Plot to divide and conquer working

link Rube Render

Local columnist

The federal government owns approximately 42 percent of the land in New Mexico. Apparently this is not enough, and it plans to commandeer control of the rest of the state through use of the Endangered Species Act.

From Curry County to Lea County in the southeast corner and turning west to Otero County we have listed endangered habitat for the lesser prairie chicken, the sand dune lizard and the latest animal listed, the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse.

Additionally, the Mexican gray wolf has an approved habitat that ranges from the Arizona line to the Texas border and includes all the land south of Interstate 40.

Having destroyed the lumber industry with the spotted owl habitat, they now appear to be intent on ruining economic stability in the ranching, oil and gas, farming and, since the prairie chicken habitat encroaches on the Melrose bombing range, whatever economic advantage we gain from Cannon Air Force Base.

The environmentalist plot to divide and conquer is working to perfection.

We in Curry County are concerned with the chicken, Lea County is worried about the lizard, Otero County is battling the mouse, and we are all concerned with the wolf at our door. If there were ever a time for an association of counties to come together and fight this assault on New Mexico’s sovereignty, that time is now.

When it comes to any potentially endangered species — fish, fowl, mammal, reptile or ‘other’ — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the Forest Service will facilitate as many meetings as necessary to gather input from local citizens. Regardless of what input those local citizens provide, trust the feds to gather the data, ignore the data, and declare the species endangered.

What is particularly galling, is that in many cases, the same group of people who will scoff at any theory of creationism and tout Darwin’s theory of evolution, seem to have no concept of Darwin’s survival-of-the-fittest theory.

In their mind, T Rex should still be roaming our streets and if they occasionally dine on one of our children, that’s just the cost of biodiversity.

If all else fails, my plan is to petition the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service to get Homo sapiens listed as an endangered species.

Rube Render is the Curry County Republican chairman. Contact him at:

[email protected]