You’re invited to a fall series of presentations & discussions related to our Northern New Mexico Group priority environmental issues.
September: Wildlife
Wednesday, September 6, 6-8 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Church Fellowship Hall
107 W. Barcelona Road, Santa Fe
Our speakers will address the issues of protecting and restoring New Mexico’s unique native wildlife and wild lands, and vital aquatic life such as the otter.
Presenters
- Virginia Seamster, PhD, Share with Wildlife/BISON-M Coordinator, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
- Mellissa Savage, PhD, UCLA forest ecologist and member of the IUCN Otter Group.
For more information and to RSVP: ctc.seamster@gmail.com
A question-and-answer period will follow, and we’ll provide refreshments.
River otters photo from Albuquerque Journal, 2014, with credit to Diane Hargreaves/New Mexico ...
By Mary Katherine Ray,
Rio Grande Chapter Wildlife Chair
Bills to prohibit trapping on public land, end killing contests, reform the Game Commission and more did not pass the New Mexico Legislature in a session distracted by other issues and still dominated by political divides.
Here is the rundown for the successes, the incremental progress, the feedback and the disappointments.
Senate Bill 268
Senate Bill 268 to end coyote-killing contests, sponsored by Sens. Jeff Steinborn (D) and Mark Moores (R), got further than it ever has before. It passed all of its committee hearings and the full Senate and was awaiting a vote on the House floor when time ran out.
Citizen advocates filled the committee hearing rooms. When ...
Wildlife advocates are cheering passage of a bill in the New Mexico Senate on March 9 that would prohibit hunting coyotes as a contest.
Senate Bill 268 arose from outcries against groups that began organizing coyote hunts for cash and prizes several years ago, but the legislation had failed to pass twice already. Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair for the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter, called the contests “biologically unnecessary” and said she thinks they should be outlawed.
“Sometimes, they even get prizes for killing the biggest coyote, or the smallest coyote, which to me is just the worst aspect of a horrible practice,” she said. “This means you get a prize for killing the smallest coyote puppy.”
Shops such as Gunhawk ...
Lots of key bills, both positive and dangerous, will be heard tomorrow at the New Mexico Legislature. This is a great day to take action by calling or writing legislators, and tomorrow is a great day to be at the Roundhouse if you can.
Click here for contact info for key Senate and House committees. Feeling shy about calling? It’s easy: When you call a legislator’s office, just tell the person who answers the phone that you urge Sen. or Rep. X to vote “no”/”yes” on SB XX or HB XX, and give a brief title for the bill (“Trapping ban on public lands,” etc.). You don’t need to make an argument or explanation. If you don’t want to call, emailing ...
You are invited to a Sierra Club-sponsored screening of “Unfair Game,” a film produced by Project Coyote that exposes the shameful practice of organized wildlife-killing contests.
In these competitions, contestants try to out-gun each other to win cash and prizes by amassing the most carnage. In New Mexico, these competitions occur almost every weekend during the winter months. Learn about the importance of “unprotected species” like coyotes in nature in a panel discussion afterward and how we can stop these disgusting killing sprees.
All events are free. Screening and panel discussion locations:
Las Cruces
Thursday, January 5
The Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Downtown Mall
7-9 pm
Panelists afterward will include Kevin Bixby of the Southwest Environmental Center, Camilla Fox ...
