USFS Drives Family from the Land Reports Documentary

Imagine being told by the federal government, you no longer can own that much of what you love to do... it doesn’t matter what it is, your livelihood, your business, or your food supply. That is exactly what is happening in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest according to a documentary called Ranching UNCANCELED Episode 1 “Cease and Desist” by Ben Luna with LEXIT.

The US Forest Service (USFS) has been on a mission to remove the lawful uses of the forest lands for decades, confirmed to Gary Stone, President of the Otero County Cattlemen’s Association, Weed, New Mexico. The Goss family that this documentary speaks of were put out of a successful logging business back in the 1980s.

The culprit that destroyed their livelihood back then was the endangered Mexican Spotted Owl. The Forest Service used this bird to stop big timber sales for commercial logging, reported Don L. (Bebo) Lee, New Mexico Federal Lands Council President, Alamogordo.

This family was forced to shut their logging business and sawmill down. They then moved into cattle ranching in the Sacramento Mountains being able to graze over 500 head when they first purchased their allotment. Now because of other numerous critters throughout the forest, they have been reduced down to 103 total head with no recourse, says Stone. That number is not viable to support anyone in today’s economy, he continued.

Not only that, the Forest Service has built fences around their legal surface water rights all in the name of an endangered New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse. It is not clear if they are even present, pointed out Lee.

Most of the fencing is designed to keep the cattle out of what is considered “mouse habitat” but it does not keep the elk, deer, wild hogs, wild horses and various other critters out. The USFS Service Supervisor over the Lincoln National Forest has admitted publicly that the water that is being fenced off DOES belong to the Goss family, Stone explained.

A Federal Court of Claims has ruled that the Forest Service “took” the Goss’ water right in certain places, yet the Forest Service continues on their path to destroy another livelihood of this family. The Goss’ have nowhere to go from here.

Even though this documentary is mainly focused on one family’s trials, tribulations, and ultimate demise of their business in the Sacramento Mountains, it represents a MUCH larger picture. This is happening all over the United States.

The government is removing our nation’s natural resources that grow food, fiber and materials for housing for its people. Don’t be fooled into believing that this will only happen on federal land because it won’t, Stone warned.

When the government has taken all uses from the people on federal land, which includes not just ranching and timber harvest, but recreation, hunting, sight-seeing, and so on, will soon follow, then they will come for your private land.

Government entities continually tell us that these are “public lands” and that they belong to US. Their agents neglect to explain just what that means. There is a multiple use mandate to allow everyone to utilize the land in a respectful manner, Lee said.

If the government and its agents have the ability to pick and choose who gets to use the land, then we the people must stand up and demand that we will make lawful uses of our land, both Stone and Lee warned. ▫

pics to come

(top) The USFS then allowed “dispersed camping” in a canyon containing mouse critical habitat. (bottom) The USFS allowed these heavy off-road vehicles into one canyon of mouse critical habitat, while livestock were being driven from the land in another canyon. Photos by Kelly Goss