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Latest Posts tagged with "Otero Mesa"

Protecting Otero Mesa is prime example of how to implement America's Great Outdoors initiative

Rock art within Otero Mesa

Credit: NMWA

President Obama began the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) initiative as a “promise to future generations” – that our children’s children will experience vast untamed landscapes, clean air and water, and the opportunity to learn first-hand about our cultural heritage. This year, the administration released a report that outlines the goals and objectives of AGO, and how this promise can be fulfilled. Read more

New Mexico’s Otero Mesa Threatened: Help protect a precious desert grassland

Otero Mesa pronghorn in New Mexico

Credit: Nathan Newcomer

The Bureau of Land Management and New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division have issued Geovic Mining Corp., a permit to conduct exploratory drilling on Otero Mesa this summer. We need your help now! Ask BLM Director Bob Abbey to step in and prevent this mining on Otero Mesa. Read more

New hope for western wild lands: But will protections be strong enough?

Unique and previously unprotected places like New Mexico’s Otero Mesa grasslands, Wyoming’s Adobe Town badlands and Utah’s red rock canyons have a new chance at receiving protections they need and deserve. Read more

If not for the Antiquities Act the Grand Canyon might look very different

Jessica, left, with sisters at the Grand Canyon. Courtesy Jessica Goad.

It’s hard to imagine a West without the Grand Canyon’s grandeur. When you really think about what it takes to protect the beauty of a place, the laws themselves like the Antiquities Act (which lately has come under attack) become much more meaningful. Read more

Locals examine how protecting Otero Mesa could mean money for New Mexico

Rock art in Otero Mesa, New Mexico. Photo by Juli Slivka.

On a busy Saturday in the small southern New Mexico town of Alamogordo, nearly 100 residents gathered at a public forum hosted by the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. The topic of conversation was about how permanent protection for the nearby desert grassland Otero Mesa could render economic benefits to nearby counties. The community discussion was a great opportunity for many of us to learn more about the benefits to local communities that comes from activities like hunting, birding, and hiking. Read more

Wilderness is good for New Mexico’s Economy

Sabinoso Wilderness. Photo Courtesy of New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.

We’ve said it once, and now we will say it again: Wilderness is good for our economy. And many more agree: A recent report from Audubon New Mexico and Headwaters Economics, “The Economic Benefits of Southern New Mexico’s Natural Assets,” finds that protecting and restoring our natural assets will benefit jobs and quality of life. Read more

Does drilling belong here? Help protect Utah’s Red Rock country

Red Rock canyon country. Photo by Peter Rivera, Flickr.

A land filled with breathtaking vistas, Utah’s Red Rock country is world-renowned for its beauty, solitude, and ancient cliff dwellings and rock art. But this unparalleled wild place — and other such places throughout the West — could be destroyed by uncontrolled oil and gas drilling unless new policies are put in place to permanently protect it. Read more

Safe for now: Drilling reprieve for Otero Mesa

Alamo Mountain, New Mexico. Photo by Nathan Newcomer.

As the snow was piling on Denver streets this week, Wilderness Society Senior Counsel Nada Culver got the news she had been anticipating for months. Read more