I received my latest New Mexico Wildlife, Vol. 56, NO. 3 – Fall 2011 issue as a supplement to the Albuquerque Journal today. It is a great read, informative and enjoyable. Nice article on the Las Conchas Fire that recently burned 157,000 acres. Some one third of the Valles Caldera National Preserve was burned in that fire. While the effects of the fire were devastating, the forest is bouncing back. Wildlife is coming back into the burn area to eat the new grass and plant shoots that are now returning. The summer monsoon rains, while washing away a lot of top soil, has the forest returning to life. A flyover of the area by elk biologist Stewart Liley said he liked what he saw. “We are seeing good numbers of elk returning to the burn areas”. He counted about 150 elk in his flyover in late September. He and others agree that wildfires are an important component in the natural cycle that provides food, water and shelter for all wildlife species. You can go to www.wildlife.state.nm.us for information on resident hunting as well as for out of state licenses, etc. Check it out…There is more to New Mexico than deserts, believe me…..elk, deer, bear, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, ibex, javelina, oryx and Barbary sheep…If you are a hunter, New Mexico is pretty special…..Ah, heck, even if you are not a hunter NEW MEXICO IS SPECIAL…..