams, boundless hiking and horseback riding opportunities and incredible wildlife viewing the Valle Vidal offers something for everyone.
For that reason, New Mexicans of all stripes joined together to stop the potentially destructive coalbed methane drilling. Drilling for fossil fuels in the Valle Vidal would have turned this incredible area into a single-use industrial zone that few citizens would have enjoyed. Led by the Taos-based Coalition for the Valle Vidal, over 500 area governments, chambers of commerce, organizations and businesses joined together to stop the El Paso Corporation and protect the Valle Vidal.
Supported by the Bush administration's and Senator Pete Domenici's intentions of maintaining an obsolescent fossil fuel economy, El Paso Corporation, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and other fossil fuel interests continually rebuffed the needs and wishes of New Mexico's communities. In support of citizen interests, the Coalition for the Valle Vidal took the leadership to stop the industrialization of our Valle Vidal. In 2005, nearly 60,000 letters poured in to the Carson National Forest office in Taos protesting the proposed drilling. The letters also supported a recreation-based, conservation-oriented management vision for the area. Still more letters, email and telephone communications went to the New Mexico Congressional delegation. Meanwhile, the Coalition, in conjunction with the office of Governor Bill Richardson, achieved designation of all of the surface waters in the Valle Vidal as Outstanding National Resource Waters under the Clean Water Act. This protective action put a significant block in El Paso Corporation's intentions to disrupt the Valle Vidal's surface and groundwater systems. However, El Paso still would not withdraw its application to create a massive natural gas factory in our Valle Vidal.
To clarify the strength of northern New Mexico's wishes, U.S. Representative (now U.S. Senator) Tom Udall introduced the Valle Vidal Protection Act of 2005 into the US House of Representatives. This legislation sought to withdraw the entire Valle Vidal from jurisdiction of national mineral leasing laws, thereby assuring permanent protection from fossil fuel and other industrialization. The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the summer of 2006. After overwhelming public sentiment caused Senator Domenici to change his position on the issue, the Udall legislation passed the U.S. Senate in late 2006. President Bush signed the Valle Vidal Protection Act into law on December 12, 2006.
The Valle Vidal still needs a proper management plan. As of Christmas 2008, the Carson National Forest had yet to issue a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a Valle Vidal Amendment Plan. The new Carson National Forest Supervisor, Kendall Clark, is dedicated to a management plan for the Valle Vidal suitable for the needs of northern New Mexicans, so we expect the draft soon.
Valle Vidal Protection Act Becomes Law: President Signs Landmark Legislation :: Press Release 12.13.06
