The valley’s majestic landscapes and breathtaking vistas, coupled with abundant wildlife, make it New Mexico’s Yellowstone.

Valle Vidal, Spanish for “Valley of Life,” is a lush, 100,000-acre mountain basin in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. The valley’s majestic landscapes and breathtaking vistas, coupled with abundant wildlife, make it New Mexico’s Yellowstone. The Jicarilla Apache and the Ute and Pueblo cultures trace their roots to the Valle Vidal, where Little Costilla Peak, the third-highest peak in New Mexico, rises to 12,584 feet from a blanket of green meadows and mixed conifer forest.

In 1982, Pennzoil Company donated the Valle Vidal to the American people as part of the Carson National Forest. For more than 24 years, the Forest Service, in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, has managed this multiple-use area for the preservation of its wildlife and its outstanding scenic and recreational opportunities – as promised at the dedication of Valle Vidal in 1985.

The unique cooperative management of the area has ensured that the Valle Vidal’s abundant wildlife (60 species of mammals, 200 species of birds, 33 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 15 species of fish) has flourished. Elk, deer, turkey, black bear, bald eagles, coyotes and buffalo are often visible in this majestic landscape, making the Valle Vidal an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. The valley attracts horsemen from across the country and is ripe for backpacking, bird watching, and outdoor photography. Sportsmen can fish for cutthroat trout and hunt elk in one of the top elk ranges in the nation. This area is the critical winter range for numerous wildlife species and is the primary winter and calving grounds for 2,500 elk. It is also and a primary restoration area for the native Rio Grande cutthroat trout. The economic benefit from recreational activities such as these, especially important for the rural communities and businesses of northern New Mexico, is $3-5 million a year.

In January 2005, the Forest Service announced plans to expand the 1986 Forest Plan for Carson National Forest to encompass the overlooked Valle Vidal. The plan amendment process, which began in April 2005, elicited more than 54,000 public comments, 99.7 percent of which expressed opposition to oil and gas drilling in the Valle Vidal. The Forest Service plan amendment is expected to be completed in early 2007, and the Forest Service will conduct a leasing analysis to determine if the Valle Vidal soon should be opened up to drilling for coalbed methane natural gas.

The Valle Vidal’s waters were designated as Outstanding National Resource Waters in December 2005, the highest form of protection under the federal Clean Water Act. This designation complements the Wild and Scenic River eligibility of McCrystal Creek and North Ponil Creek. These waters serve as an important resource for the ranching and agricultural communities of northern New Mexico. In May 2006, Governor Richardson added the Valle Vidal to New Mexico’s formal petition to protect roadless areas across the state.

The Valle Vidal also comprises the headwaters of streams and tributaries of both the Rio Grande and Canadian Rivers, critical sources of water for northern New Mexico’s ranching and agricultural communities. The high density of springs, streams, wet meadows and riparian areas help support the biodiversity and wildlife of the valley.

Despite the recreational, economic, and historical significance of the area, the Forest Service is facing enormous pressure, both from the Administration's Energy Task Force and the oil and gas industry, to fast track the opening of Valle Vidal for energy development.

The oil and gas industry began to challenge the Forest Service’s ecologically balanced management of the Valle Vidal in 2002, when a Houston, Texas-based energy company, El Paso Corporation, petitioned the Forest Service to open the Valle Vidal’s eastern 40,000 acres to coalbed methane (natural gas) development. There are currently no oil and gas wells operating in the Valle Vidal, but there are also no protections for the area.

Although the El Paso Corporation has petitioned for the Valle Vidal to be leased, the Forest Service has stated – in possible violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and against an overwhelming majority of public opinion – that it would not address oil and gas development within the new plan for Valle Vidal. The agency, by not retaining the authority to say “no” to leasing, is saying “yes” because any area that has not been “specifically withdrawn” is by default open to leasing, despite the recommendations by the 1986 Carson National Forest Plan. As a result, the Forest Service process is inherently flawed and strongly favors coalbed methane development.

In early 2004, the White House Task Force on Energy Project Streamlining sent a memorandum to the Forest Service requesting an expedited response from the Forest Service concerning El Paso’s leasing petition and an analysis of whether or not “environmental conditions would restrict or prohibit the exploration of natural gas within the Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest.” Subsequently, the Forest Service contracted out the preparation of a Reasonable Foreseeable Development Scenario to assess the Valle Vidal’s mineral resource for natural gas.

In the summer of 2004 the Forest Service released its Reasonable Foreseeable Development – an estimate of how much gas could be produced – noting that Valle Vidal would only produce enough gas to supply the nation with approximately .5 to 2.5 days of gas. The variation depended on the number of wells drilled and the spacing between the wells.

Despite the recreational, economic, and historical significance of the area, the Forest Service is facing enormous pressure, both from the Administration's Energy Task Force and the oil and gas industry, to fast track the opening of Valle Vidal for energy development.

The Coalition for the Valle Vidal and local communities are seeking to withdraw the area from mineral leasing through Congressional legislation. In December 2005, the Coalition petitioned and got the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission to protect all the waters in the Valle Vidal under the provisions of the Outstanding National Resource Water – Clean Water Act. In May 2006, the Valle Vidal was included in Governor Bill Richardson’s Roadless Petition to Forest Service.

These advances are significant, but only provide limited protection. The Coalition for the Valle Vidal is proposing permanent protection of Valle Vidal by means of federal legislation. On July 24, 2006 the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Representative Tom Udall’s (D-NM) Valle Vidal Protection Act of 2005 (HB 3817), which would prohibit all mineral development in the Valle Vidal. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced similar legislation in the Senate (Valle Vidal Preservation Act, SB 1734) but the legislation faces an uncertain future. New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) holds the key to passage in the Senate and the fate of the Valle Vidal. Mr. Domenici has yet to commit.

Jim O'Donnell, Coalition for the Valle Vidal, 505/758-3874, ext. 5
Oscar Simpson, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, 505/345-0117
Pam Eaton, The Wilderness Society, 303/650-5818, ext.103

Web site: www.vallevidal.org