{"id":13108,"date":"2010-02-15T19:16:48","date_gmt":"2010-02-16T02:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=13108"},"modified":"2010-02-16T12:07:24","modified_gmt":"2010-02-16T19:07:24","slug":"hundreds-attend-senate-hearing-on-wilderness-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/02\/hundreds-attend-senate-hearing-on-wilderness-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds attend Senate hearing on wilderness bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Udall, left, listens as Bingaman speaks at today\u2019s hearing. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Rep. Harry Teague among those who show up; Bingaman says there\u2019s not yet a timeline for moving the legislation forward<\/h4>\n

Hundreds of people showed up in Las Cruces today for an official U.S. Senate hearing on the proposal from Sens.\u00a0Jeff Bingaman<\/a> and\u00a0Tom Udall<\/a>, D-N.M., to protect more than 300,000 acres of land in Do\u00f1a Ana County.<\/p>\n

Those in attendance included U.S. Rep. Harry Teague<\/a>, D-N.M., who is in a tough re-election battle and said more today about the contentious wilderness proposal than he has publicly in the past.<\/p>\n

While not taking a stand on the senators\u2019 bill, Teague said he has a \u201ccommitment to hearing all sides.\u201d He said he supports \u201cefforts to conserve\u201d the land but said he also has questions, including some about law enforcement access to roadless areas and flood control.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one group will – or should – get everything out of this process that they want,\u201d Teague said during the hearing. \u201cBut in the end, what we do must be right for Do\u00f1a Ana County and right for this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the hearing, Bingaman said he believes \u201cthere is support in Do\u00f1a Ana County to provide protection for lands.\u201d Udall added that the bill \u201cseeks to preserve\u2026 in perpetuity,\u201d the beauty that is the draw for many people who live in the area.<\/p>\n

Before the hearing, Bingaman said bill he and Udall introduced in September<\/a> could change, and there\u2019s not yet a timeline for moving it forward to a Senate vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Sen. Udall and I want to make sure that we understand everyone\u2019s perspective, and that\u2019s what today is about,\u201d Bingaman said.<\/p>\n

Teague, during the hearing, called the Organ Mountains \u201cthe goose that lays the golden economic egg\u201d and said \u201cwe\u2019d better tend carefully to that goose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe peaks of the Organ Mountains define Las Cruces, just as the Empire State Building defines New York City and Cowboys Stadium defines Dallas,\u201d Teague said.<\/p>\n

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Teague at today\u2019s hearing. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Chamber supports wilderness for Organ Mountains<\/h3>\n

The official Energy and Natural Resources Committee field hearing included testimony from people Bingaman invited to speak but not other public input. Bingaman, the committee\u2019s chairman, made sure divergent opinions were represented. Several of those invited to give testimony expressed concerns or spoke against the bill.<\/p>\n

That included the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce\u2019s<\/a> John Hummer, who said the chamber pledges its \u201cfull support\u201d for designating the Organ Mountains as wilderness but has concerns about proposed wilderness designations for other areas in the county.<\/p>\n

The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act<\/a> would designate 259,000 acres as\u00a0wilderness<\/a> and 100,000 acres as\u00a0national conservation areas<\/a>. In addition to the Organ Mountains, land on and around the Robledo, Do\u00f1a Ana and Potrillo mountains would be protected.<\/p>\n

The bill would also release 16,350 acres currently designated as a wilderness study area along the county\u2019s border with Mexico. That\u2019s intended to address concerns that law enforcement patrols are hampered by rules against motorized vehicles entering the protected area.<\/p>\n

Hummer said the chamber has concerns based on the area\u2019s \u201ceconomic demands\u201d in addition to questions similar to those raised by Teague.
\n

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An estimated 700 people attended the hearing. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

A big show of support<\/h3>\n

There was a big show of support at the hearing for the bill.<\/p>\n

Las Cruces Mayor Pro Tem Sharon Thomas<\/a> said during the hearing that the senators\u2019 proposal has widespread community support and strikes the appropriate balance between differing opinions. She said the legislation is necessary to preserve the landscape, protect the water and grow the economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge you to move forward with all possible haste,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

Before the hearing, New Mexico State University graduate student Martin Moses, who helped start a local chapter of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance<\/a> on campus, spoke in favor of the legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s vital if we\u2019re going to protect the land,\u201d he said. \u201cLas Cruces is growing by leaps and bounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Las Cruces City Councilor Nathan Small<\/a>, who works for the Wilderness Alliance, said the bill\u2019s time has come.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been proven many times that this is what our community desires,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are no more excuses. That\u2019s what today is about, is taking that final step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some protesters<\/h3>\n

The hearing was also well attended by people who oppose the legislation. And about 15 of them \u2013 including members of the Las Cruces TEA Party<\/a> \u2013 stood outside NMSU\u2019s Corbett Center and held up signs opposing the legislation before the hearing. Among those protesters was James Belver of Tularosa, who was gathering opposition signatures on a petition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want a government takeover of American land. That\u2019s God-given land,\u201d he said. \u201cThey think they have the authority to take it away. I could see some management, but not a complete lockout.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of people showed up in Las Cruces today for an official U.S. Senate hearing on the proposal from Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, D-N.M., to protect more than 300,000 acres of land in Do\u00f1a Ana County.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[115,147,116],"class_list":["post-13108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-dona-ana-county","tag-environment","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13108\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}