Dear HCN,
I was disappointed and
extremely saddened after reading “In the heart of the New West, the
sheep win one” (HCN, 10/16/95). Disappointed that with so many
other environmental problems facing this country, the Sierra Club
Foundation has chosen to pick on a small rural cooperative to the
tune of $2.5 million.
It seems to me that such a
large sum of money (the amount the Sierra Club Foundation spent
fighting Ganados del Valle’s claim) could have been more prudently
spent. And saddened that the Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy
either do not see or refuse to acknowledge their role in aiding the
demise of the old and unique Hispanic culture that can only be
found in northern New Mexico. If there was ever a situation where
these environmental organizations could demonstrate that humanity
and environmentalism can co-exist by extending a friendly hand,
this is it.
Twenty percent of New Mexico’s
population lives in poverty, fourth highest in the nation. The
average per capita income in Rio Arriba County, the county in which
Ganados del Valle is located, is approximately $9,000 annually, one
of the lowest in the state. The cooperative is providing employment
and income to an area that sorely needs it.
What
was referred to as “the heart of the New West” is in fact the old
West, a very old West that existed long before there ever was a
United States. And it was not the sheep who won one, but a
struggling community that is much more than “a grazing
cooperative.”
Sierra Club and Nature
Conservancy: Look for another opponent to fight; there certainly is
no shortage of them. But then again, if you can’t beat the poor and
disenfranchised, who can you
beat?
Robert V.
Urias
Boulder,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A losing battle.
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