Dear HCN,
My friend Jeff St. Clair
listed me as a “grazing abolitionist” in an op-ed piece published
in the 3/21/94 issue of HCN. As a candidate for Commissioner of
Public Lands in New Mexico, I feel I need to clarify my position on
this subject.
I am not opposed to public-land
grazing, provided it can be done in an environmentally responsible
way and provided grazing lessees pay fair market value for the
privilege of using public resources.
What I am
strongly opposed to are public-land grazing abuses and rip-offs,
such as the poisoning, trapping and aerial gunning of wildlife,
carried out on public lands to benefit the ranching industry, and
the leasing of public lands to foreign nationals, large
corporations and large-scale ranching operations for as little as
50 cents an acre, as is done on public lands in New
Mexico.
I do care for truly needy ranchers, just
as I care for truly needy teachers, secretaries and factory
workers. But as a taxpayer, I am not interested in preserving a
government-subsidized “way of life” for someone who makes far more
money than I do.
Patricia
Wolff
Santa Fe, New
Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline She’s against grazing abuses.
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