Innovative Partnership Formed to Restore West Potrillos On the
barren foothills of the West Potrillo Mountains southwest of Las
Cruces, New Mexico, a group that included sportsmen, ranchers,
biologists and conservationists looked out over the landscape as
a crop duster appeared in the distant sky. Ray Lister with the
Bureau of Land Management's Las Cruces District Office convened
the group last December to witness the early stages of an effort
to restore a vast swath of Chihuahuan Desert. Motivated by a
shared concern for the health of the West Potrillos, this
diverse group of individuals came together to form a unique
partnership to restore an area they all value. "When you're out
here, there's nothing but creosote as far as the eye can see,"
explained Lister. "A couple years from now, this will be a
grassland again, restored to a healthy ecological state." |Front
row from left to right: Ken Leiting, New Mexico Association of
Conservation Districts; Mark Spiess, New Mexico Quail, Inc.; Bob
Tafanelli, Mesilla