TMBA thanks everyone who participated in the public process over the past several months to try and find a way forward for all trail users in the Talpa Ridge area. The Forest Service, all the members of the Talpa working group and countless members of the public put valuable thought, time and energy into participating in the process.
It was a process that sometimes got heated. At times we were taken aback by the significant amount of confusion and misinformation circulating. It could be a bit dispiriting at moments, but we still believe in this public process as much as we believe in the value of trails.
There’s a bit of a pause in that process right now, but it’s really just beginning. There will be new drafts of trail plans and more opportunities for public comment and discussion in the months and years to come.
But for now, we want to express our gratitude to our entire community for your passion. And to sum up our thoughts, we wanted to share the public comments of Jeff Muggleston, aka Mugzy, one of TMBA’s founding members, former chair and one of the leading stewards of trails in northern New Mexico.
Hello, I’m Mugzy
• I’m a generational native New Mexican and a member of the Taos community.
• I don’t have any water rights.
• I’m not an heir to any land grant.
• I do have a mortgage
• Soy un pobre norteno.
• My preferred habitat is our public lands.
• I am fortunate to have found a way to make a living, to pay my bills by working within these public lands.
• I had a dream.
• I dreamt that I live in a community in which we love our neighbors.
• That those in that community would forgive the trespasses of others.
• People in that community would treat others as they would have others treat them.
• I dreamt that I lived in a can do community.
• The priority was on what is best for the next generation and all the generations after them.
• A prosperous community in which the next generation were able to stay in that community, buy a house and raise a family instead of moving away in quest of prosperity.
• A community that has a robust trail system with easy access to our public lands.
• And then I woke up, aqui en Taos.
• We have the opportunity to reach in our hearts and decide that we, collectively, do want to live in community in which we love our neighbors.
• We can forgive those whom have trespassed against us.
• We can treat others as we wish them to treat us.
• We can build a community that is prosperous, one where our future generations can live and prosper.
• We can build a robust trail system with access for all.
• We can be a can do community.
• We can do all this while protecting our watershed.
• We can do this while protecting our Acequias.
• We can do this while respecting our diverse cultural traditions.
• Reach into your hearts and be a part of this dream.