{"id":18440,"date":"2010-06-10T09:15:01","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T15:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=18440"},"modified":"2010-06-10T14:18:27","modified_gmt":"2010-06-10T20:18:27","slug":"senators-unveil-revised-wilderness-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/06\/senators-unveil-revised-wilderness-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators unveil revised wilderness proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman, right, and Tom Udall at a hearing on the wilderness bill held in Las Cruces in February. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

New Mexico\u2019s U.S. senators unveiled a revised wilderness proposal for Do\u00f1a Ana County on Wednesday that frees up more land along the border in an effort to address law enforcement concerns.<\/p>\n

The primary change to the\u00a0Organ Mountains \u2013 Desert Peaks Wilderness Act<\/a> is that, in the area along the border that had previously been designated as wilderness study area, a larger area will be freed up for law enforcement access.<\/p>\n

Previously, the bill would have released land in a three-mile zone along the border for general use, including law enforcement patrols. The new bill adds an additional two-mile zone near the Potrillo Mountains to be designated as a \u201cRestricted Use Area\u201d in which motorized vehicle access would be allowed for the Border Patrol but not the general public.<\/p>\n

The change came, Sens. Jeff Bingaman<\/a> and Tom Udall<\/a> said in a news release, after a February hearing<\/a> on the legislation in Las Cruces. At that meeting, area residents asked the senators to go further in allowing law enforcement access along the border.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with the Border Patrol, I believe we have come up with a very good resolution that both enhances our border security and protects one of New Mexico\u2019s iconic landscapes,\u201d Bingaman said in a news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again we have successfully collaborated to produce a modified plan that strengthens our border security with respect to the preservation of the nearby Potrillo Mountains,\u201d Udall said. \u201cThis enhanced legislation builds upon the principles of the original\u00a0Do\u00f1a Ana\u00a0wilderness bill and ensures the protection of both the border and this incredible landscape for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill previously proposed releasing 16,000 acres along the border. It now proposes to place another 14,000 into the \u201cRestricted Use Area\u201d designation.<\/p>\n

You can view a map with details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The legislation also explicitly states that the wilderness designation would not affect the Border Patrol\u2019s ability to fly over the wilderness area or conduct other border security activities there, including the use of motorized vehicles while pursuing a suspect.<\/p>\n

Customs official praises changes<\/h3>\n

The commissioner of\u00a0U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who oversees the Border Patrol, wrote a letter<\/a> thanking the senators for the changes. In it, Commissioner Alan Bersin stated that the bill, as modified, \u201cwould significantly enhance the flexibility of\u00a0U.S. Customs and Border Protection\u00a0to operate in this border area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe security-related enhancements in this bill are the result of careful consultation between your office and CBP in New Mexico and Washington, DC,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWhile the solutions identified in this bill are specific to this particular area of the border, the collaborative process should be a model for future consideration of wilderness designation along the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will consider the bill in the coming weeks, the news release from Bingaman and Udall said. Bingaman chairs that committee.<\/p>\n

If it passes that panel it will be ready for full Senate consideration. It must also make its way through the House before it can head to the president\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n

The senators introduced the legislation\u00a0in October<\/a>. The bill would designate almost 250,000 acres as\u00a0wilderness<\/a> and 100,000 acres as\u00a0national conservation areas<\/a>. In addition to the Potrillo Mountains, land on and around the Organ, Robledo and Do\u00f1a Ana mountains would be protected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Mexico\u2019s U.S. senators unveiled a revised wilderness proposal for Do\u00f1a Ana County on Wednesday that frees up more land along the border in an effort to address law enforcement concerns.<\/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-18440","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\/18440","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=18440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}