Ute Creek Cattle Company Received First New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award

authentic to you, and your house becomes your story.” – Erin Flett, Designer

That is great advice!

However, if you are collecting with an eye towards the collection someday being worth more than you invested, you don’t want to be like the guy who collected leaves. You see, he really thought he was “raking” it in — till he tried to sell. ▫

Ute Creek Cattle Company Receives First New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award

Ute Creek Cattle Company, Bueyeros, has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award®.

Tuda Libby Crews and her husband Jack revitalized their ranchland in Harding County by removing invasive species and adopting a rest/rotation grazing system for their beef cattle. The Crews will be presented with the $10,000 award at the Quivira Coalition’s Regenerate 2021 event in Albuquerque, November 3 and 4.

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the prestigious award recognizes farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners who inspire others with their dedication to land, water, and wildlife habitat management on private, working lands.

Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 23 states for extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. In New Mexico, the award is presented with New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, Quivira Coalition and New Mexico Coalition to Enhance Working Lands.

Tuda and Jack improved wildlife habitat by restricting grazing on six miles of riparian area, and established a 23-acre sanctuary dedicated to imperiled shortgrass prairie birds in 2014.

“We’re excited to support the Leopold Conservation Award in New Mexico, and that this year’s award will go to Ute Creek Cattle Company. Tuda and her family have done the long and hard work of improving their rangeland and restoring their riparian areas, brining neighboring rangers together to talk about conservation strategies, and making significant contributions to keeping their small town vital,” said Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, Quivira Coalition Executive Director.

“The New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts (NMACD) is proud to work through our local Soil and Water Conservation Districts along with the Quivira Coalition to recognize the hard work that our New Mexico farmers and ranchers do every day to improve our natural resources,” said Willard Hall, NMACD President.

“Recipients of this award are real life examples of conservation-minded agriculture,” said Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer. “These hard-working families are essential to our environment, food system and rural economy.”

“As the national sponsor for Sand County Foundation’s Leopold Conservation Award, American Farmland Trust celebrates the hard work and dedication of the Ute Creek Cattle Company,” said John Piotti, AFT President and CEO. “At AFT we believe that conservation in agriculture requires a focus on the land, the practices and the people and this award recognizes the integral role of all three.”

Earlier this year, New Mexico landowners were encouraged to apply (or be nominated) for the award. Applications were reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders. Among the outstanding New Mexico landowners nominated for the award was finalist JX Ranch of Tucumcari in Quay County.

The Leopold Conservation Award is given to farmers, ranchers and forestland owners across the U.S. in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.

The New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the generous support of American Farmland Trust, Sand County Foundation, New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, Quivira Coalition, New Mexico Coalition to Enhance Working Lands, Dixon Water Foundation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services of New Mexico, TriState Generation & Transmission Association, John Duncan and Anita Sarafa, and Holistic Management International. ▫

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Lamalfa Laments Blockage of Fire Reform, Firefighters Pay Increase Efforts

Source: Corning Observer

Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee reportedly blocked a fire reform package that would have reduced fire risks and reformed federal fire policy, and blocked an amendment that would have increased pay for U.S. Forest Service firefighters. The firefighters pay amendment would have provided $2.25 billion over five years to increase salaries and associated benefits to better recruit and retain additional US Forest Service firefighters, according to Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s (R-CA) office.

The fire reform package contained three amendments. Ї Funds to prioritize initial attack on fires with the goal to extinguish all new fire starts below 10 acres in size.

The amendment redirected over $2 billion to focus on quickly extinguishing new fires before they

have a chance to become major fires. Ї Allowing Forest Service to quickly do landscape wide thinning projects to reduce catastrophic fire risks. It prioritizes treating nationally to the most at risk, fire prone areas as well as clearing the way for more effective post fire salvage. Ї Directing an additional $500 million to restoration work for post-fire areas including for immediate stabilization of topsoil and ash to prevent erosion and run-off, salvage logging, and re-planting activities.

“When will common sense prevail in Congress? The West is on fire and the near 40-year lack of actual management has led to some of the largest fires on record. We must get serious about stopping these fires quickly before the fire receives a name and a subsequent collector t-shirt vendor,” LaMalfa said. Prioritizing initial attack by providing the resources needed, extra aircraft and more smoke jumpers, to put these fires out before they become national news is the most basic solution to buy time to fix our forests. This package handles both our immediate needs, increasing initial attack capabilities and helping to do post fire stabilization so we protect what is left of our forests and watershed. It also reforms the Forest Service to look at our long term needs of increasing responsible thinning to prevent catastrophic fires. To get our forest lands healthy we must actually do the work of thinning, which also has the benefit of bringing good jobs to our area and the forest products Americans need.”

Concerning the blockage of the firefighter pay increase amendment, he added, over 2 million acres have already burned in Northern California alone and state and federal firefighters are in critically short supply.

“Dismal $13 per hour pay for many federal firefighters is one of the main reasons we cannot fill the vacant positions and retain them. Yet today, in a partisan move Democrats block pay increases for the very people who are trying to save rural America. Our Forest Service Firefighters are working weeks on end, 16 hours or longer each day, sleeping on the ground between shifts,” LaMalfa said. “Yet, we pay them less than someone flipping burgers. It’s shameful that partisan politics prevents paying these firefighters, especially when the pay increase is paid for by eliminating waste elsewhere in the budget. The fact that Democrats care more about their new ‘Citizens Climate Corps’ than firefighters is ridiculous.”

LaMalfa represents California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama counties. ▫

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