May 7, 2019
Dear Editor,
What an unexpected adventure Continental Divide Trail Days proved to be this year! I was fortunate enough to participate in the Black Canyon Hike on Sunday, April 28, hosted by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, one of the featured events of Trail Days. The harrowing drive into the depths of the Gila National Forest brought us to the most serene area I have visited in my lifetime. With our guides, Simon Sotelo and Nathan Newcomer, we hiked a region of the East Fork of the Gila River that is proposed to be designated as a Wild and Scenic River.
This area of the East Fork deserves to be preserved for future generations, and right now we, as a community, can act, since the federal government is revamping the plan for the Forest Service which includes an updated Public Lands Inventory. Our community can give input on areas we want to see protected. Wild and Scenic River designation keeps free-flowing rivers, like our Gila River, pristine so our community can access them for fishing, hunting, boating, hiking and picnicking. While on our hike, we even saw native Gila trout, which were reintroduced as part of the recovery project!
Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard joined us on the hike.
I urged her to keep and preserve our public lands. New Mexico has retained more of its public lands when other states have sold theirs for short-term gain. New Mexicans understand that our public lands are our birthright, and these lands will generate income long into the future, while preserving our outdoor lifestyle and retaining the beauty that makes our state continue on as the Land of Enchantment.
So please contact your elected officials and urge them to continue to preserve public lands in our state, and to support areas proposed to receive new or additional designations. That way we can keep celebrating the Continental Divide Trail and enjoying the scenic surroundings of Silver City and the greater Grant County area.
By Kendra Milligan, National Center for Frontier Communities
This letter to the editor originally appeared in the Silver City Daily Press.