New Legislation Would Provide Permanent Protection

The National Landscape Conservation System is a network of the last places to experience the history and wild beauty of the American West. The Bureau of Land Management is the steward of these 26 million acres of special lands and waters, which offer excellent hunting and fishing opportunities, great hiking trails, unmatched wildlife habitat and clean water protection.

The National Landscape Conservation System was created to conserve and restore nationally significant landscapes with outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values for the benefit of current and future generations. As such, the NLCS includes National Monuments, Wilderness Areas, National Wild and Scenic Trails, National Conservation Areas and more. Two areas in the National Landscape Conservation System--El Malpais and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks--lie in New Mexico.

The National Landscape Conservation System parallels the U.S. system of National Parks and Wildlife Refuges in many ways. However, unlike National Parks there is no guarantee that the BLM's Conservation System will be around five years from now. Vandalism, reckless off-road vehicle use, oil and gas drilling and neglect are taking a toll on the wild character of these places. With an average of one ranger for every 200,000 acres, there's not enough staff to protect these lands. In fact, we spend more to fix the damage than we do to prevent it.

But Americans have spoken--it is time these lands were protected!

The New Mexican community has been working with Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and his staff to develop the National Landscape Conservation System Act, which would ensure that those places designated for landscape conservation were permanently protected.

This legislation was introduced by Sen. Bingaman on April 18, 2007 and was passed by the Senate Energy Committee May 23, 2007. Having been approved by the committee, the bill now goes on for consideration by the entire U.S. Senate.

NEW! Booklet on Hunting and Angling in the National Landscape Conservation System

Protect Ute Mountain

Sen. Bingaman is also considering introducing another piece of legislation to protect Ute Mountain. The legislation would designate three new areas in New Mexico into the National Landscape Conservation System. These would include:

• More than 300,000 acres in Taos and Rio Arriba Counties as the Ute Mountain National Conservation Area.
• 16,233 acres as the Ute Mountain Wilderness.
• 8,618 acres as San Antonio Wilderness.

See a map of the proposed Ute Mountain National Conservation Area.

The National Conservation Area designation would prohibit land disposal, mining or mineral development on public lands within the boundary. In the Wilderness areas, motorized and mechanized equipment would be prohibited. In all three areas hunting and grazing would still be allowed.

This landscape is unique in that 1.5-5 million years ago, Servilleta basalt lava flows, fed by volcanoes such as Ute Mountain, created the Taos Volcanic Field, the largest in the Rio Grande Rift system. The Rio Grande River then sliced through the thick basalt flows forming the scenic gorge skirting the picturesque solitude of Ute Mountain rising over 10,000 feet over the sage plain.

Protecting Recreational Values

These spectacular areas are special places where people come to hunt, fish, camp, hike, bird watch, raft and enjoy many other fine recreational opportunities. For many, these wild places provide people a unique opportunity to discover solitude in a claustrophobic world. Beyond recreational and sporting uses, these lands provide endless sustainable economic benefits around tourism and recreation while preserving the heritage of New Mexico's ranching community and their livelihood.

Many believe that these activities will be restricted by becoming a National Conservation Area or Wilderness, but that as a false assumption. In fact those traditional uses are encouraged and are what make these areas so important. Finally, Wilderness and National Conservation Area designations under the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System support the culture and history of New Mexico to ensure that future generations better understand the past and while enjoying it in the present.

In the end, these designations do the right thing--keep public lands in public hands so that we can continue teaching future generations what it means to be responsible stewards of the land.

TAKE ACTION: Let Sen. Bingaman know you support the Ute Mountain Preservation Act.