Friday, June 28, 2002

Only Government Employees Can Start Forest Fires. The Almagordo Daily News has the latest government employee caught playing with matches:
MESCALERO, N.M. (AP) — A Mexican spotted owl survey taker employed by the Mescalero Apache Tribes natural resources agency was arrested Wednesday for arson.

Paul James Valdez, 27, was charged with intentionally starting a fire on the southern New Mexico reservation on or about June 2. He was also charged with furnishing false information to a federal agent.

Valdez appeared before U.S. Magistrate Kee Riggs in Roswell after his arrest. He is scheduled for another court appearance Friday in Albuquerque.
...

Valdez is employed by the Mescalero Department of Resource Management and Protection as a Mexican spotted owl surveyor, Beldon said. The spotted owl is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
No mention of how the Mexican Spotted Owl deals with dancing flames.