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June 05, 2003 - 9:27:39 AM MST
Habitat improvement field trip Saturday
By Darren Marcy, Farmington Daily Times Outdoor Editor
BLOOMFIELD A multi-agency field trip is scheduled this weekend to show off some of the work that has been done with Habitat Improvement Stamp money.
The field trip is expected to last a half day. To attend the free event, simply show up at the Jicarilla Ranger District office in Bloomfield at 8 a.m. Saturday June 7, 2003.
The group will then convoy to several sights east of Bloomfield.
Included in the field trip will be a visit to a project that is restoring cottonwood trees in La Jara Canyon, followed by a trip to see a guzzler or solar water development.
Water will be available, but participants should bring anything they might need for a day in the outdoors.
Sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots are recommended as well as a sun-shading hat, sunscreen, appropriate clothing and a lunch.
Dale Hall, Habitat Improvement Stamp program manager for the Department of Game and Fish, said getting people to see the work being done with this money is important.
"We're implementing these processes to improve the habitat," Hall said.
Hall said he would like to see a diverse group of people attend.
County commissioners, wildlife biologists, hunters and anglers, politicians, environmentalists, anybody concerned with the natural environment and improving it for wildlife.
"We are doing that to set aside people's needs," Hall said. "So we need to hear from these people. Are we meeting those needs and what do they want the landscape to look like? We need them to come out and give us some feedback."
Hall said his department is often criticized by hunters and anglers who want to know why they have to pay the $5 fee.
"What's my habitat Stamp Money going for?" Hall said, repeating a question he often hears. "Well, let us show you."
The projects that will be visited show just two types of habitat efforts that are being undertaken all over the state.
"(The cottonwoods project) is to bring back a habitat component that's missing," Hall said. "It provides some shading that covers cool season grasses and forbs that are more conducive to deer and elk. This repairing of the riparian zone helps to hold water for use by the wild creatures that are out there. Any wildlife species that is associated around riparian areas is going to benefit from that."
And the water developments have proven very critical in recent years with the ongoing drought. In some places, traditional water sources have gone dry and those places where man has helped out a little is the only water available for many wildlife species.
"When we put in those water developments, they're put in so that even if you're a lizard you can come up there and drink out of them," Hall said. "They're benefiting all species, not just the intended elk or mule deer."
Every hunter or angler who hunts or fishes on federal land in New Mexico pays a $5 fee for a Habitat Improvement Stamp. That money is then used for habitat improvement projects.
Under the guidance of the Department of Game and Fish and with recommendations of Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service officials, volunteer committee members choose projects that receive money.
The projects are generally completed by the land management agency, sometimes in partnership with volunteers from conservation groups.
The Northwest Region Habitat Stamp Advisory Committee chooses projects, which are then approved by the state Game Commission.
Hall said his agency is really set up to management wildlife, not improve habitat.
"A key component is to be partnering with the land management agencies and the land owners to conduct habitat work that benefits wildlife and thereby benefits people," Hall said. "This is a truly innovative program in that we connect with federal land management agencies, wildlife managers and the citizens to do proactive work to benefit wildlife and people."
Some members of the Habitat Stamp Advisory Committee will be in attendance, along with Forest Service, BLM and Department of Game and Fish to answer questions.
Gail Cramer, a former state Game Commission member, is one of those advisory committee members who plans to attend and hopes to see a large group of people attend the field trip.
Information: Cramer, (505) 327-6778, or Hall, (505) 841-8881.
Darren Marcy: darrenm@daily-times.com
Habitat improvement field trip Saturday
By Darren Marcy, Farmington Daily Times Outdoor Editor
BLOOMFIELD A multi-agency field trip is scheduled this weekend to show off some of the work that has been done with Habitat Improvement Stamp money.
The field trip is expected to last a half day. To attend the free event, simply show up at the Jicarilla Ranger District office in Bloomfield at 8 a.m. Saturday June 7, 2003.
The group will then convoy to several sights east of Bloomfield.
Included in the field trip will be a visit to a project that is restoring cottonwood trees in La Jara Canyon, followed by a trip to see a guzzler or solar water development.
Water will be available, but participants should bring anything they might need for a day in the outdoors.
Sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots are recommended as well as a sun-shading hat, sunscreen, appropriate clothing and a lunch.
Dale Hall, Habitat Improvement Stamp program manager for the Department of Game and Fish, said getting people to see the work being done with this money is important.
"We're implementing these processes to improve the habitat," Hall said.
Hall said he would like to see a diverse group of people attend.
County commissioners, wildlife biologists, hunters and anglers, politicians, environmentalists, anybody concerned with the natural environment and improving it for wildlife.
"We are doing that to set aside people's needs," Hall said. "So we need to hear from these people. Are we meeting those needs and what do they want the landscape to look like? We need them to come out and give us some feedback."
Hall said his department is often criticized by hunters and anglers who want to know why they have to pay the $5 fee.
"What's my habitat Stamp Money going for?" Hall said, repeating a question he often hears. "Well, let us show you."
The projects that will be visited show just two types of habitat efforts that are being undertaken all over the state.
"(The cottonwoods project) is to bring back a habitat component that's missing," Hall said. "It provides some shading that covers cool season grasses and forbs that are more conducive to deer and elk. This repairing of the riparian zone helps to hold water for use by the wild creatures that are out there. Any wildlife species that is associated around riparian areas is going to benefit from that."
And the water developments have proven very critical in recent years with the ongoing drought. In some places, traditional water sources have gone dry and those places where man has helped out a little is the only water available for many wildlife species.
"When we put in those water developments, they're put in so that even if you're a lizard you can come up there and drink out of them," Hall said. "They're benefiting all species, not just the intended elk or mule deer."
Every hunter or angler who hunts or fishes on federal land in New Mexico pays a $5 fee for a Habitat Improvement Stamp. That money is then used for habitat improvement projects.
Under the guidance of the Department of Game and Fish and with recommendations of Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service officials, volunteer committee members choose projects that receive money.
The projects are generally completed by the land management agency, sometimes in partnership with volunteers from conservation groups.
The Northwest Region Habitat Stamp Advisory Committee chooses projects, which are then approved by the state Game Commission.
Hall said his agency is really set up to management wildlife, not improve habitat.
"A key component is to be partnering with the land management agencies and the land owners to conduct habitat work that benefits wildlife and thereby benefits people," Hall said. "This is a truly innovative program in that we connect with federal land management agencies, wildlife managers and the citizens to do proactive work to benefit wildlife and people."
Some members of the Habitat Stamp Advisory Committee will be in attendance, along with Forest Service, BLM and Department of Game and Fish to answer questions.
Gail Cramer, a former state Game Commission member, is one of those advisory committee members who plans to attend and hopes to see a large group of people attend the field trip.
Information: Cramer, (505) 327-6778, or Hall, (505) 841-8881.
Darren Marcy: darrenm@daily-times.com
