The Dona Ana County Commission and the Las Cruces City Council approved resolutions on January 25 and February 6, 2006, respectively, supporting the designation of all existing Wilderness Study Areas in Dona Ana County as well as two additional citizens’ proposed wilderness areas – the East Potrillo Mountains proposed wilderness and the Broad Canyon citizens’ proposed wilderness area.
Further, the resolutions support a community proposal for a 100,000-acre National Conservation Area in the Organ Mountains – much larger than the 35,000 acre NCA proposed by Senator Domenici.
Lastly, both the city and the county expressed strong concerns about the proposal for large scale public land disposal and asked in their resolutions that any legislation ensure that disposal lands be identified though the BLM’s ongoing Resource Management Planning revision process and that the agency follow the procedures for land disposal as defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. The City Council and County Commission asked in their resolutions that 50% of the proceeds from any land sales be used to create a countywide funding mechanism for open space and conservation.
At both meetings, lawmakers made clear that they want to work closely with Senator Domenici’s office and appreciate his interest in public lands issues in their county and city. Finally, lawmakers emphasized that they hoped the Senator would seek local input before any legislation is introduced.
In a recorded statement, Senator Domenici said that his office would seek public input on his wilderness and public land disposal proposals. “We are going to have to come down there and meet with people and talk about that,” Domenici said. "That (the proposal) is certainly subject to discourse, dialogue, discussion. And we're going to do that."
Background
Dona Ana County – located in southwestern New Mexico – is home to more than a half a million acres of citizens’ proposed wilderness areas. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) wilderness inventory (completed in 1980) identified about 220,000 acres of Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) in the county including the spectacular Organ Mountains WSA and the West Potrillos WSA – the state’s largest.
However, the agency’s inventory was inadequate, is now outdated and overlooked many wilderness-quality lands in the county – places like Broad Canyon and the East Potrillo Mountains and other special areas. In the short term, conservationists have prioritized approximately 330,000 acres of wilderness quality lands in the county for permanent protection. Further, citizens’ have also proposed a 100,000-acre National Conservation Area in the Organ Mountains.
New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) has indicated his interest in public lands and wilderness legislation for areas in Dona Ana County including the designation of existing Wilderness Study Areas in the county and the protection of a 35,000-acre National Conservation Area in the Organ Mountains. He has also proposed a controversial provision to require the sale of as much as 65,000 acres of undeveloped federal public land near Las Cruces.
A new poll released in January found Dona Ana County residents strongly support the protection of WSAs and additional citizens’ proposed wilderness and a larger National Conservation Area. The poll also found that more than 7 in 10 oppose the large-scale sell off of federal public land in the county.
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