By Taysha Walter

The Grant County Soil and Water Conservation District forum for positions 1 and 2 was held on October 16, 2019. Nick Seibel of the Silver City Daily Press moderated the forum, and asked questions along with Geoffrey Plant, reporter focusing on water, environmental and agricultural issues for the Silver City Daily Press.

The forum opened with candidates presenting their opening statements.

Athena Wolf is a candidate running for position 2. She said she has been a farmer and rancher for the past 50 years, this includes running a dairy and a riding stable. For the past 15 years she has been growing and selling medicinal plants nationwide and occasionally internationally. Wolf clarified the medicinal plants were not marijuana. She has worked with the Fremont Soil and Water Conservation District to find and distribute grant money to farmers and ranchers. She worked as a consultant grant writer for the New Mexico State Environment Department. Wolf noted that after rewriting a previously refused grant to the EPA, the state received a $12 million grant to bring water to some parts of New Mexico. She was a safety trainer at Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) and worked on a large Environmental Reclamation project for LANL. She was a technical writer for LANL and edited a training manual used by other technical writers. Wolf was a training assistant for show horses for Rosemary Zimmerman. She has been an animal wrangler for films and videos as well as a riding instructor at High Spirits Summer Camp. She was a liaison officer for a New Mexico State Department and was responsible for communication between the department and state legislature, and training for all municipalities and printed materials. She produced a short television series Land and Livestock for an NBC affiliate. Wolf said she is excited to have the opportunity to work with the Soil and Water Conservation District and wants to bring new ideas and perspectives to the area.

John Merino is the incumbent candidate for position 2. He has served as the chairman for the Soil and Water Conservation District for one year. He grew up on the Mimbres River on a farm and ranch. After graduating from high school, he worked his way through college fighting forest fires for five years in the Gila National Forest. Merino went to New Mexico State University and received a degree in civil engineering and is a licensed engineer in the state of New Mexico. He has 40 years experience in the natural resource protection arena, and worked for the Soil Conservation Service, now Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). He was a district engineer for two districts and a BLM district engineer as well as a field manager at two different time periods. Merino was a manager of the BLM in Socorro and responsible for about 1.3 million acres as well as supervising a staff of 40. He was a USDA Forest Service employee in Jackson Hole, Wyoming,; Silver City; and Albuquerque. He was a forest engineer and supervised 20 people. Merino also worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He said he moved around to gain experience and follow his career. He spent 34 years with the federal government and six years as a consultant in the private sector. He added that he has been a public servant since graduating and wants to represent the people.

Glenn Griffin is a candidate for position 1. He started in agriculture at eight years old when he planted 2000 White and Blue Spruce trees with his brother. After caring for them for ten years, they sold the trees, contributing to their college funds. He continued to plant trees as a cub and then as a boy scout. At college, he received three National Science Foundation grants, studying Biology, Ecology and minoring in Forestry. In 1979 he was the first new lineman hired at Kennecott Chino Mines in 20 years. He helped modernize the line crew as the lead supervisor lineman for six years. As a member of seven different unions' unity council, he helped negotiate for gear when Phelps Dodge wanted to cut the basics for miners. Griffin went back to NMSU and graduated as the top New Mexico Broadcast Association student of 1991. After 2000 news stories he knows the issues of southern New Mexico well. He has covered 100 fire stories with the Gila National Forest, and helped create a better way of dealing with wild fire threats. He has protected over 400 homes through his former business, Gila Tree Thinners. His grant writing brought $4 million of tree thinning funds to Grant County, creating jobs and protecting 4,000 acres from fires. Griffin is ready to help the board find its way back to taking care of the land, water and moving into the 21st century.

Tyson Bays is the incumbent candidate for position 1. He said he has been on the board for over 20 years, and is a lifelong livestock producer and resident of Grant County. He has owned cattle since he was five years old, and his family has been ranching here since the 1970s. Bays noted he has a lot of experience in agriculture, unlike his opponent. He both makes and loses a portion of living from agriculture. Bays discussed the history of the Soil Conservation Service, now NRCS. It was established during the Dust Bowl era. President Roosevelt was concerned about the dust clouds traveling the country, so the agency was created to preserve agricultural lands. The Soil and Water Conservation District boards were established to give some control back to the county and allow local input on decisions. It was originally established for agriculture and food supply. Bays said there were several big differences between him and his opponent, and that some people do not agree with how he sees issues, but he will not lie. He said his opponent has a record of telling untrue things, that he claimed there had not been an election in over 20 years. Bays said they have had elections and followed the law, guaranteed.

Question one asked: What qualifications do you have for this position and why are you running for it?

Bays answered that he has a lot of experience in conservation work, and reiterated that he has been on the board for the past 20 years. He said he has done conservation work on his own private lands as well as land he has leased. He noted that every property he operates on is in better condition than when he received it. He has done hundreds of acres of mesquite and juniper control as well as prescribed burns. He has managed grazing and done rotational grazing, conservation efforts that help his business and lifestyle as well as wildlife. He has seen big changes in the health of wildlife populations in rangelands he operates in. Bays said he has a real passion for agriculture, and one of the ways to keep agriculture viable in Grant County is to preserve it. He said people need to take care of the lands that feed us, that he has lived it and done it and his income in part is dependent upon it, unlike his opponent. Bays said it is disingenuous for his and Merinos’ opponents, to run in this election. They are not involved in production agriculture, they only want on the board to harm agriculture. He said they want to change the things the board has been in favor of and tried to protect.

Griffin said he cares about climate change and what it will do to rangelands. It will change rangelands, which are the dominant lands in Grant County, from grass to forbs and brush. He said as they change they will become drier and blow away or erode. Griffin says having a major in biology and ecology gives him a pretty good foundation to see this happen. He read a report from NMSU that said our grasslands are changing. He said the board will discuss climate change; it is no where in Soil and Water’s major plans for the next five years. He said it is not addressed at all but he will address it because it is very important. Griffin noted that having hand cut 4000 acres, he has been involved in agriculture and his crew was involved. Bringing $4 million into Grant County is no laughing amount, and he was able to employee a fair amount of people. He said tree thinning and wildfire protection is critical for upcoming fire events that we will face. We will try to stall it back and push climate control back and have healthier trees.

Merino said the Soil and Water Conservation District has a supervisory handbook that points out the desirable qualifications they are looing for in these positions. It includes an interest and background in conservation and renewable natural resources; this is management experience and communication skills. He said he feels he brings these skills and abilities to the table due to his experiences. He had hands on experience growing up, and still has some property he manages. He previously mentioned four agencies he worked with, but added in the International Boundary and Water Commission out of El Paso that covers almost a 2000-mile border between Mexico and the U.S. He said the commission covers issues having to do with soil and water. Merino said he has lots of hands on experience throughout, not just focused in one area.

Wolf said she had experience in sustainable farming and ranching and has a lot of permaculture knowledge, even farming 14 aces in Arenas Valley with permaculture concepts. She has worked with other Soil and Water Conservation Districts. She has done grant writing, including administering grants, and she has management experience. She has been in the area for eight years, and came from northern New Mexico, where they focus on sustainable agriculture that our area would benefit from. Wolf gave the example of the Quivira Coalition that has been training cattle ranchers for decades in holistic management that improves profitability and does not destroy the environment. She said it would help bring the cattle industry from this area out of the 18th century. She said the board needs communication, and she has degrees in broadcasting, and experience training adults in organizational management. She has built and maintained websites, and this board does not have a website, making it difficult to find information on meetings, minutes and agendas. She mentioned there needs to be an interface of presenting this information as well as listening to the people and that it isn’t currently happening. Wolf said the meetings currently take place in a crowded place with a lack of chairs for people. She said it is symbolic to her of not wanting community input. Ty Bays wanted to respond but was instructed he would have to wait for his next turn to do so.

Question two stated: Describe the mission of the Soil and Water Conservation Service and your priorities as a board member. Why are these priorities important?

Griffin responded with a list of Soil and Water’s current plans for the next five years. He listed eight of those plans, which included that federal lands must remain open for exploration and the production of energy. Livestock grazing must be preserved and perpetuated for custom and culture. Threatened and endangered species go against custom and culture and must be captured and removed immediately. Griffin commented that this was a bit of an overreach for a small state entity versus the federal government. He said it does not address what the supervisor’s handbook states. Griffin noted he would mandate bidding on contracts, and open public input on agenda items. He said to stop fighting with the state’s new election law, which is allowing “us” to vote for the first time in 21 years. Create a website with minutes, agendas and accomplishments. He said he would address smaller projects such as low-flow toilets and healthy soil projects.

Bays said that part of the mission was to preserve natural resources, watersheds and agricultural lands. He responded to Griffin’s answer with “lie, lie, lie, lie.” Bays said they have never said they want to capture and remove endangered species, that all of the points mentioned were lies. He said their mission does not include putting low-flow toilets in people’s homes, they work out in the land, not inside a house. Bays noted they have not fought the election law, and are abiding by it. He said they have had elections for the past 20 years. Bays also addressed Wolf’s comments about bringing the cattle industry into the 20th century. Someone interjected that it was the 21st century. Bays corrected his statement. He said they are pretty high tech when it comes to livestock and he does not know of any industry that takes a renewable resource such as grass and turns it into a beef product. He said Wolf mentioned the Quivira Coalition, and noted that he and another person present at the forum won the first Clarence Burch Award. Bays said she can drop their name but he has lived it and walked it.

Wolf answered that Grant Soil and Water Conservation District is a local government entity that works to control erosion, prevent floodwaters, conserve and use water and protect natural resources. She said the district supervisor’s job is to represent and serve the people of the district, not a corporation as one of a few members claims to do. She noted they also coordinate with local, state and federal agencies to benefit residents and landowners with projects to use and protect natural resources. Wolf said she wants to bring a new voice to the table to better represent all residents of the district. Climate change needs to be considered in resource decisions. She said to follow the science that reintroducing APEX predators, like the Mexican Gray Wolf, to an ecosystem strengthens it and restores balance. She mentions a meeting with the board where it was announced there were no more wolves in Grant County. Wolf says she wants to see rivers protected, watersheds improved and water conservation emphasized. She noted a study at Yellowstone that showed how the environment has benefited by introducing wolves. She wants to bring more visibility and transparency, and see public input throughout the process. She wants to promote the Healthy Soils Act passed by the New Mexico Legislature and encourage people to apply for grants.

Merino answered that the Soil and Water Conservation District promotes stewardship of natural resources by providing leadership, education and technical and financial assistance to citizens of the district. He said his priorities are to serve the public. A lot of good has been done and will continue to be done, he does not see that changing. He said in reference to comments that the board is against wolves and have closed meetings, he said that just is not true. Meetings are open to the public and the meeting place is small but can be moved to a larger room if more people were to attend. He said when Wolf attended the meeting it was in a small room, but there was room for everyone in attendance. He said they can move the meeting to a new location but they have to be able to notify the public ten days in advance. Merino said the wolves are a federal mandate; they are not against wolves or endangered species. He said reintroduction does not happen overnight, that it is one step at a time and takes years.

Question three, a follow up question, states: I am hearing some candidates talk mostly about agriculture interests, but isn’t protecting our soil and water about more than agriculture. What are your priorities for the Soil and Water Conservation District?

Merino said they do deal with agricultural issues, but a lot of management practice is on the ground; thinning trees to protect landowners from fires, working with landowners to eradicate invasive species. His priorities are to serve the public and their interests. Merino notes he does not like the message that the board is hiding something. He said they are very open and anyone is welcome to attend their meetings anytime. He said people need to know that just because someone has been in a position for a long time does not mean they need new blood, their experience speaks a lot for itself.

Wolf said it was a very good question and one she has asked as well. She has talked to other Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the state and they are doing things like rain water catchments in Sierra County, native seed sales for locals, permaculture demos and information on septic systems. Wolf said she talked with a manager from the Las Cruces District who said their district is focusing on urban issues since most of the citizens live in the city. She said when she spoke with a board member from Grant County about including small farmers and people in the city in projects she was told those are the elite and did not need to be dealt with. Wolf addressed the five-year plan saying that she never said the board was against wolves. She said on pages 24 through 26 the plan limits their range and ability of predators to survive, and pages 26 and 27 limit wildlife according to forage but livestock will not be reduced due to forage. Wolf said that tells her that cattle are the priority of the five-year plan; preserving public lands and making them safe for cattle grazing.

Bays said he assumes this question was written for him, and as he previously said the agency was set up to protect agriculture. He said it has now expanded to watersheds, that part of the mission is to preserve the economy and help communities stay viable. Bays said healthy soils keep a healthy economy. We want to keep soils and rangelands productive and watersheds productive for agriculture and wildlife. He said he wanted to comment on Wolf’s interpretation of the five-year plan. Bays said he has done a lot of research on the history of wolves and has not found them mentioned a lot in the southwest, that they were not relevant in the area. Bays said the wolves only thrived in the area when cattle were introduced here. He said the way the current introduction program has been implemented, they are told they get to watch wolves eat their livestock with no compensation despite claims of compensation. Bays said he has friend and neighbors who have gone out of business because of wolves, and that these are not purebred wolves either.

Griffin responded with “Yes, Ty Bays has never heard of local hero Aldo Leopold” who the first wilderness was named after. He mentioned the wolves were here. Bays interjected that “He killed one I think, too.” Griffin responded that Bays apparently had heard of Aldo Leopold. He continued by saying it is not just about cattle grazing, the mission is greater. It is about small projects such as rain barrels, low-flow toilets and healthy soil projects. He said he found this information from the websites of other Soil and Water Districts in New Mexico. He wants to mandate workers comp on contracts and contractor safety training. Griffin said there would be resolutions on the agenda before discussion and voting takes place. He said the board's resolutions come out of thin air, they are not listed on the agenda, which is a violation of the Open Meetings Act. He noted when he brought it up he was told to shut up. Griffin said he is going to expedite tree thinning, which is part of agriculture and our watersheds. He said he will stop losing funds back to the feds, that yes tree thinning is done but we are losing $200,000 even with a six-month extension. All together there are $600,000 in federal funds for tree thinning that has not been used.

Question four asked: What are the responsibilities of a Grant Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor?

Griffin said he has not been on the board yet, but is trying hard. He said we need change and to bring the board into the 21st century. To listen to constituents, he said he spoke with over 300 people in his neighborhood and only one person supported the Gila Diversion, but it is listed as number one on the board’s five-year plan. Griffin said it is not number one in his neighborhood; they are afraid of losing their homes. He said it is the supervisor’s job to listen to constituents, not just those with an agenda. Let the public know when there is an election. He said what has happened in the past is a seven-inch column posted in the paper three months in advance, and then never mentioned again. Griffin said he has been putting ads in the paper this election, unlike Soil and Water. He said people do not remember their ads because it is in the legal column and that we can do it better. He said the talent is here to make a change from the 20th century to the 21st century.

Bays responded to Griffin that if he unfortunately got elected, he would see the very small budget the board has to work with, less than $20,000 each year. Griffin interjected a comment about trees. Bays continued that if they ran a half page ad they would quickly go broke, and that they have followed election laws. They are audited and have followed the laws. He said they may not like how it was done and that he will not say it was the greatest process, but the law was followed. Bays said the duties of the position are to attend meetings, recommend to the Natural Resource Conservation Service how money should be spent, the grant money they provide to producers in the county. An example would be to spend 60 percent of EQUIP funds on brush removal and the other 40 percent on noxious weeds. The board makes that recommendation to the federal government. He said they listen to constituents; the money is spent on agricultural lands for agricultural producers. Bays noted that Griffin talked about the succession of plants on rangelands, and said he stated it wrong. It does not change from grass to forbs and then brush, but from forb to grass to brush, that climate change is not holding back grasslands. It is the lack of fires and all of the trees.

Wolf said the duties are to represent and serve the people, to listen and create a pathway of listening so people can be heard. She said it is to disseminate information, which has not been happening in any way that she can see. She said she knows they are following the law and “…posting meetings in some obscure online newspaper or something else.” Wolf said if there was a website people could get all of the information and learn how money is being spent; that is the responsible way to communicate between the board and the people. She said another duty was to fully use all money allocated, that Griffin mentioned $200,000 the board hasn’t used for tree cutting. Wolf noted from what she understood people in poor areas had to cover half of the costs while those in wealthy areas only had to cover ten percent.

Merino said duties included to positively represent and serve the people of the district and identify conservation needs in the district, including creating a plan to carry out those needs. He said in reference to Wolf, he agreed a website was a great idea, but the small budget would not allow for enough to maintain the website. He noted if anyone in the community was interested in taking on that project and keeping it updated, they would have the board's support. He said they are not opposed to a website, it is a great idea, just is not in the funding. Merino said the national website is a great resource and has current information on what each district is doing.

Question five said: Would a conflict of interest exist between your professional employment and sitting on this board? If you believe a conflict did exist, how would you address it? Candidates were given one minute to respond.

Merino said if a conflict came up he would sit down with the board and discuss it. He said it would be difficult since he is here to serve, but he would deal with it. He would go to the board, talk about it and go from there.

Wolf said she does not have any conflict of interest. She noted it is possible to bring in more money, she is really good at raising money and a manager could be hired full time instead of part time.

Bays answered there was no conflict of interest for him. His employer is Freeport McMoRan, and they are in the mining business, so there is no conflict. He said this board is over natural resources and agriculture. If a conflict were to arise, he would bring it to the board, and abstain from voting on the issue. Bays responded to Griffin and Wolf and said there is only $2,000, not $600,000 for thinning trees. He said the money belongs to State Forestry, the board is just the fiscal agent.

Griffin responded the money is in the budget, and it has not been used so it is going back to the federal government. He said for a conflict of interest he has a particular strength of thinning 400 acres and bringing $4 million into Grant County, employing many people for 17 years. Griffin said he is no longer in the business so there is no conflict of interest. He said he brings experience; they talk about experience but they have 20th century experience, we can bring 21st century experience because I was in the business and was doing the work.