We really could use everyone's help on this... This proposal will not affect those of us who off road, but countless other folks who do not fully understand the full impact the national monument will have on the area. It would be really nice to see the number of signatures explode on this...

http://www.change.org/petitions/oppo...ona-ana-county

Thanks all!!!

Jason

 

did this yesterday..
I also got down to the area for the first time a few weeks ago,, did Hoppin Jalapeno and went further down the creak/arroyo bed before we turned around and found the exit... not sure what trail we were on... some Las Cruces jeeper were guiding us...
the next day we did part of the Dona Ana Trails....
sure hope this doesn't pass and shuts down the west side of the interstate.

 

It's not only the Robledo mountains but also includes the Dona Ana mountain area too so we'd be losing those areas as well. It's taking the current BLM land total of 115,000 +/- acres to 455,000 +/- acres should it go through...

 

Question: Is there a link that explains what type monument they want to create in this area?.. Perhaps they are viewing this as a way to open the area and make more accessible for police and boarder patrol. But then again.. city council/government vote on the silliest things..

 

Signed. As the petition says, there needs to be s more open process for set-aside designations, and multi-use. A national monument can be a very good thing--Grand Staircase-Escalante was protected from mining by such a designation, and is generally open to off-highway travel. Wilderness designations are also appropriate, when needed to protect animal populations. The plans need better discussion with all stakeholders represented. Meanwhile, offroaders improve their arguments if they tread lightly.

 

The designation is for a National Monument which falls under the worst case scenario category. The area sheriff's department has had one of the loudest voices of opposition to it because it will shut them out of areas that need the most help from a law enforcement stand point. It will also hinder EMS services and despite what some proponents are saying border patrol will not be able to do their job correctly. In addition to all that it has been noted that the current BLM staff will oversee the whole area on their own, no increase in manpower. As it is they are already having a very difficult time maintaining the current 115,000 acres and still are in dispute in regards to the management plan.

As far as the Grand Escalante monument, the whole mining thing was not entirely true nor was it the main point. If you look at current data, the monument status has not had the positive economic impact that was originally expected nor was there the amount of "mining companies" interested in the land. What it did do was take over a little over 9,000 acres of private land, effectively killed off hunting and fishing in the area, seriously reduced the amount of recreational areas open to the public, killed off any grazing that could be done in the area, as well as a number of other issues either directly or through associated lawsuits posted after the designation was made.

This is the case with here as well, the numbers being used to support the designation are based on national parks that have well known landmarks such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon which in no way should be used to compare to a local small town landmark such as Kilborne Hole or the WWII bombing targets. The whole thing has been a farce including the so-called town hall meeting where the group who got this whole thing going bused in 7 buses of "supporters" from Albuquerque and Santa Fe and were given preferential seating at the meeting. By doing so they filled the room to capacity which left those who actually live here and care about the area outside. The best part is that the senators who put this into motion have never actually visited the area until that day and were shown around via 4x4 vehicles since stock vehicles will not make it out into some of the areas affected. How's that for justice...

 

Wow. The guys we wheeled with said the Dana Anna area was safe, or at least that's what I thought. ^^ Nice summary above..
Why does every acre have to be closed. There is so much open space in the west it's not like these areas take up that much.


Choke cherry in Farmington is also in danger!
And the Rio Puerco is also getting close Which that I can understand.

 

Not even close, for comparison look at the maps here: Western Heritage Alliance

You'll see in the proposal the black area east of 25 is the Dona Ana area, and if I remember right that image is slightly incorrect and in fact should show more black than it does. It really is ridiculous what the green party is wanting from this designation, and after hearing some of them speak about how free it will make the area it really proves how dumb they are. As per the Western Heritage Alliance:

Is this really what we're coming to?? I heard about Rio Puerco and Chokecherry and it seems like New Mexico is under fire from all sides of the world...

 

Grand Staircase-Escalante NM has the largest deposits of compliance coal in the U.S. according to the USGS--it was a significant withdrawal of resources from development. I don't know about hunting in the monument, and not being a hunter (nor anti-hunting), could not care less whether it or Dona Ana are closed or open to hunting. In relaying complaints about what the NPS does in an attempt to transfer the arguments over to BLM managed properties, you become just as misleading as those green party people.

 

Here's a great article from the Ohio State Law Journal about the Grand Staircase-Escalante NM: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/lawjournal/...er2/rusnak.pdf You'll find on page 36 the author goes into detail about the mining of the area which in our case is not of concern (the area has already been "mined" out if one will). As an added note here is Utah's recent response to the NM since a majority of the land was for an intended purpose of revenue for the education dept.: Utah vs. the United States of America - High Country News. As far as hunting it's mainly fowl, invasive species i.e antelope, and predatory animals such as coyotes in the area so it's kind of a mute point even for hunters here. What is of concern is what follows on page 41 in regards to ranching which is a primary source of income for many in the area directly affected, and of more importance on page 43 in regards to tourism which would "theoretically" increase revenue for the county exponentially or at least that's what's being told to the community. There is also an issue in regards to water conservation which they are not addressing as they should. Please pay special attention to the paragraph on page 46 which does apply very much to us in the region in that for this to work the "attractions" which tourism is to be built from will require ADA compliant roadways and walkways to access them thus countering the original intent of the designation to begin with. Also keep in mind that they have made it very clear that once it becomes a national monument, the burden of the additional 300,000+/- acres will still be the responsibility of the current under-staffed BLM of the area (and will remain understaffed after the designation) and not NPS as is the case with Grand Staircase-Escalante NM. If it helps, here's a list of major local groups who oppose the designation:

National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
Dona Ana County Sheriff's Department
Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce
Elephant Butte Irrigation District
Dona Ana Soil and Water Conservation District
Hidalgo Soil And Water Conservation District
Council of Border Conservation Districts
New Mexico Coalition of Conservation Districts
Southwestern County Commission Alliance
Dona Ana County Farm and Livestock Bureau
Farm Credit of New Mexico
New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau
Mesilla Valley Sportsmen's Alliance

Hope this helps clear up any misleading statements I may have made, but also keep in mind that this not only affects us but could potentially affect many many many other areas across the U.S.