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A Miner and a Farmer, Bonnie Sanchez
<br />Has the Best of Both Worl d s in the San Luis Val ley
<br />Can ranching and mining get along
<br />in the San Luis Valley? [f one man's
<br />lifestyle is any indication, they can.
<br />Bonnie Sanchez, 50, is a track driver
<br />for Battle Mountain Gold. Of course with
<br />20 years of experience in both surface and
<br />underground mining. Sanchez does a lot
<br />more. "I can operate dozers, a blade, a
<br />backhce - do a little supervising -
<br />whatever," he said.
<br />But operating equipment is just page
<br />one. Here's the rest of the story. As soon as
<br />he gets off work at the San Luis Project,
<br />Sanchez becomes a fanner.
<br />"I've got a small acreage just below
<br />Sanchez Reservoir. E do a a lot of farming,
<br />and 1 have some cows, so there's plenty to
<br />do: take care of the stock, mend fences, you
<br />know, whatever it takes; ' he said.
<br />Ef your memory dcesn't go back too
<br />far, you might jump to [he conclusion that
<br />the reservoir belongs to Sanchez's family.
<br />It doesn't.
<br />Sanchez Reservoir was named after
<br />the man who ran the construction crews
<br />who built the dam, according to Bonnie.
<br />"Everybody thinks my family's related to
<br />the dam, because my dad bought the ranch
<br />in 1950. Everybody thinks the reservoir is
<br />ours, but its not; ' he said.
<br />Farming is where Sanchez. got his
<br />start. He was bom and raised in Chama, his
<br />folks were from Chama, and as far as he
<br />knows, his people have always been in the
<br />San Luis Valley.
<br />He worked with his dad on the place
<br />he still owns. Later he worked on the
<br />Ttinchera Ranch when it was owned by
<br />Ps~tt?~
<br />John and Alben Sims of Albuquerque, years
<br />before Malcolm Forbes put his brand on the
<br />property.
<br />On the Trinchera, Sanchez did it all: a
<br />little imgating in the fields, some
<br />cowboying and a lot of fence riding in the
<br />mountains, and running the tractors and
<br />mower to grow and put up hay for the cattle.
<br />After the Trinchera, Sanchez worked
<br />in construction for eight years in Colorado
<br />Springs. Then in 1970, he went to work for
<br />Moly Cory. in Questa.
<br />At Moly Corp. he worked as a [ruck
<br />driver. Then he went under ground, where
<br />he was a mucker and later operated the
<br />remix unit. When the pit reopened, he won a
<br />bid for another truck driving job. But six
<br />months later, the surface mine was closed
<br />again, and Sanchez headed back under
<br />ground.
<br />Sanchez worked at Questa till July 2,
<br />1990, when took his present job on [he San
<br />I~-.w•
<br />Luis project. At EtaWe Mountain, he's doing
<br />what he likes best: driving trucks and
<br />operating equipment,
<br />Over the years, Sanchez has main-
<br />tained the family farming tradition. The
<br />whole family has helped with the chores.
<br />"My daughters know how to run all the
<br />equipment, buck bales, do almost anything
<br />on the ranch," he said.
<br />Between working on the San Luis
<br />project and fanning, its hard to imagine
<br />there's time left Ior anything else. But
<br />Sanchez is active in the community: he has
<br />served on the school board in San Luis for
<br />l2 years. His wile June works in a program
<br />for the elderly, arrd the youngest of his three
<br />daughters (the only one still at home) will be
<br />getting married irr the fall.
<br />As a life-Icng resident of Costilla
<br />County, a member of the school board, a
<br />miner, and a famrer, Sanchez views the San
<br />Luis project from a unique perspective.
<br />Firs[, he sees the project as offering new
<br />opportunities for young people.
<br />"Before, the kids who graduated here
<br />couldn't find any work, and they had to go
<br />off to the cities;' he said. "This project will
<br />give people a chtutce to work, and it will be
<br />possible for the 6 ids to stay here and make a
<br />living."
<br />As for the San Luis project being a
<br />neighbor to the salley's farrtts, ranches, and
<br />the community, ianchez says it can work.
<br />"If everyb rdy works together, 1 think
<br />everything will E o all right," he said. "Team
<br />work is [he imps rtant thing, pulling for the
<br />same goal. Everybody has to cooperate to
<br />make it work ou:."
<br />Battle Mountain Contributes Material,
<br />Equipment and Personnel to Costilla County Road Project
<br />Battle Mountain has been cooperat-
<br />ing with Costilla County to maintain and
<br />improve the county road which serves the
<br />San Luis Project site.
<br />"We hauled material down to the
<br />couny road crews and resurfaced about 4
<br />miles of the access road to the work site,"
<br />said Ga ry Dodson, operations manager of
<br />the San Luis Project. "We bought I I cut-vert
<br />crossings and hired a contractor to install
<br />them on that same road. There is still some
<br />drainage and erosion wodt to be done there "
<br />The material hauled was for road base
<br />and for the new gravel surface. "It sure did
<br />help;' said Dodson. "When the flash floods
<br />came this year, we could still drive on it.
<br />Last year, everybody had to drive out the
<br />back way."
<br />Dodson said Battle Mountain is
<br />working with the Soil Conservation Service
<br />of the U,S. Dep:utment of Agriculture to
<br />repair and reseed some erosion channels
<br />which are upset am o(the existing access
<br />road to the San !_uis Project work site.
<br />Work on the county road has been
<br />going on since Jul y and will continue
<br />through October or November. Grass is
<br />being planted during the dormant season to
<br />allow for germitation in the spring.
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