By Trout Unlimited 3/22/2013, Washington D.C.
After years of collaboration, the Rio Grande del Norte, a place close to New Mexican sportsmen’s hearts, will be protected as a national monument
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he monument was designated at the request of a diverse group of local interests by President Barack Obama. The Rio is located near Taos, New Mexico and is known best by anglers for it’s thriving population of wild German brown, cuttbow and native Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
Rio Grande del Norte – Our Newest National Monument. Photo by Josh Duplechian
“We are excited to see a place as special as the Rio Grande del Norte be protected for generations to come,” said Chris Wood, CEO of Trout Unlimited. “Protection of the Rio has been years in the making, and for the hunters and anglers of New Mexico, this is a huge victory. They have worked very hard to preserve the amazing fishery and hunting opportunities that exist in this unique place and we should celebrate that in a big way.”
This designation will protect more than 60 miles of trout stream and critical habitat for game such as pronghorn, mule deer, migratory waterfowl, bighorn sheep, turkey and elk.
“So often we look at conservation through the lens of loss,” Wood said. “But not today. Today is about love for a place special enough to unite some of the most competitive of interests in an effort to protect something that means so much to so many.”
This effort came not from the top down as many might expect with a monument designation, but from the ground up – directly from hunters, anglers and the many other traditional land users who value this place.
Efforts to protect the Rio have been underway for years in the form of a National Conservation Area, to little avail. While bi-partisan, user supported legislative action was the preferred route for organizations like Trout Unlimited, the vehicle of conservation was not necessarily important in this instance – only that sportsmen be able to keep such a special place exactly as it is today.
There are few places like the Rio. With a spectacular wild fishery, game throughout and towering walls rimming the gorge, it is, without doubt worthy of todays designation says Mark Casias, a big game outfitter based in Taos.
“My family has been hunting and fishing these lands for eleven generations,” Casias said. “This land sustains us. It supplies meat for our families and firewood to heat our homes in the winter. The National Monument designation protects more than just habitat, wildlife and fish – it protects the very future of our traditional land-based culture.”
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