A recent executive order calls for “evaluating” our monuments. The Interior Department is accepting public comment about the designations. We must stand together against this attack, and we ask that you please help us keep public lands in public hands. We encourage you to submit a comment today, stating the cultural, scientific, recreation, and economic importance of these places.
The comment period runs from May 12th through July 10th.
Suggested Talking Points For Your Comments:
- Our national monuments provide crucial habitat and wildlife corridors for animals to migrate through. Without these large tracts of intact landscapes, some of our favorite animals to hunt, including bighorn sheep, desert mule deer, pronghorn antelope, quail, and numerous others, would be in serious danger.
- Rio Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains Desert Peaks had a diverse group of community stakeholders working to protect them for years prior to designation. Sportsmen and women, local businesses, and outdoor enthusiasts of all backgrounds came together to support the monuments. The designation process was a thorough and transparent public process involving many community stakeholders.
- National monuments across the West preserve our shared cultural and historic heritage. They represent our diverse citizenry and multifaceted past. From ancient petroglyphs and hunting sites to early settlers, our national monuments preserve our nation’s history from the earliest times to the present.
- Our national monuments in New Mexico allow for traditional uses, such as pinon picking and wood gathering in the north, and hunting and grazing on both monuments. Off road travel is allowed on designated routes as it was prior to monument designation. Sportsmen and women of New Mexico – and of nearby states – know that our national monuments provide premier hunting and fishing opportunities for everyone.
- Public lands and national monuments support local economies. Local guide shops, restaurants, hotels and other businesses have benefited from people coming to recreate in the monument. The most recent numbers from the BLM show that national monuments represent $460 million in consumer spending with includes $60 million for gateway communities and creates 7,100 jobs.
- To make sure your comment has the most impact, please submit multiple comments about each monument you want to comment on. It is okay to submit one comment for Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument and a separate comment for Rio Grande del Norte National Monument by the same person.
By filling out this form, you’re sending a comment to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke asking him to protect Rio Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument. Throughout the comment period, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation will send hard copies to the Department of the Interior as well as upload comments to the DOI website.
Learn more about public lands and the public land seizure movement.
