[cdt-l] CDT in New Mexico

[cdt-l@mailman.backcountry.net (David Patterson)]

Thanks for the post and link. Just curious, has anyone had any difficulty or 
adversarial encounters while hiking through the TA? My personal experiences 
with the locals have been nothing but positive. It seems that these land 
issues are much larger than the CDT. However, it would be wise to resolve 
them prior to designating an official trail in the Carson Forest. Perhaps 
this section could be one of the few incomplete sections that remain 
incomplete.

Hikers should also be aware that whether or not they support ranching there 
is a movement to remove cattle from our National Forests. Hence, ranchers 
feel threatened by hikers who often times don't totally understand the land 
use issues. My chief complaint is the devastation of riparian areas and 
overdrawing on the aquifers. Despite these problems many ranchers are good 
stewards of the range and do what they know to protect and preserve the 
productivity of their allotments as well as their traditional way of life.

David
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