The Chronicles Of Grant County

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument
Public Planning Meetings

A view of the Mount Riley Wilderness Area from the Aden Lava Flow Wilderness Study Area of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. (The photograph was provided courtesy of the United States Bureau of Land Management, May 22, 2014.)

The public is invited to attend a meeting tomorrow – Tuesday, July 11 – in Deming to review and provide comments on the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.

The meeting is being held by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from 6 PM to 8 PM at the Mimbres Valley Special Events Center, 2300 East Pine Street in Deming.

The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument is managed by the BLM and includes 496,529 acres of land in Doña Ana County.

According to the BLM, on May 21, 2014, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation declaring the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. The President established this national monument, noted the BLM, to "preserve its cultural, prehistoric, and historic legacy and maintain its diverse array of natural and scientific resources, ensuring that the prehistoric, historic, and scientific values of this area remain for the benefit of all Americans."

The geography in this national monument is quite varied.

"The Organ Mountains are a steep, angular mountain range with rocky spires that jut majestically above the Chihuahuan Desert floor to an elevation of 9,000 feet," detailed a statement from the BLM. "This picturesque area of rocky peaks, narrow canyons, and open woodlands ranges from Chihuahuan Desert habitat to ponderosa pine in the highest elevations…The Desert Peaks include the Robledo Mountains, Sierra de las Uvas, and Doña Ana Mountains, characterized by desert mountains rising steeply from flat plains…The Potrillo Mountains are the most remote section of the monument…and is comprised of a volcanic landscape of cinder cones, lava flows, and craters. The Doña Ana Mountains have extensive pedestrian trails, equestrian trails, mountain bike trails, rock climbing routes, and some limited routes available for motorized use."

Detailed information on the RMP for this national monument can be viewed at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/92170/510.

The BLM calls its public review and comment process "scoping."

This scoping process is designed, according to the Federal agency, to "…ensure that the public lands are managed in accordance with the intent of Congress…RMPs for [national] monuments must analyze and consider measures to ensure that objects and values are conserved, protected, and restored."

In a news statement dated June 21, 2023, the BLM indicated that "during the scoping period, we are especially interested in receiving feedback on the public's vision for the monument and the issues and concerns regarding the monument's current conditions and future proposed resource management. The BLM is also interested in comments on the preliminary management criteria and possible alternatives."

"During the planning effort, it is our goal to build extensive public awareness and generate as much public involvement as possible to develop a well thought out and supported plan that addresses the diverse resource values and allowable uses of the monument," said Mara Weisenberger, BLM Las Cruces District Monument Manager. "Through the resource management plan, our Las Cruces District Office will develop a long-range plan to address the monument's land use allocations and protect its resources, objects, and values."

The public scoping period for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement began on June 22 and will continue through August 1, 2023.

If you're not able to attend the meeting in Deming, other public planning meetings are scheduled to be held in additional communities is southern New Mexico as well as in El Paso, Texas.

People may also provide comment through emailing the BLM at blm_nm_lcdo_comments@blm.gov or by sending comments via postal mail to the BLM Las Cruces District Office, Attention: Mara Weisenberger, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM, 88005.

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© 2023 Richard McDonough