COMMENTARY: Woody Guthrie had it right when he said, “this land was made for you and me.” This is true of our nation’s public lands, from “California to the New York Island,” an expanse which includes New Mexico. As residents of the Land of Enchantment, the basic freedom to enjoy the most beautiful parts of our great state is our birthright.
Courtesy photo
Sharon Thomas
This is a freedom that is under attack, and we all share in the responsibility to protect the land, water, wildlife and historical artifacts for future New Mexicans. We share in the responsibility to protect what’s ours, especially our national monuments.
Recently, President Trump took actions to significantly reduce the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, by 85 percent and 50 percent, respectively. These two million acres are chock-full of cultural and historical sites, and likely hundreds of archaeological points of interest that have yet to be discovered. It’s a travesty, plain and simple.
Despite claims from U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke that the newest national monuments in New Mexico — Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte — will not face a similar fate, I think we should all be concerned. Especially since Congressman Steve Pearce, whose district includes Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, is on record calling for a reduction of similar scale to that which Bears Ears experienced.
Our public lands are intrinsically tied to and are the basis for our quality of life, our economy, and our heritage as New Mexicans. Based on a recent poll from the Western Values Project, New Mexicans agree that the future success of our state and its communities are tied to our national monuments, and we also agree that Rep. Pearce should step up to protect these treasures, not lead the attack against them.
It’s the role of Congress to check and balance against the executive branch. In this case, to check against a White House that is running roughshod on our public lands. Per the poll mentioned above, 73 percent of constituents living within Congressional District 2 would have a more favorable opinion of Rep. Pearce if he supported laws that helped to preserve public lands and national monuments protections. I feel this sentiment is very telling, especially for a sitting U.S. Congressman.
An example of recent legislation that fits this bill is the revised Antiquities Act, recently introduced by Sen. Tom Udall, and co-sponsored by Sen. Martin Heinrich and 15 other U.S. senators. This legislation aims to confirm the boundaries of national monuments and verify that only Congress has the authority to reduce national monuments designated by presidents through the original Antiquities Act of 1906.
The poll also indicates that a majority of New Mexicans strongly oppose the president having the authority to reduce the size of national monuments, undoing the years of work on the ground and local public dialogue that goes into establishing a national monument, which is among the highest level of federal land protection.
Considering that most New Mexicans actively enjoy some type of outdoor recreation, and that many businesses benefit from our protected public lands, this should come as no surprise. The state’s outdoor recreation economy is responsible for more than twice as many jobs as the energy and mining sectors combined. Surely Rep. Pearce knows this.
Our public lands fuel our economy and feed the spirit of New Mexico. Why would Pearce work to undermine these outdoor recreation jobs? Why would he speak out against anything that opens a door to diversifying our state budget so that we are less reliant on and impacted by the boom-bust cycles that come with oil and gas? Why would he continue to act against the will of his constituents?
We must never take our public lands for granted. National monuments have been established by 16 presidents, eight Democratic and eight Republican, starting with Teddy Roosevelt, all with the intent and understanding that these lands are to be safeguarded in perpetuity.
New Mexicans want our members of Congress to honor this intent to protect our most beautiful and culturally significant public lands, checking reckless and narrow-sighted decisions imposed by the current Administration. Rep. Steve Pearce may claim he loves our public lands, but his record speaks louder as he has consistently failed his constituents.
Sharon Thomas is a former Las Cruces city councilor. Agree with her opinion? Disagree? NMPolitics.net welcomes your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary here.