New Mexican (Newspaper) - October 16, 1997, Santa Fe, New Mexico M K Mil K Id t IS THE SANTA FE Plan aims to save black bears By MONICA SOTO The New Mexican The State Game Commission is con an unprecedented proposal that would place a limit on hunting female bears in some parts of the state to pro tect New Mexicos dwindling bear popu lation the wildlife division chief said Chief Santiago Gonzales said the com promise recommendation calls for the State Game and Fish Department for the first time ever to set a limit on the number of sows or female bears that may be harvested in hunting regions throughout the state The commission will consider the rec at its Oct 27 meeting and is likely to approve it It is probably the only one we would Gonzales said of the proposal one of four recommended to the com mission last month It gives us more flexibility to gather information for future management and still protect the The proposal comes after a New Mex ico Game and Fish Department study was released last year concluding that the states black bear population is being to the point that its In 1992 just more than 200 bears were killed By 1994 the number had tripled to 625 Last year the number dipped to 526 bears but remained higher than in previous years longterm survival could be in jeopardy The recommendation calls for a limit of 26 killed in the San Juan eight in the central 15 in the southeast and five in the Sangre de Cristo regions The restricted areas would not include the departments two study areas Bear Wallow in the southern area of the Gila National Forest and Santa Fe Baldy in the northern part of the state In those areas bear hunting would be unrestricted The other three proposals the com mission could consider include keeping hunting restrictions as they are setting limits for different zones and having a later season so that fewer female bears can be hunted because more are likely to be hibernating The Game and Fish study released last year found that hunting of the states bears had increased significantly in recent years It also found that mortality rates as high as 28 out of every 100 bears when poaching is factored in might threaten the longterm survival of the populations The study begun during the King administration as a 10year look at the Please see BEARS Page A3 Layoffs create concerns More Hispanics than previously thought will be affected highway department job cuts By MARK OSWALD The New Mexican Whats fair when it comes to the impact on when jobs are cut at the state Highway and Transportation Department Luciano Lucky D JFe protested last week that 80 per cent of the 57 workers whose jobs are being eliminated Jan 2 are Hispanic It turns out the percentage is even high er A department spokeswoman said Wednesday that 50 or percent of those whose jobs are being axed are His panic Six of the jobs are held by Anglos and one by an African American the spokes woman said Highway Secretary Pete Rahn said its inevitable that Hispanics would be most affected by any job reductions because most department employees are Hispanic Hispanics make up 67 percent of the work force in the huge department which has employees Rahn said Tuesday Please see BIAS Page A3 Now you can legally enjoy Lamy Trail By BARBARA FERRY The New Mexican Hikers bikers and equestrians who use Lamy Trail have something to celebrate Theyre now legal The popular trail which runs alongside the Santa Fe Southern railroad tracks between Santa Fe and Lamy became public Wednesday with the signing of an agreement transferring a 20footwide trail easement from the rail way to Santa Fe County The railway agreed to transfer the land for A state grant provided the county another and the Santa Fe Conservation Trust con to the purchase The agreement culminates 2V5 years of work by the three entities Its a very happy day for said Dale Ball executive director of the trust Ball said the railway up to now has allowed trail users to trespass on its prop erty without complaint But this makes it legal and he said Former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall first suggested ths idea of ing the trail for public use Ball said Abandoned railroad tracks have become a popular site for trails but Ball said he ini see TRAIL A3 comes to rescue Past Speaker says protecting ancient Indian sites will preserve collective history By RICHARD CHANG Mexican Speaker Richard West said urban sprawl is a threat to ancient sites Richard West director of the National Museum of the Ameri can Indian emphasized preser vation from an American Indian perspective at the opening ses sion of the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference on Wednesday We can no longer ignore the contribu tions of Native said West 54 who is Cheyenne They are integral parts of our cultural West cited astronomic circles and serpent mounds in the Ohio Valley Bear Butte in South Dakota and ancient pyra mids and cities throughout North America as special sites that must be included in the scope of historic preservation I hope that in the future preservation ists work with Native said the former Albuquerque lawyer They are a vital part of our collective West who hired Bruce Bernstein away from the directors position at Santa Fes Museum of Indian Arts and Culture earlier this year was one of several speakers at the trusts 51st conference This year the group is meeting in Santa Fe and opening remarks took place Wednesday afternoon l at St Francis Cathedral in front of some attendees Speakers included West National Trust president Richard Moe cultural geograph er Peirce Lewis former director of the National Park Service Roger Kennedy and Regis Pecos executive director of the state Office of Indian Affairs Lewis discussed suburban sprawl the ubiquity of the automobile and what he called galactic or cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix that continue to grow and expand at the peripheries Kennedy stressed reverence for nature referring to the Earth as mother the sun as brother and the moon as sister Please see PAST Page A3 Road rage grips driving teacher The Associated Press DURHAM Road rage how to commit it that is wasnt supposed to be part of the drivers ed curriculum David Cline a drivers education tor for Durham Public Schools was sus pended for allegedly ordering a student to pursue a car that had cut them off and then belting the cars driver Cline athletic director physical educa tion teacher and baseball coach at Carring ton Middle School was also charged with simple assault after the Sept 19 incident in nearby Chapel Hill The Herald Sun of Durham on day quoted unidentified officials as saying that Cline 36 was teaching two female stu dents how to drive when the other car cut them off Angered Cline instructed the stu dent driver to chase down the car The newspaper said the other driver Jon Macklin then took off and the instructor had the student give chase again Police spokeswoman Jane Cousins Wednesday confirmed parts of the pers account She said a police officer Please see RAGE Page A3 INSIDE The Wests Oldest Newspaper Sunny High 63 low 35 Late paper 9840363 9824451 Community 82CV606O On the World WWe Web sf com Movies Business B3 B5 Obituaries B2 A5 Calendar Ba Opinion Classified C2 Outdoors Cl Comics D6 B2 Crossword 05 Prep Corns 1X4 Daily Millions B2 Sports Horoscope D5 Stocks 01 B6 Local news Bl Television B3 Four sections 24 pages 14Sth year Issue No 289
