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Opinion editorials Handling of Pit Appeal Calls for a Time-Out |
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opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Saturday, November 20, 2010
Bighorn 'Deal' Stinks
This Richardson appointee's deal has a gamey smell.
Leo Sims II, a former New Mexico Game commissioner who donated to Gov. Bill Richardson's campaigns, helped get 61 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep moved to state trust land that his northeastern New Mexico ranch leases, and then got the public banned from the land — for 50 years.
While Sims says relocation of the sheep was discussed openly, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation says minutes of commission meetings obtained under a public records request do not show Sims told fellow commissioners the bighorns would be released on or near his family's ranch.
The federation also says commissioners weren't told about Sims' request for the state Land Office to withdraw public hunting and fishing access on 1,000 acres of trust land he leases in the Dry Cimarron area. A 2010 agreement put the leased land off limits to hunters and recreational users for 50 years.
Sims says he's spent $1.7 million of his own money on conservation improvements on the ranch and leased land. Although the federation doesn't dispute that the habitat is appropriate for the sheep, it contends Sims plans to establish a private viewing and hunting operation. Sims says he's working with an organization that works with seriously ill children and that he has never profited from hunting.
This cozy deal smells of using a public appointment for personal gain, a hallmark of the outgoing Richardson administration. It also presents the incoming administration with yet another piece of work to try to undo.
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