Boy Scouts to the rescue!

Maggie says:
I never imagined myself saying this, but Boy Scouts rock! Courtesy of The Real Side, the story goes like this:

Boy Scouts Occupy Valle Vidal to Block Drilling
by Cisco Murphy, Real Side Radio News Network

About three dozen Boy Scouts have seized Valle Vidal in protest of plans to open the area to coal bed methane drilling. The Scouts belong to Troop 1063 of the Kiowa Council in Raton, New Mexico. They are reportedly being led by the oldest boy in the troop, Eagle Scout Danny Aguilar.

The Scouts have set up road blocks across entry ways to areas being explored for future gas drilling. They sent out a message last evening stating they hoped to draw national attention to the issue.

Valle Vidal is dear to tens of thousands of Scouts across the nation who hike and camp in what is known as "The Yellowstone of the Southwest" as part of the famous Philmont Scout Ranch experience. Boy Scouts of America national headquarters in Washington, D.C. said it is studying the situation and presently has no comment. BSA officials are also withholding a decision on whether the boys' time in protesting drilling plans for Valle Vidal may count towards earning a conservation merit badge.

National Guardsmen have been called out to back up U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers and a small contingent from the Albuquerque office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Anti-Terrorism Task Force. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson so far has declined to order State Police to the scene. Richardson is on record as opposing energy development in the Valle Vidal.

Federal authorities have no plans for taking action, other than establishing a protective cordon around the Scouts' encampment. Forest Service Regional Law Enforcement Chief Mack Houston predicts the boys will eventually give up when their food runs out. He says the government is content to wait for that moment to avoid any unnecessary confrontation.