LAS CRUCES >> For generations, the Organ Mountains have been an iconic part of the Mesilla Valley.
Soon they will be part of a national monument.
President Obama is planning to sign a proclamation Wednesday establishing the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, according to a White House official.
The proclamation is expected follow a bill introduced last December by U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, Both D-NM, in covering about 450,000 acres in southern New Mexico. About half of that land ? approximately 350 square miles ? likely will be designated a wilderness area, the highest level of protection that can be imposed by Congress.
That includes the Organ Mountains; the Robledo Mountains northwest of Las Cruces, the Do?a Ana Mountains north of Las Cruces; the Potrillo Mountains in the southwestern part of the county; and the Sierra de Las Uvas Mountains in the Hatch region.
Obama's proclamation represents a victory for monument supporters, a group working for much of the past decade to get such a designation. Recently it has been contentious.
Opponents have said a national monument designation could hurt ranching, flood control and expose the area, some of which is close to the Mexican border, to more criminal activity.
What hunting just got lost here???
Soon they will be part of a national monument.
President Obama is planning to sign a proclamation Wednesday establishing the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, according to a White House official.
The proclamation is expected follow a bill introduced last December by U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, Both D-NM, in covering about 450,000 acres in southern New Mexico. About half of that land ? approximately 350 square miles ? likely will be designated a wilderness area, the highest level of protection that can be imposed by Congress.
That includes the Organ Mountains; the Robledo Mountains northwest of Las Cruces, the Do?a Ana Mountains north of Las Cruces; the Potrillo Mountains in the southwestern part of the county; and the Sierra de Las Uvas Mountains in the Hatch region.
Obama's proclamation represents a victory for monument supporters, a group working for much of the past decade to get such a designation. Recently it has been contentious.
Opponents have said a national monument designation could hurt ranching, flood control and expose the area, some of which is close to the Mexican border, to more criminal activity.
What hunting just got lost here???