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EMERGENCY DECLARATION

Take this to your respective county commissioners. supervisors or judges and request that they join in this effort. Please forward this to everyone on your e-mail lists or if necessary your fax trees. We have received word from the Governor Johnson of New Mexico that he understands our problem, shares our concerns and beliefs and will review the resolution and do everything in his power to help. Please send a message to Governor Johnson urging him to adopt the emergency declaration. We would like to get as many governors signed on as possible.

This may not be appropriate for all counties and states. The considerations are:

Is there any kind of an immediate threat to citizen's lives or property that is the result of mismanagement of the land and natural resources by the Forest Service or other Federal agency? (i.e. Fire threat, flood or severe economic emergency.)

The county and state may not invoke emergency powers just to mask an otherwise unlawful attempt to take control of federal lands. In New Mexico there are only 17 counties of the 33 that are affected.

Virtually every level of government has emergency powers, most often termed police powers.

What is the likelihood the governor will make a state wide declaration?

Edit the following resolution to fit your county and state and the specific emergency:

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

COUNTY OF OTERO

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

RESOLUTION No.

A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNTY OF OTERO TO:

1. DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RECOGNITION OF THE PRESENT AND IMMEDIATE THREAT TO THE LIVES AND PROPERTY OF CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO CAUSED BY THE EXTREME AND UNREASONABLE RISK OF CATASTROPHIC FIRES CREATED BY EXISTENT CONDITIONS IN THE LANDS OF THE LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST LOCATED WITHIN OTERO COUNTY; AND

2. RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO ACKNOWLEDGE AND RATIFY THIS STATE OF EMERGENCY AND TAKE ANY AND ALL NECESSARY, APPROPRIATE AND IMMEDIATE ACTIONS CALLED FOR HEREIN PURSUANT TO THE POWERS VESTED IN HIM BY THE CITIZENS OF THIS STATE OF NEW MEXICO TO EFFECT A REMEDY THAT WILL REMOVE THIS THREAT TO ITS CITIZENS.

WHEREAS, The Board of Commissioners of Otero County (the “Commissioners”) recognizes that included among its most fundamental duties to its citizens is its duty to take such actions as it deems are necessary and appropriate to protect the lives and property of its citizens from unjustified destruction, harm, injury or death; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have been called upon by its citizens to acknowledge the fact that present conditions in the Lincoln National Forest located within Otero County have created a real and unjustified threat of catastrophic fire that, in turn, constitutes a present extreme danger to the lives and property of citizens of Otero County and the multitude of communities they live and work in that are either surrounded by or that border the Lincoln National Forest (herein after referred to as the “State of Emergency”); and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further been called upon by its citizens to take such actions as are or may be necessary and appropriate to reduce, if not eliminate, this State of Emergency; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have acknowledged and/or have personally observed that in the course of this year alone forest fires largely on National Forests and other federally controlled lands have consumed over 6 million acres and 500 homes in western states, including the Scott Able Fire in the lands of the Lincoln National Forest within Otero County that destroyed 64 homes of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have received and carefully reviewed and evaluated a variety of information and data from many sources including, without limitation, the United States Congress, the United States General Accounting Office and the United States Forest Service that have caused them to reasonably conclude that mismanagement practices and policies of the United States Forest Service are a material and proximate cause of the conditions in the National Forests that have produced the State of Emergency; and

WHEREAS, due to their review and evaluation of said information and data, the Commissioners have further determined that another direct consequence of such mismanagement practices and policies of the Forest Service is the creation of an additional threat to the health and welfare of the citizens of Otero County resulting from the degradation of the water supply, water quality and watershed within Otero County and therefore are included within the State of Emergency; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners and citizens of Otero County have repeatedly petitioned the Forest Service both collectively and individually at public meetings, by correspondence and by telephone to request that the Forest Service take appropriate action to remove or eliminate the conditions that have created the State of Emergency, but to no avail whatsoever; and

WHEREAS, Senator Domenici and Representative Skeen have repeatedly demanded that the Forest Service take actions to reduce the State of Emergency;and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that the Forest Service has a policy of inappropriately and wrongfully redirecting and misplacing the blame for their inaction to remedy the State of Emergency on others; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that when Forest Service mismanagement practices and policies are questioned or challenged, the Forest Service asserts that it is the holder of a sovereign right to manage the National Forests to justify their ignoring our petitions requesting that they reduce or eliminate the conditions that have created the State of Emergency; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that it is beyond question in the minds of reasonable men that the Forest Service has utterly failed to exercise that sovereign right prudently or responsibly in that its exercise of that right has exposed citizens of the State of New Mexico to the State of Emergency; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that it is a fundamental principle common to all free societies, of which the United States is presumed to be one, that the freedom to exercise any right is conditioned upon, subject to and limited by the fulfillment of the obligations created by certain duties placed upon the holder of that right by said society, which remains true whether the holder of the right be an individual or a governmental body; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that it is a fundamental principle under the laws of this society that the failure to fulfill the obligations created by a duty from which a right springs constitutes grounds for the forfeiture of that right; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that, absent the existence of a compelling justification, a basic duty of government at any level is to protect and safeguard the lives and property of its citizens from any unreasonable risks of harm, and particularly from those the government itself has created; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that, because the Forest Service has implemented without any compelling justification therefore certain management policies and practices that have directly resulted in the creation of conditions in the Lincoln National Forest that clearly breach said duty, during that period of time that such breach of said duty continues there must be declared a concurrent forfeiture of the Forest Service’s right to govern and manage the affected National Forest thereby creating a void in legitimate governmental authority over said lands that can be recognized by reasonable people; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioners have further determined that in that void of legitimate governmental authority so created, it is first the responsibility of the State of New Mexico and second the responsibility of the relevant county to fulfill that duty to its citizens and thereby acknowledge, invoke, sanction and implement such derivative fundamental rights of its citizens to self-defense, self-protection and self-help pending the occurrence of such necessary and appropriate action by the Forest Service to remove or eliminate the State of Emergency they have created;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OTERO COUNTY, NEW MEXICO THAT:

A STATE OF EMERGENCY IS HEREBY DECLARED BY THE COMMISSIONERS TO EXIST IN OTERO COUNTY AS A RESULT OF THE IMMINENT THREAT OF CATASTROPHIC FIRE DANGER IN THE LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST LOCATED WITHIN OTERO COUNTY PURSUANT TO THE NEW MEXICO STATE CIVIL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ACT, NEW MEXICO STATE STATUTES, SECTIONS 12-10-4, et. seq.; AND

THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO IS CALLED UPON BY THE COMMISSIONERS TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCORDINGLY DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN OTERO COUNTY, NEW MEXICO BASED ON THE STATE OF EMERGENCY AS DEFINED HEREIN PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN THE GOVERNOR BY THE NEW MEXICO STATE CIVIL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ACT, NEW MEXICO STATE STATUES, SECTIONS 12-10-4, et. seq.; AND

THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO IS FURTHER CALLED UPON BY THE COMMISSIONERS TO ASSIGN APPROPRIATE NEW MEXICO STATE AGENCIES AND PERSONNEL TO CONFER WITH THE COMMISSIONERS TO DETERMINE THE CONDITIONS THAT HAVE CAUSED THE STATE OF EMERGENCY TO EXIST IN THE LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST AND TO ASSESS THE ACTIONS AND THE LEVEL OF TREATMENT NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE TO ABATE, REMOVE AND REDUCE, IF NOT ELIMINATE, THE STATE OF EMERGENCY; AND

THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO IS FURTHER CALLED UPON TO CAUSE THE FINDING AND DETERMINATIONS OF SAID NEW MEXICO STATE AGENCIES AND PERSONNEL TO BE COMMUNICATED IN WRITING TO THE REGIONAL FORESTER FOR THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF THE FOREST SERVICE FOR THE PURPOSE OF INFORMING SAID REGIONAL FORESTER THAT IF THE FOREST SERVICE DOES NOT COMMENCE ACTION TO EFFECT SUCH REMEDIAL ACTIONS AND TREATMENTS SO COMMUNICATED BY THE GOVERNOR WITHIN SIXTY (60) DAYS FROM THE DATE SET FORTH ON THE GOVERNOR’S COMMUNICATION TO THE REGIONAL FORESTER THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID ACTIONS AND REMEDIAL MEASURES SHALL BE UNDERTAKEN BY THE STATE TO PROTECT THE LIVES AND PROPERTY OF ITS CITIZENS;AND

IN THE EVENT THAT NO ACTION IS TAKEN BY THE FOREST SERVICE WITHIN THE SIXTY (60) DAY PERIOD SET BY THE GOVERNOR, THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO IS FURTHER CALLED UPON BY THE COMMISSIONERS TO ASSIGN AND AUTHORIZE SAID NEW MEXICO STATE AGENCIES AND PERSONNEL TO TAKE SUCH ACTIONS AS ARE OR MAY BE NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE TO ABATE, REMOVE AND REDUCE, IF NOT ELIMINATE, THE STATE OF EMERGENCY; AND

IN THE EVENT THAT NO ACTION IS TAKEN BY THE GOVERNOR IN RESPONSE TO THESE RESOLUTIONS, THE COMMISSIONERS HEREBY DECLARE THAT ON BEHALF OF OTERO COUNTY THEY WILL TAKE SUCH ACTIONS AS ARE OR MAY BE NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE TO ELIMINATE THE CONDITIONS IN THE LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST THAT HAVE CAUSED THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE LIVES AND PROPERTY OF ITS CITIZENS; AND

THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO IS FURTHER CALLED UPON BY THE COMMISSIONERS TO EXERCISE HIS DISCRETION TO COMMUNICATE THESE RESOLUTIONS OF OTERO COUNTY TO THE GOVERNORS OF OTHER WESTERN STATES WHOSE CITIZENS AND COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO A SIMILAR UNREASONABLE AND UNJUSTIFIED RISK OF CATASTROPHIC FIRE BY CONDITIONS SIMILAR TO THOSE REFERRED TO ABOVE IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS LOCATED WITHIN THEIR STATES; AND

NEW MEXICO’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TAKE SUCH ACTIONS NECESSARY TO RATIFY AND SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION AND THE REMEDIES CONTAINED HEREIN.

Respectfully submitted this 8TH day of September 2000, by the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Otero, New Mexico;

By:

Richard Zierlein

By:

Ronny Rardin

By:

Timothy McGinn