Power Line May Go Through New Monument (CO-NM Let 'em freeze in the dark)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | May 26, 2013 | Deborah Baker

[CedarDave]

SANTA FE — The vast, stunning swath of northern New Mexico split by the Rio Grande Gorge had barely been named a national monument when a Colorado utility began reaching out to local leaders about building a power line through the area.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is eyeing the possibility of running a line from a substation north of Alamosa, Colo., to a site somewhere west of Taos.

“We are in the very initial stages of studying this project,” and no route has been identified, said Tri-State spokeswoman Sarah Carlisle.

But the company’s study area for the Valley Corridor Transmission Project overlies the newly designated Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, alarming those still celebrating its hard-won status.

“Didn’t we just protect this area?” asked Stuart Wilde, a Taos County wilderness guide whose company offers llama treks and who attended a meeting with utility representatives in late April. “Now we’ve got to fight another battle to protect it?”

President Barack Obama created the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument by proclamation on March 25, citing the “extraordinary landscape of extreme beauty and daunting harshness.” The document, however, does not preclude new transmission lines.

The monument takes in 242,500 acres of public land — managed by the Bureau of Land Management — from Taos north to the Colorado state line. It includes the 800-foot-deep gorge, the sweeping, sagebrush-studded plains of the Taos Plateau, volcanic cones topping 10,000 feet and remnants of human activity since prehistoric times.

Protection of the area was sought for years by a coalition of conservationists, business owners, sportsmen, land grant heirs and ranchers, and the proclamation was impact at $15 million and said 279 jobs could be created.

[CedarDave]

The latest lockup of public lands by the Obama administration. While the Gorge itself deserves protection, the rest of the area is scrub brush, rock and sand. The powerline would provide a second source of power to the area and to those who are opposing it. The area also is a source of minerals such as perlite which provide a source of income for residents in the otherwise economically depressed area. In the Taos area the artsy-fartsy libs living on daddy's trust only see renewable energy as a source of power so they build ugly wind towers there. And speaking of ugly, there is a "subdivision" just to the west of the gorge on US 64 the looks like something out of the Flintstones but with materials such as beer cans and tires along with the concrete and rock. They are truely delusional up there.

[shadeaud]

Is pot legal yet in Taos or just LSD?

[ClearCase_guy]

1) The government grabs too much land and "protects" it from citizens. I don't like it. Land should be used.

2) When the government protects land, they just mean you can't use it. If a politician has a friend with a plan to make money, sure, the land is available. Just mail in your campaign contribution. I don't like that either.

[okie01]

And speaking of ugly, there is a "subdivision" just to the west of the gorge on US 64 the looks like something out of the Flintstones but with materials such as beer cans and tires along with the concrete and rock. They are truely delusional up there.

That "sub-division" is truly a jaw-dropping sight. Almost as amazing as the gorge itself.

Taos is, indeed, another of those astounding physical locations which is evidently void of any human intelligence.

[CedarDave]

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[Tammy8]

I just had a thought- the most effective way to take this country back might be to legalize LSD. While the libs are tripping we just systematically take this country back. If they ever stop tripping and ask what happened to all the progress they had made we will just tell them they must have had some bad acid because they never accomplished a thing...

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks CedarDave.

“Didn’t we just protect this area?” asked Stuart Wilde, a Taos County wilderness guide whose company offers llama treks and who attended a meeting with utility representatives in late April. “Now we’ve got to fight another battle to protect it?”

Tell it to the Hollywood expatriates who want the electricity.