Governor Richardson Backs Creation of Otero Mesa National Monument

The Albuquerque Journal reported on March 19 that Governor Bill Richardson stated that he would support an effort to consider National Monument status for Otero Mesa. The governor’s comments were in a letter sent on March 18 to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar.

Fourteen sites, including Otero Mesa, could be designated as national monuments via the federal Antiquities Act, according to an internal Department of the Interior document. The federal Antiquities Act gives presidents the authority to designate monuments without congressional approval; however, the Interior Department has said the internal document is nothing more than a product of agency brainstorming.

Otero Mesa has become a battleground for environmentalists and the oil and gas industry. Otero Mesa is unique in that it qualifies as the largest publicly owned expanse of undisturbed Chihuahuan Desert grassland in the United States. —Cheryll Blevins

Get involved! Contact Cheryll Blevins at 575/524-4861.