Private property owners in Otero County
surrounding Cloudcroft must adhere to new restrictions when developing
subdivisions.
Otero County commissioners on Wednesday passed the “Sacramento Mountains Checkerspot Butterfly Conservation Plan,” amending the subdivision ordinance. Commission Vice Chair Doug Moore and Commissioner Michael Nivison voted for the measure. Chair Clarissa McGinn said nay. The plan is a cooperative effort with federal and state agencies to protect the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly and the insect’s habitat.
In September 2001 the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the
butterfly as endangered, under the Endangered Species Act.
The agency published in the Federal Register that nearly
every activity in Cloudcroft’s tourist-based economy is destructive
and should be prohibited. The document stated [that] mountain
bikers, off-road vehicles, camping and livestock damage eggs and
plants.
Cars hit the insect.
Nivison said there wouldn't even be skiing.
“What’s at stake is every outdoor activity,” Moore said, stressing cattle grazing “would be gone.” But FWS chose not to list the insect as endangered in December 2004, in part because the county indicated it will cooperate in the conservation plan, said FWS Biologist, Endangered Species Division, Sarah E. Rinkevich. On Wednesday she called the plan “very doable.” “This is the best, most successful way to conserve a species, not to have a federal regulation,” she said. “If (an environmentalist) lawsuit comes up, we can show a judge a plan (has been enacted).” The ordinance is the county’s participation.
Developers, as well as those who purchase to build in a subdivision,
must survey to determine if the butterfly -- or plants on which
it feeds -- exist on the land.
Actions must then be undertaken that include creating a wildfire
reduction plan, roping off staging areas so vehicles and equipment
will not damage habitat, relocating and reseeding food plants, and
eradicating noxious weeds.
McGinn is adamantly opposed to any government telling property owners what they can and cannot do. “I don't want to impose this,” she said. While Nivison and Moore are reticent about mandates, they feel caught in a Catch-22.
They said if Otero County does not participate, the federal government
will likely dictate land
use, or even declare the insect endangered.
They point out county government is still an imposition, but less
restrictive.
“Are we continuing to constrict property rights with this ordinance? Yes we are,” Moore said. “This ordinance and what we're trying to do is get us the best possible deal we can. I think we're doing that.” “We're giving away our property rights and hopefully, hopefully it will appease somebody,” said Betty Stoots. “I feel they have every right to protect their property, to protect their rights,” said Alamogordo City Commissioner Don Cooper. “We're protecting every species on the face of the Earth except one: man.” Moore cited the 1993 Mexican spotted owl endangered listing on the Lincoln National Forest that virtually shut down the decades-old logging industry. “What’s got us whipped in the past is, we've ignored it. The only way we can control our own destiny is if we get involved in this process,” Moore said. “I think this is a perfect opportunity to embrace the Endangered Species Act ... instead of being served up by it.”
What did constituents say?
Cloudcroft-area resident Hans Steinhoff urged commissioners not to rely on FWS studies, but to make their own. “There’s plenty of evidence [that] this is not a unique butterfly,” Steinhoff said. Jimmy Bridge said acquiescing to federal bureaucracy never ends. “Every time we give something, it seems like they want to take more,” he said. Francis Goss, a rancher with husband Jimmy, in Weed, urged commissioners to do anything to stop an endangered listing. Three endangered species -- the owl and two plants -- have damaged their lifelong cattle operation. “Once it’s listed, it’s forever,” Goss said. “I'm here to tell you that if it gets listed, it’s not the Gosses who are being (harmed). It’s all of you.” Rancher Rick Lessentine concurred. Butterflies and their habitat exist on his land. “If this thing is listed you're not going to have any rights,” he said. “I think their (the commissioners’) plan is as good as anything I've seen so far.” He warned that Cloudcroft’s water sources are all in butterfly habitat areas, and an endangered listing could shut off the village’s water. But John Oliver, who comes from a ranching family, blasted commissioners for even thinking about abrogating property rights.
That, he charged, is a “criminal” action.
His brother, G.B. Oliver III, executive director of property-rights’ advocate [organization], The Paragon Foundation, said implementing the ordinance meant the county accepted “liability” for landowners whose property is devalued.
He decried the precedent the action sets, and warned them to expect
pressure from groups wanting even more species listed.
“When you deal with the devil you've got no deal and that’s exactly where you're going,” he said. The ordinance terminates on July 1, 2011, unless commissioners extend it. Conversely, they can retract it. “We can send her home anytime we desire,” Moore said. That could happen, he said, if the checkerspot population increases in a few years to the point the FWS doesn't feel the butterfly is threatened. Rancher Charles Walker offered the most unique solution. “I've seen butterflies on cow patties all my life and I've got an idea that may contribute,” he said, commending the commission for acting to ensure [that] the insect is not listed and [that] land use is not shut down. “Cow patties are good for butterflies.”
Copyright 2005, The Alamogordo News.
|