The Organ Mountains (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
It has been annoying to watch the preservation of the most diverse and beautiful land in Doña Ana County be hijacked by the canard that our safety and the security along our border with Mexico will be threatened, especially since passage of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act would make our borders safer.
Playing on public anxiety
Despite the fact that the tragic murder of a border rancher in Arizona happened nowhere near a wilderness area, long-time opponents of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act have used that tragedy as a touchstone to play on public anxieties about border security, and to further impede the broadly popular initiative to preserve the Organ Mountains and other important natural areas in Doña Ana County.
False claims
From rancher Tom Cooper’s recent op-ed in the Las Cruces Sun-News:
“Border Patrol and all law enforcement would be denied access for routine patrol in all of the wilderness areas, a primary factor causing the literally out-of-control conditions in Arizona.”
Cooper’s assertion is troubling – and blatantly incorrect. As reported in the Las Cruces Sun-News, Border Patrol will have complete – and enhanced – access to patrol the border within the proposed wilderness areas. To that end, here’s what Border Patrol spokesman Richard Cordero had to say about law enforcement’s access to wilderness:
“We’re still allowed to patrol anywhere… if there’s any danger or pursuit, we’re not going to stop. There’s no truth that we cannot go in.”
Unless we are doubting the credibility and integrity of Cordero, and the Border Patrol on whose behalf he speaks, it would seem Mr. Cooper doesn’t have his facts straight.
Wilderness makes our border safer
In fact, Senator Bingaman’s proposed legislation actually makes the border safer. U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Alan Bersin makes the following statement in a letter to Senator Bingaman’s office:
“I write to thank you for your efforts to address border enforcements concerns in S. 1689, the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act. The provisions of this bill, including your recent changes to address the operational needs of the Border Patrol, would significantly enhance the flexibility of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to operate in this area.”
Later in the letter, Commissioner Bersin compliments Bingaman and the wilderness bill in the following way:
“While the solutions identified in this bill are specific to this particular area of the border, the collaborative process (to resolve border safety concerns) should be a model for future consideration of wilderness designation along the border.”
Bingaman’s bill makes the border safer and should be used as a model for future wilderness designations. I have to wonder what would please these long-time opponents of the Organ Mountain wilderness designation… or whether any compromise would ever please them.
Maybe they just don’t want wilderness
Proponents of wilderness have effectively addressed and refuted many specious arguments (see here and here and here) against protecting the Organ Mountains and other pristine areas in the county. Through it all, I’ve been impressed by how wilderness supporters have steadfastly forged compromises that strike a balance between the many competing claims on our public lands. As every businessperson knows, a good and fair negotiation is characterized not by a single party getting everything it wants but rather all parties getting some of what they want. This typifies the long process of wilderness designation in Doña Ana county.
Finally, the reality is that some people will never compromise. We’ve seen evidence that the wilderness supporters are willing and eager to make sure that this wilderness designation is both safe and also protects some of the last bits of pristine land in the country. They and the parties that they’ve worked with have shown that wilderness can be both safe, accessible and preserved, rather than insist on dogmatic either/or constructions.
Have the most outspoken opponents of wilderness shown a similar spirit of cooperation, fair play and dedication to the common good? It’s anyone’s right to disagree with wilderness designations as a concept, but to stubbornly misrepresent the facts and distort the public dialogue through scare tactics is inappropriate.
When is enough enough?
In a recent editorial, The Las Cruces Sun-News made the following plea:
“But before the legislation is set for final passage, we want to ensure that nothing in the bill would hamper border security. The time to raise and address these concerns is now… we urge Bingaman to go as far as necessary to ensure that Border Patrol will have complete and unfettered access to all areas along the border before putting the bill up for final action.”
If the spokesman for the Border Patrol is to be believed, they are satisfied with the safety improvements that will be codified into law if the wilderness bill is passed. So can we get this bill passed, for goodness sake? Enough is enough. Already we are hearing new and wilder scenarios about how wilderness will inadvertently be the primary cause of the fall of western civilization. For an example from this site, read Mr. Swickard’s recent ruminations:
“Is it the goal of the wilderness folks to use the wilderness act to force the closing of the White Sands Missile Range, Holloman and the spaceport to boot because of the auditory 21st century pollution?”
I suppose this might be the end goal of the senior senator from New Mexico, but if you read Bingaman’s bill, you’ll find the following provision:
“The fact that an activity or use on land outside any wilderness area designated by subsection (a) can be seen or heard within the wilderness area shall not preclude the activity or use outside the boundary of the wilderness area.”
Phew. My point is that, unless additional legitimate concerns can be raised, there’s no better time than the present to preserve and protect some of the most rugged and beautiful land in the country for ourselves and our children.
Nick Voges is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net’s Zeitgeist. E-mail him at nick@nmpolitics.net.