U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman says he’s “encouraged” by the compromise between the Las Cruces Homebuilders Association and the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance on a proposal to protect almost 400,000 acres of land in Doña Ana County.
Ultimately, only Congress can designate land as wilderness or a national conservation area. The wilderness alliance had been working for months to build additional consensus in its push for federal legislation. Its attempt got a huge boost Tuesday when a slightly reworked plan earned the endorsement of the homebuilders.
“If we’re going to get a bill passed this Congress, it’s going to need widespread support in the community. I’m encouraged that various groups in the county are working together to try to build consensus,” Bingaman said in a statement released by his office.
The new proposal would create a national conservation area along the
The proposal by the wilderness alliance quickly gained traction when it was first unveiled several months ago, earning the endorsements of all local governments, more than 200 local businesses and organizations and several newspapers.
But in early August, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce held a meeting on the proposal in
Pearce’s meeting did give momentum to the arguments of those opposed to the wilderness proposal, including ranchers and off-road groups. In the weeks that followed, both
The offices of Pearce and U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici have not responded to requests for comment for this article.