Comments in response to Inventory and Evaluation Process draft document dated
July 21, 2015, obtained at the public information meeting in Magdalena on
August 4, and the Phase 2 Inventory maps for the Magdalena Ranger District.

These comments concern the inventory for the Magdalena Mountains, as
summarized in the above documents.

Area D3_5K2:

 This area has been excluded from the Phase 2 inventory due to being reduced
 from its original size of 5,166 acres to 4,742 acres and considered
 to be of insufficient size to be managed in an unimpaired condition.  In
 addition it is stated that it is not contiguous to the Langmuir Research
 Site.

 According to the Phase 1 map available at http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet
 /FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3816212.pdf, and the more detailed Phase 2 maps, the
 area is clearly adjacent to the Langmuir Research Site along its NW border.
 I am personally familiar with the Langmuir Research Site and with the
 inventory area in question. The common border between the two is at high
 altitude and rugged terrain immediately below South Baldy peak and the
 Magdalena ridge extending both north and south from the peak. 
 
 Most of the land in the inventoried area is very rugged and/or undeveloped,
 and would be easily managed to retain its unimpaired state.  It has survived
 as such for over 50 years that I have lived in Socorro and worked at
 Langmuir, without benefit of special management.  

 In addition, the area borders on its northern boundary with area D3_5K1 in
 the north-central part of the Magdalenas, which remains on the Phase 2
 inventory list.  The dividing line between the two is Mill Canyon, which is
 not a major impediment to considering the two areas for Wilderness designation.
 The narrow canyon houses the historic Frenchie Cabin and provides access to a
 relatively small, similarly historic but largely unproductive gold mine on
 the Magdalena Ridge area.  Neither of these features detract significantly
 from the wildness of the area. From my personal experience of hiking in
 the area they do not detract from the opportunities for solitude, nor from
 the spectacular vistas looking westward from the Magdalenas over the San
 Augustin Plains area and the San Mateos to the southwest.

 If a Wilderness Area is recommended and established in the Magdalenas, which
 I would strongly advocate, it needs to include the full extent of the
 Magdalena ridge extending northward from the South Baldy to the North Baldy
 area, including the west side of the ridge area constituting the D3_5K2
 area in question.  The Wildnerness area should be a geographic entity that
 extends well westward from the ridge both to the north and south of Mill
 Canyon.  For these and the above reasons concerning the naturalness of the
 overall area, 5K2 should be reinstated the Phase 2 inventory.

Area D3_5K1:

 This area has remained largely intact through the Phase 2 analysis and,
 combined with the similarly intact 5K3 area and area 5K2, is well qualified
 for Wilderness designation.  My main comment concerning 5K1 is that the area
 immediately north of FR 39 in North Fork canyon needs to be added to the
 inventoried area, so as to not preclude it from being considered for a future
 Magdalena Wilderness.  FR 39 should be cherry-stemmed out along its lower
 part and the remainder being included in the inventoried area, in the same
 manner that route 505B has been treated in the northern part of 5K1.

 As currently inventoried, the area in question is unnecessarily and
 artificially excluded from being part of 5K1, in a manner that is inconsistent
 with the inventory decision for 505B.  The artificial nature of the northern
 boundary of the excluded area is presumably due to being a grazing allotment
 boundary, but this is not important in the inventory and evaluation process.

Area D3_5K3:

 This area encompasses the spectacular and highly scenic of Water Canyon Mesa
 and South and Sixmile Canyons, as well as higher terrain along the
 northeastern border of the Langmuir Research Site. Along with 5K1, 5K3 is a
 popular and widely used area for hiking and outdoor recreation, that is well
 qualified and suited for Wilderness designation.

Area D3_Lang:

 Except for the high-use area in its northwestern-most part, which is
 excluded from the inventoried area,  essentially all of the Langmuir Research
 area is highly qualified for wilderness designation.  In effect, it is
 already being managed as wilderness, both by the Forest Service and by the
 Langmuir group at New Mexico Tech, of which I am a long-time member.  It is
 good that the D3_Lang area has been added to the Phase 2 inventory, as
 this will allow it to be considered as an important part of a greater
 Magdalena Wilderness as the process goes forward.

 The atmospheric studies being conducted on thunderstorms and lightning over
 and around the area are world-class. These and the development of the
 Magdalena Ridge astronomical observatory, along with other studies, are being
 conducted in a manner that has minimal impact on the area's naturalness, and
 would be compatible with wilderness designation.  While I would personally
 support such designation for much of the Research Site, I do not attempt
 speak for the Langmuir group on this matter.  I would add that the Langmuir
 operations are fully respectful of the research area's wilderness values.
 Several years back, a long, heavy research cable suspended over Sawmill
 Canyon and associated support installations were personally dismantled and
 with considerable effort hauled out of the canyon by the Langmuir Chairperson
 and staff, leaving no trace of its earlier presence.  Every effort is also
 made on a continuing basis to retrieve balloon-borne instruments and
 lightning-triggering rockets and associated paraphernalia used during the
 studies.

 The D3_Lang area also includes two portions of land adjacent to the Research
 Site, on the SE and SW corners of the FS boundary.  The SW portion is
 adjacent to the BLM's Devil's Backbone Wilderness Study Area (WSA).  As noted
 in the Inventory and Evaluation Process document, this in itself requires
 the area to be inventoried.  The area is also well-qualified to be
 part of a Magdalena wilderness, either by itself or in conjuction with the
 DC3_Lang site if recommended for Wilderness designation.


Paul Krehbiel
705 Fitch Street
Socorro, NM 87801