This is the latest in the ongoing Golden River LLC land grab. A complaint to the Attorney General’s office was made by one of the neighbors against Taos Mesa Animal Sanctuary with documentary evidence. The same documents were sent to the Taos News and KRQE and they were convincing enough to cause both news outlets to delist them from their events calendar, remove coverage about their event last Tuesday and pull the advertising for that event. According to what I’ve been told, the “Taos Mesa Animal Sanctuary” is centered around the bus in the photos below photographed from my front porch. Please note the lack of serious infrastructure like a building, water tank, serious fencing and a solar array large enough to power an off the grid animal shelter. Also note the close proximity of the neighboring houses. And of course, the land it is situated on is not owned by “Taos Mesa Animal Sanctuary”, it is right at the center of the land grab currently being litigated by Golden River LLC which is owned by the founder of the “Taos Mesa Animal Sanctuary”. This is a link to the New Mexico state regulations on animal shelters.
https://bvm.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Sheltering-Minimum-Standards-05-25-2021.pdf
They are out of compliance with just about all of them. Building a shelter on the west side of the gorge in compliance with these regulations and getting all the necessary permits and funding for it is a process that would take years. Doing it off the grid presents additional challenges. It could be done but it would take a serious solar array and a decent sized water tank that should be subject to regular water testing. All of that is covered by the state regulations. It would also require undisputed ownership of the property it is situated on and the consent of the neighboring property owners.
Just as the Great Southwestern Land Co. sold lots with a hugely exaggerated description of the amenities near the land like lakes, golf courses, and available water, the Taos Mesa Animal Sanctuary is trying to sell itself as a serious animal shelter and has greatly exaggerated its capacity to deal with the stray animals of Taos County and the support it has from the surrounding community. In terms of ethics, right in the spirit of the Great Southwestern Land Company. Both ran on salesmanship that used slick publicity campaigns promulgated through the media to sell something that bore little relation to the underlying reality on the ground.
