Editor:

Did you know? In your backyard is probably the most endangered wildlife corridor in the state of New Mexico, the Crest of Montezuma located on the northern rim of the Sandia Mountains.

Decorated with pale horizontal slivers of rock near the top, we can see it with a glance at any time of day. This slim slice of the Sandia Mountains is managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and the last stronghold and chance for a safe route for the diverse species of wildlife to travel their ancestral pathways.

We have to take a stand! This tract of the Sandia Mountains is being considered for expanding recreational use to include hiking, horseback trail riding, biking, hunting and trapping. Wildlife does not have a seat at the meetings that determine the future use of their critical ancestral corridors.

Helping wildlife helps assure the balance of nature, of which humans benefit in unseen ways.

We are scratching the surface of understanding the long-term benefits of protecting wildlife and their habitat. What are the intended vs. unintended consequences of allowing increased public access to the crest?

Our organization, Pathways: Wildlife Corridors of New Mexico, formed in 2009 because we believed and continue to believe, as Aldo Leopold said, “There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” We cannot.

Help us any way you can.

Jewel Paschke

Bernalillo