Fire Danger across the state is rated Low to Moderate

Stage 4 - Full Closure

Blue Water Lake State Park
Monzano Mountains State Park
Morphy Lake State Park
________________________________________________________________________

Stage 3 - Partial Closure
______________________________________________________________________
Stage 2 - Campfires, Charcoal, Any outside fire, smoking Outside
Areas prohibited.


_None________________________________________________________________________
Stage 1 - Fire in developed ares ONLY

Valles Caldera National Preserve (Year Around)


________________________________________________________________________
All other Areas have no restrictions

New Mexico Friends Of The Forest meet the
first Tuesday of the Month at 7p.m. at the
Sandia Ranger Station in Tijeras.
294-2727

"No servant brought them meals. No traffic Cop whistled them off the hidden
rock in the next rapids. No friendly roof kept them dry when they misgussed
wheather or not to pitch the tent. No guide showed them which camping spots
offered a night-long breeze and which night-long misery of mosquitoes; which
firewood made clear coals and which would only smoke.

    The elemental simplicities of wilderness travel were thrills, becouse
they represented complete freedom to make mistakes. The wilderness gave those
rewards and penaties for wise and foolish acts against which civilization
has built a thousand buffers".

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)

--- In New_Mexico_Outdoors@yahoogroups.com, "mountains0524" <mountains0524@...>
wrote:
>
> What: Polar Bear Plunge
>
> When Jan. 1
>
> Time: 8 A.M - 4 P. M.
>
> Where: Eagle Nest Lake State Park
>
> Regular Fees
>

What: Bird Tour

Time: 8:15 A.M. - 9:45 A.M.

Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park

Regular Fees

What: Polar Bear Plugge

When Jan. 1

Time: 8 A.M - 4 P. M.

Where: Eagle Nest Lake State Park

Regular Fees

In accordance with the furlough plan, New Mexico State Parks will be closed to
the public the following dates.

Friday January 15, 2010
Tuesday February 9, 2010
Tuesday March 2, 2010
Tuesday March 23, 2010

Parks will be open on dates that are not listed above

Here is a short list to remember if you adventure out on a like covered in ice:

Never assume the ice is safe: There are many factors that can compromise ice
strength. Alway figure those factors are in your equation

Carfully Observe Ice Conditions: Slack ice is new and weak: Clear blue ice is
typically the strongest. Be watchful of slushy ice late in the season, Aso watch
for flowing water near the edges, any nearby vegitation and of course cracks.

Get Local information: Call the State Park or Game and fish Office for the area
that you are going into,

Have a safety plan in place, Never icefish alone

Follow Ice Thickness Guidines:

4 iches or less, stay off

4 - 6 inches should be safe for icefishing, However observe local conditions

6 - 10 inches Snowmabiles and ATV travel is generally considered safe

10 - 16 inches Although is probobly best avoided when possible small cars and
pickups can begine to hit the ice (I prefer never to drive on the ice at all)

16 inches plus Generally safe for mid-size pickups

**I found this list in outdoor life magazine, My openion is ALWAYS CHECK WITH
LOCAL , AGENCIES, THE STATE PARK AND GAME FISH FOE ICE THICNESS DON'T TAKE THE
ICE FOR GRANTED Espacally here in New Mexico our weather changes so much

Three endangered Mexican Grey Wolves (Two are 4 year old females, and a 11 year
old male) arrived Monday at Wildlife West.
The wolves were flowen to Double Eagle airport in Albuquerque from the National
Zoo in Washington D.C. by two volunteer pilots from the Lighthawk organization.

Wildlife West was selected to house the wolves by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and Species Survival Plan for Mexican Wolves.

Wildlife West is home to 25 species of native nonreleasable wildlife, including
thwo othe Mexican Wolves, cougers, black bear, fox, javelina, bobcat and more.

Merry Christmas Everyone, I hope all are in places where they want to be and and
with the ones who you want to be with.

Also updat on the latest storm to pass through New Mexico. Snow totals were from
a trace to over 18 inches south of Bonito Lake in the Lincon National Forest

The New Mexico Trout conclave is fast approaching and this year some very
special guests have been invited to share their experiences, knowledge, and
skills with our fraternity of fellow fly fishers. This year we have duo duets
Dave and Emily Whitlock along with Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka.

The New Mexico Trout conclave will be held at Sandia Prep on January 30, 2010.
This event starts promptly at 8:00am. Go to www.newmexicotrout.org for more info
or to by tickets online.

Dave and Emily Whitlock have decades of experience between them both either
teaching fly fishing, tying skills, fording rivers in Argentina, or having a
great time at events like our conclave. Dave is world famous (and I do mean
WORLD famous) for his fly tying and fly fishing books and he has taught
thousands of fly fishers how to tie flies based on foods fish eat, how to become
a Master of the dry fly or a perennial coach from LL Bean. Dave has
revolutionized trout fishing by writing about new techniques in fly fishing
magazines and sport publications. Dave also demonstrates his fly fishing and
teaching skill in eight videos and through guest appearances on televised fly
fishing programs.

Daves experience and great outlook on the whole spectrum of fly fishing have
earned him the reputation of being one of the top if not the top professional
fly fishers in the sport. Dave has received the Buz Buzeck Flytyers Award which
is the highest honor in the fly tying world. This award was bestowed on Dave for
his innovation in fly tying patterns and his fly fishing/tying conservation
activities.

I could go on for days about Dave but I mustn’t forget about Emily.
Emily Whitlock has degrees in botany and biology and is a conservationist in the
true sense, willing to work for preservation of the natural world. Honored as
Woman of the Year by the Federation of Fly Fishers Southern Council, she has
also received conservation awards from the Sierra Club and Wildlife Federation.

Emily is passionate about getting more women into fly fishing because she feels
it's such a perfect sport for women and teaches women's casting at events
throughout the year. She's an excellent lecturer whose programs include
fly-fishing travels to New Zealand and other great destinations; getting started
right in fly fishing; natural and imitation fish foods; and streamside
wildflowers. As a photographer, her work has appeared in several national
publications and on the cover of Fly Fisherman Magazine. Emily is also Dave's
partner in all of his writing, art and video projects.

A unique fly-fishing team, Dave and Emily are devoted to the world of fly
fishing and conservation, both professionally and personally.

Duo two!

Rick Takahashi is a frequent contributor to Fly Fisherman magazine and designer
for Umpqua Feather Merchants. Rick lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. Jerry Hubka
is a commercial artist and lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

This duo started fishing together on the South Platte River near Deckers,
Colorado, never thought that the tiny but abundant midge was going to become
such an important part of our fly-fishing lives.
But as Rick and Jerry gained experience on the Frying Pan, San Juan, and other
Rocky Mountain tailwaters, they became immersed in all aspects of midge fishing.
Rick and Jerry dedicated more than 20 years and many hours and days to learn as
much as possible about the techniques, equipment, presentation strategies, and
fly patterns of the diminutive world of midges and the trout that eat them.
The study of chironomid entomology led to years of experimentation at the vise,
and together they developed more than 100 innovative patterns that represented
the various stages of the midge life cycle. Rick and Jerry soon realized that
many other midge anglers were on the same quest, and discussions with fellow
midge fishers soon became one of the main avenues of discovering new patterns.
Over the years, many friends have shared with them their most exciting
cutting-edge larva, pupa, and adult midge imitations.
Years of parking-lot networkingâ€"with fly boxes flung openâ€"were enjoyable but
didn’t seem the best way to share the combined knowledge of midge fishing. So,
a few years ago they decided to write a book and began contacting like-minded
friends, as well as fly tiers they met online, or have read or heard about.
Fellow midge anglers gladly obliged, sharing samples and recipes of their
favorite midge patterns. This duo soon amassed more than 1,000 fly patterns,
along with detailed information on how to tie them, from some of the world’s
best tiers in Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovakia, England,
the U.S., and elsewhere.

Don’t miss out on this years Conclave raffle either. Eric Collins has done an
awesome job of having some of the prizes vying for your attention. Reels, lines,
flies, books, fly tying kits, rods, guided trips, clothes, youth only raffle,
and many goodies for your fly fishing repertoire.

Rudy Rios

Its time again for the annnual Christmas on the Pecos (this has been going on
since Thanksgiving) enjoy a boat Ride down the Pecos River (in Carlsbad) While
looking at Homes, and other stuff decorated in Christmas lights.

For times and prices here is the link below, or look in the links section under
annual events.

http://www.christmasonthepecos.com

If you ge let the group know how it was. Remember this is your group

Fenton Lake is closed to fishing due to unsafe Ice conditions, The Park is still
open for other uses, The Lake will open for fishing as soon as the ice is thick
and safe enough.

The latest storm dumped fair to good amounts of snow in the Northen New Mexico
Mountains. Here are some intersting totals:

Canon Plaza (Norhtern Rio Aribba County) 27"
5 miles northwest of Chama 23"
West of Los Alamos 18"
Tererro (Pecos Area) 14"
El Morro (Cibola County) 11"

I will start posting the Ski Reports soon..

Kangaroo Rat
Genus Dipodomys

Weight: 1-6 oz
Length 6 - 13 " (Tail makes up 150% of the length)

Shoulder Height: 2 - 4 "

Gestation: 32 Days

No. of Young 1 - 7  (3 average)

Plump dumpy little body with large hind legs, large dosally placed eyes, and
small round ears.

Sounds: High piched "peeee's", Grawls, squaks, squeals and chuckles.

Eagle Nest Lake is closed due to thin ice. The lake will reopen as soon as
officials determine the ice is safe for wilkinging and angeling. The ice will be
considered safe when it is at least nine inches thick.