Legislation to protect wilderness in New Mexico becomes law
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, NM
Mason Cummings, The Wilderness Society
Statement from New Mexico state director on John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act
Today the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, formerly known as the Natural Resources Management Act, (S. 47) was signed into law. The bipartisan legislation contains more than 120 public lands, resources, sportsmen, conservation, and water management bills, including creating Wilderness areas within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Río Grande del Norte national monuments, expanding the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness and creating the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 92 to 8 on February 12, and the House passed it on February 26 by a vote of 363 to 62. New Mexico’s entire Congressional delegation – Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Representatives Ben Ray Luján, Xochitl Torres Small, and Deb Haaland— voted in favor of the legislation.
The following statement is from Michael Casaus, New Mexico State Director:
“For decades many have been working to protect New Mexico’s wildest lands as wilderness and honor the cultural history and integrity of New Mexico’s landscapes. Today those efforts became law with Congress’ commitment to push conservation and conservation funding legislation across the finish line.
"New Mexicans are fortunate to not only see greater protections for our public lands, but also because we have a congressional delegation who continues to work together to protect wild places for future generations. Our state relies heavily on our outdoor recreation economy and we must do all we can to ensure proper management of our public lands continues to be a priority.
"Now is a special time for New Mexico to celebrate the wilderness lands that surround our communities and thank our elected officials for all they do to defend our wild places.”
CONTACTS:
Michael Casaus, New Mexico State Director, The Wilderness Society; (505) 247-0834; michael_casaus@tws.org
Jennifer Dickson, Senior Communications Manager, The Wilderness Society; (303) 650-9379; jennifer_dickson@tws.org
