'Wild' DC Floor Action This Week Includes NM Bill
Monday, February 9, 2009
Las Vegas, NM - Expect "wild" floor action in Congress this week. That's the hope of wilderness advocates in New Mexico and elsewhere across the country as the U.S. House of Representatives takes up a package of bills that would designate new wilderness, including thousands of acres in New Mexico. If passed, the omnibus bill would create the Sabinoso Wilderness just outside of Las Vegas.
That would be good news for Mike Matz with the Campaign for America's Wilderness.
"It's a quality example of the kind of natural heritage we have in northeastern New Mexico. It's an excellent 15,000 acres to tuck away for future generations."
Because the Sabinoso is surrounded by private land, the bill includes easements through that property. They will make the new wilderness area legally accessible for the first time.
Matz says that as people in New Mexico and the West have gained more first-hand experiences with rampant development and industrial uses of the land, more and more of them have come to support protecting special wild places.
"There's a growing appreciation on the part of many locals of the wisdom of protecting the 'custom and culture' of their communities through wilderness designation."
Some opponents of new wilderness designations worry about making the areas permanently off-limits to potential development such as drilling for oil and gas. However, the Sabinoso bill has received wide support from local residents and business interests. The U.S. Senate already has approved the Sabinoso as part of the package of bills.
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