from BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN OF NEW MEXICO
URGENT ALERT
On April 26th, President Trump signed an executive order which attempts to eliminate or reduce the size of 25 national monuments that have been protected by our presidents in recent decades, including Rio Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in New Mexico.
Loss of even part of these National Monuments in New Mexico would be disastrous, depriving BCHNM members and others of countless riding and packing opportunities. Taking away monument status for these lands will open them up to additional mining and grazing activities and could ultimately lead to their transfer to private interests.
The executive order charges Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke with receiving public comments on the future of these monuments. Comments will be received from May 12th until July 10th on Rio Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks and on all other listed National Monuments (except for Bears Ears National Monument in Utah where comments are due by May 27th).
Please do not wait until July 10th. Make your comments now. There are at least three ways to do so.
- Submit your comments directly to the Department of Interior online at the following website: http://www.regulations.gov by entering “DOI-2017-0002” in the Search bar and clicking “Search.”
- Mail your comments to Monument Review, MS-1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.
- Submit your comments using the NM Wilderness Alliance website: http://www.nmwild.org/take-
action/defend-our-national- monuments
Please make your comments as specific as possible. Don’t just say you are for the monuments and against eliminating them or reducing their size, although that is a good opening sentence. Go on to explain why. Talk about how these monuments are used by horseback riders and hikers. Give personal examples if you have them.
Talk about how they preserve important natural and cultural resources. Again be specific. Talk about the importance of open space and public lands in this ever more crowded world. State that these are your lands and should be protected for you. Make sure you state you live in NM, and if you live close to either monument, say that too. The above NM Wilderness Alliance website contains additional arguments in favor of the monuments that you may also want to cite.
After you submit your comments to the Secretary of Interior, please do one more thing. Please call your Senators and Representative and ask them to oppose any changes to the monuments.
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District
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Name
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Phone
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1
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Michelle Lujan Grisham
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2
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Steve Pearce
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3
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Ben R. Lujan.
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Senator Tom Udall 202-224-6621
Senator Martin Heinrich 202-224-5521
Again, please don’t wait. Make your comments now. Too much is at stake to delay.
Allen H. Olson, Lands Chair, BCHNM, 229-403-0925, allen@olsonaglaw.com
Photos Credit: Bureau of Land Management