Ayuda!!

[DesertRat]

Estan queriendo hacer las montanas Robledo, donde se efectua el Chile challange y donde hay muchos trails muy buenos de rockcrawling, un monumento nacional... esto significa que no podemos entrar ahi con vehiculos..solo de mirones y caminando....

Por favor voten NO!!!! en este link

http://www.lcsun-news.com/

No es votacion oficial pero sirve para demostrar la opinion de la gente. Asi que por favor voten.

una replica de lo publicado...

LAS CRUCES — Plenty of southern New Mexico sun reflected off jumbles of rock and cascaded a host of colors toward the 10 hikers trekking through a canyon in the Robledo Mountains west of Las Cruces last week.

Hues of gray, black, and brown — each representing a slice of the area's geologic past — were visible on slopes rising up from the canyon floor as the group progressed.

But the color hikers were most interested in was red, which marks a 290-million-year-old rock layer known for containing fossilized footprints of animals. The layer has prompted contention recently because of a proposal by two New Mexico senators to create a 5,370-acre national monument (about 8.4 square miles) north of Picacho Peak to preserve fossils.

The trekkers were members of an off-road vehicle group and were leading a staff member from the office of U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., on a tour. Several contended there's not enough fossil rock exposed to merit a national monument and said an existing designation by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is enough to keep the area's fossils safe.

The proposed monument boundaries contain trails that are popular with off-road vehicle enthusiasts.

National monument proponents argue fossil tracks are being pillaged in spite of the BLM's designation, and require a more permanent protection status. In addition, they say they want the fossils to be more accessible to the public, something that could occur if the site were a monument.

"The problem isn't whether there's fossils here," said hiker Jerry Arp, a geologist consultant and member of the Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club. "The problem is whether there's fossils here that ... are in a significant enough number that they're worthy of a national monument."

A handful of off-roaders are seeking 34 GPS locations listed as fossil locales in a Smithsonian report about the area. Four-wheel club member Fred Huff of Las Cruces said so far, the coordinates haven't shown footprints for the most part. Monument advocates are speculating fossils exist underneath the ground surface, he said, but finding out will take much digging.

"It's at least 200 feet or more that they would have to be exposed to get to those trackways," he said. "It will require strip mining."

Feelings on both sides of the debate became evident when Jerry MacDonald — a local amateur paleontologist who's well known for uncovering many tracks in the early '90s — happened upon the off-roaders as they viewed the main site he started excavating in 1987. MacDonald, an avid backer of the trackway monument, debated some of the group's points, saying strip-mining isn't needed.

"All we have to do is remove the debris," he said, adding that's what he did during seven years he spent working in the mountains.

MacDonald maintained researchers can't further excavate sites without more safeguards because fossils will be exposed to theft.

Some members of the off-road group countered that the fossils, if they exist, are now buried, which is the best way to preserve them.

About 700 acres are already designated as a natural research area by the BLM, a number the
agency is considering expanding to 2,000 acres in a management plan that's now under review. BLM officials have said the status makes removing fossil footprints from the area illegal.

Las Crucen Keith Whelpley, member of the Paleozoic Trackways Foundation — a group pushing for the monument — said the research natural area hasn't protected fossil sites so far. Also, he said, BLM has done little to highlight the trackways' existence.

"It's obvious that since the time the special designation has been put into place, there have been few if any improvements," he said. "It just recently got a sign after how many years? We feel a higher designation is in order, one that would allow us to create attractions for visitors."

Arp said the rock layer containing fossils can be seen throughout the state, and fossil beds exist from Caballo Lake to Deming. The Robledos aren't particularly unique, he said.

"For a national monument, you'd need some kind of wow-value to draw people here," he said. "I don't see that here."

MacDonald said the area is special because it has characteristics of a megatrackway — a large area in which fossil outcroppings have been shown to come from the same rock layer.

"Our argument is that this 5,000-acre site is an exemplary site," he said. "New Mexico is blessed with a lot of Paleozoic fossils, but this is the exemplary site."

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., along with co-sponsor Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., introduced a bill on June 29 proposing the trackways monument. It's before the Senate's energy committee but is unlikely to progress far this congressional session, considering no hearings have been held yet. It would have to be reintroduced if it's not heard this year.

The bill makes special provision for continuing the Chile Challenge, an off-roading event held each year in the boundaries of the proposed monument, though Huff has said he doubts the language is a strong enough protection for off-road vehicle use.

Maria Najera, spokeswoman for Bingaman, said the bill addresses concerns from both off-road vehicle users and the trackways group.

"I think the fact it has bipartisan support shows how compatible it is and how it would work with both sides of this issue," she said. "It is a very strong indicator this bill would be good for New Mexico ... ."

Pearce chairs the House resources committee, a panel that would be instrumental to the bill's passage in that chamber.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at dalba@lcsun-news.com

(Moderadores, no se si este es el lugar adecuado, pero si no, por favor cambienlo a donde sea mas conveniente. Gracias)

[JAVIER G]

Ya esta camarrada, ya le votamos

saludos

[Pig Eater]

DILES QUE NO MAMEN.....ESE LUGAR ESTA CON MADRES PARA JEEPEAR.

CUANDO MENOS QUE SE ESPEREN MAS TIEMPO Y ASI PODER IR EL PROXIMO ANO. .

SALUDOS Y PORTESE BIEN.

PONTE GUAPO PARA IR A DALLAS EN SEPTIEMBRE A LA FINAL DE WE ROCK O CUANDO MENOS A LAS VEGAS EN NOVIEMBRE.

[DesertRat]

Asi es Sergio, todo esto esta movido por un "paleontologo" amateur en busca de gloria personal apoyado por dueños de tierras adyacentes que buscan incrementar el valor de las mismas.
Si se han encontrado huellas, pero ni en la cantidad ni calidad como para hacerlo monumento nacional y cerrar estas rutas, en las cuales ni siquiera se encuentran ni son afectadas por ellas.

Que y cuando en Las Vegas?

Saludos!!

VOTEN!!!

[elchavodel4]

Para probar el 4, en donde quedan estas montañas?

Asi esta la votacion hasta hoy.


August 17, 2006 Las Cruces, NM

Your view -- News (Aug. 14)
Do you think the prehistoric trackways area in the Robledo Mountains should be made a national monument?
Total Votes = 2516
Yes 630 Votes, or 25.03 %
No 1886 Votes, or 74.96 %

[DesertRat]

En Las Cruces, NM. Nomas avisame y vamos a calarlo.

[ALMERAZ]

dinget .
gracias por la info Luis ojala no la cierren deveras es un lugar muy desado para la jeepeada.

[Chivas72]

Listo hermano ya vote para que ese paloentoloco no se salga con la suya

[josesilva]

un voto mas, esos mis jeeperos a votar . ya esta.

[DesertRat]

Gracias a todos.
Y sigan votando, se puede votar de nuevo, no se como, pero se puede.
Almeraz no podriamos poner esto tambien en el foro de Texas4x4?

Gracias y Saludos!!!

[ALMERAZ]

ya estubo mi voto,,, y vamos ganando lo que estmos perdiendo

[ReneGato cj7]

ahi esta mi aportacion --------apenas que fui el año pasado a conocer ese evento y me parecio muy ching%"!·