Did you know that it is legal in New Mexico for trappers to place leg-hold traps and strangling snares on public land? This is land where anyone can be. There are no warnings posted and each trapper can place out and set an unlimited number of these hidden devices and can club to death an unlimited number of furbearing victims. Pelt prices are on the rise so trappers are setting more traps and if you use public lands your chance of an unpleasant encounter is on the rise too. Legal traps may be large enough to close on a human foot and certainly frequently close on our companion dogs’ feet. Game department officials are strangely unconcerned about this situation and believe that the relatively few trappers have a greater right to their activity than unsuspecting recreation users.

We are beginning a historic effort to see that leg-hold traps and snares are prohibited from public land in New Mexico. The Department of Game and Fish is accepting comments on trapping regulations and needs to hear from concerned hikers, campers, wildlife watchers, dog owners and responsible hunters. The Department needs to know that the public would rather have a chance to see a live bobcat or fox than to encounter a leg-hold trap or snare on public land. And also that current regulations allowing trappers to set unlimited numbers of traps and kill unlimited numbers of animals is poor wildlife management policy. Moreover, the toll on unintended wildlife including endangered species, which must be destroyed or which are released only to die later from trap sustained injury, is unacceptable.

Please send your comments along with your name and address urging the end of trapping on public land in New Mexico to notraps@gilanet.com and we will see to it that the director of the game department along with each of the seven game commissioners gets a copy. We need your letters by July 10. Please write today and urge people you know to do the same.

Points to include in your letter:

* Body crushing traps and snares should be prohibited on public lands in New Mexico as they are in Arizona.

* Most animals caught in body-gripping traps react to the pain and trauma by frantically struggling against the trap in an attempt to free themselves. These animals frequently sustain fractures, ripped tendons, and/or tooth and mouth damage from chewing and biting at the trap. Some animals even chew or twist off their trapped limb trying to escape. It would violate most state humane laws to treat a domestic dog or cat in the same manner.

* Neck snares, leghold traps, and Conibear kill-traps regularly catch non-target animals, posing a significant hazard to domestic animals as well as threatened and endangered species.

* Because of their inherently indiscriminate nature and regulations which allow unlimited take, body-gripping traps are not an ecologically sound, or humane, method for wildlife “management.”

* The vast majority of New Mexico residents and public land users do not trap. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, approximately 35% of New Mexico residents participate in non-consumptive wildlife activities (such as watching and photographing wildlife) and less than 1% (.03%) trap. While many trappers hunt, the vast majority of hunters do not trap. Trapping is not considered “fair chase” by the Boone and Crockett club, an organization founded by Theodore Roosevelt to promote wildlife conservation and ethical hunting.

* More than 80 countries have banned leghold traps, including all member-nations of the European Union.

* The American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, and the National Animal Control Association have all deemed the leghold trap “inhumane.” The National Animal Control Association has also deemed the snare inhumane and recommends against its use.

Ah, Wilderness!: Death of a Bobcat by Mary Katherine Ray, Winston, NM

”I found a dead bobcat a few weeks ago. The furry corpse couldn’t have been dead long. … Even in death, I think she was one of the most beautiful animals I have ever seen.”

Native American Rock Art, Petroglyphs, Pictographs of the Southwest United States

See also my Slideshows for pix from Chaco Canyon, Three Rivers Petroglyphs, and other Southwestern sites.

State unveils prehistory treasure trove By Joe Bauman and Ray Boren, Deseret Morning News

An estimated 2,000 to 5,000 archaeological sites, most in excellent condition, are located on the newly acquired property; more are being discovered up and down the canyon. About 1,350 acres are part of the immediate Wilcox ranch, a verdant farmstead straddling remote Range Creek, a tributary of the Green River, while another 3,000 acres are on a nearby plateau. …

According to state experts, the Range Creek property is not only an incredible archaeological resource, it is also a wildlife haven, with wild turkey, eagles, hawks, bears, cougars, elk, deer, bighorn sheep and other important species. The creek itself could be developed as a blue-ribbon trout fishery. …

Part of the Desolation Canyon Wilderness Area is accessible above the mouth of Range Creek, near its confluence with the Green River. …

Much of Range Creek, with its year-round stream, open canyon floor and dramatically steep and colorful cliffs, is believed to have been inhabited a thousand years ago by pre-Columbian cultures that archaeologists call the Fremont and the Anasazi. Three radiocarbon tests carried out so far date village and rock shelter sites to between 1000 A.D. and 1200 A.D. An analysis of projectile points and pottery, using dates of known styles, shows the same range.

The finds include individual pit houses, villages, arrowheads, shafts, granaries, pottery, basketry and scattered rock art, the latter often representing otherworldly human figures, pecked spirals and sheep figures. …

The sites are the way that those of the famous Nine Mile Canyon, about 20 miles away, must have been like 150 years ago, before they were vandalized, he said. It is significant that Wilcox “took such pride in not letting people vandalize them.” …

“I didn’t let people go in there to destroy it,” the 74-year-old Waldo Wilcox told the Associated Press. “The less people know about this, the better.”

America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places 2003

Located in a remote part of Utah, Nine Mile Canyon is often called ”the world’s longest art gallery” as it contains more than 10,000 images carved onto canyon walls by Native Americans.

Google Search: Wilcox Ranch

Continental Divide Trail Alliance

In 1978, Congress made a monumental decision, one that secured the future of the most scenic, wild and remote landscapes in America. They designated the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT), also known as the ”King of Trails.”

The vision for the CDT is a 3,100-mile primitive and challenging backcountry trail from Canada to Mexico along the backbone of America. Approximately 70% of the Trail is usable. However, many of those miles are in desperate need of repair, rerouting for sustainability, or removed from roads and motorized trails.

The Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA) is a group of dedicated conservation-minded outdoor enthusiasts, committed to seeing the Continental Divide Trail through to its full completion, to its last charted mile, and to the continued care of this great natural wonder for future generations.

In some states, the CDT follows more than one route. In New Mexico, there is active opposition to the trail from people who feel it threatens their property rights. mjh

Park offers glimpse of mysterious Fremont culture By Mark Havnes , The Salt Lake Tribune

Opened in 1987, [Fremont Indian State Park and Museum] sits on 889 acres 17 miles south of Richfield, [Utah], just off Interstate 70. It boasts a museum, a visitor center and trails that wind among the ancient rock art whose meanings remain as elusive as the people who carved them.

”This is the location of the largest Fremont village ever excavated,” explains park archaeologist Dee Hardy, pointing across I-70 to a hill known as Five Finger Ridge.

Hardy says 106 structures — including pit houses and granaries — were documented then destroyed in 1985 and ’86 during construction of the freeway. The project included removing a large segment of the ridge and rerouting Clear Creek, which helped sustain the settlement of about 200 people at the height of the Fremont culture between A.D. 900 and 1250.

Hardy notes the Fremont were not identified as a separate culture until 1928 when a pit house and pottery were found near present-day Capitol Reef National Park. Scientists named the culture after the Fremont River, which runs near that find, although the ancient people occupied most of Utah — except the southeastern part, which was dominated by the Anasazi.

About the park

* Extra attractions Fremont Indian State Park and Museum offers a museum store, amphitheater, picnic areas, hiking and biking trails, fishing and overnight camping.

* Hours 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Memorial to Labor Day weekends. Winter Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

* Fees $1 per person or $5 per vehicle.

* Events June 5, Annual Atlatl Competition for adults and youths ages 6-15; Aug. 21, park’s 17th anniversary featuring a variety of activities and presentations; September, pottery-making workshops (dates to
be announced).

* Contact information 435-527-4631

* On the Web http://www.stateparks.utah.gov/park_pages/fremont.htm; or e-mail at fremontindian@utah.gov or parkcomment@utah.gov

Homolovi Ruins By Carrie White, Tribune

Homolovi Ruins is at 4,900 feet elevation on the Little Colorado River, an area rich with wildlife. A Hopi word meaning ”place of the little hills,” Homolovi consists of four major pueblo sites believed to have been occupied by the Anasazi between 1200 and 1425.

Archaeologists work the site every weekday in June and July for insight into the migration period of the Hopi people, who count the area as part of their homeland and continue to use it as a pilgrimage destination. The ruins became a state park in 1986.

Picnicking is permitted and there are 52 tent and RV sites with electric hookups and a dump station. Showers are available year-round, and water hookups are available through September.

Park entry costs $5 for a car with four adults. The state park is open sunrise to sunset; visitors center hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

GETTING THERE
Homolovi Ruins State Park is about three hours from the East Valley. Take Interstate 17 north to Flagstaff. Take Interstate 40 east to Winslow, about 56 miles. The park can be reached by traveling five miles northeast from Winslow on state Highway 87.

Homolovi Ruins State Park (official website)

I chanced upon Homolovi Ruins one January on my way to Flagstaff, AZ. These are not spectacular ruins (see Wupatki National Monument, north of Flagstaff, for something more spectacular), but they are interesting and the location is quite something. Walnut Canyon to the west gets more attention, but I think this was at least as interesting. mjh

Close to Home: Short on travelin’ time By Tom Wharton, The Salt Lake Tribune

My best advice to those wanting to enjoy glimpses of Utah’s top scenery is to drive state Route 12, a 124-mile route that connects U.S. 89, 7 miles south of Panguitch, with state Route 24 in Torrey.

Along the way, motorists travel through a variety of ecological zones, from sun-baked desert canyons to cool alpine forests almost 9,000 feet above sea level. They pass through Bryce Canyon National Park, Dixie National Forest, Anasazi and Escalante state parks, the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and a variety of fascinating rural towns.

The road also provides nearby access to places such as Tropoic Reservoir, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Capitol Reef National Park, the Box Death Hollow Wilderness Area, the Hole in the Rock Road and Hell’s Backbone.

State Route 12 has been designated as an All-American Road. … According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, All-American Roads ”provide visitors with a unique driving experience and are considered destinations unto themselves. They provide an exceptional traveling experience such that motorists go to these highways as a primary reason for their trip.”

That description certainly fits Route 12, which also has been honored by Car and Driver magazine as one of the top 10 scenic drives in the nation.

Q: Would you suggest exploring canyons of the ancients via backpacking or car camping ??? thanks. j

I don’t think there’s much of a real system of trails in the area of Canyons of the Ancients. But if you don’t mind backpacking along some dirt roads, you might be able to make it work. The area is also a patchwork of public & private land — you’ll need to study some topographic maps. It’s a funny area, neither wilderness nor recreationally developed.

As for car-camping, I have camped in the nice campground at Hovenweep, off of a couple of dirt roads and northeast of there in the La Sal Mountains (UT-CO border). Any way you do it, it’s worth the visit. mjh

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