News Release

For Release:  March 30, 2009 
Contact:  Hans Stuart 505.438.7510

President Signs Legislation that Enhances Protection for Public Lands in New Mexico

Albuquerque, N.M. – President Obama today signed into law an omnibus lands bill that enhances protection for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management across the West, including three areas in New Mexico. 

The bill creates the Sabinoso Wilderness on 16,030 acres of public land east of Las Vegas, the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument on 5,280 acres just west of Las Cruces, and the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area on almost 25,000 acres of BLM  public land near Lincoln, New Mexico.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar hailed the bill as a “milestone for the stewardship of America’s natural wonders.  This legislation is the product of years of work in hundreds of communities across America, where citizens, elected officials, stakeholders and land managers have forged wise protections for our treasured landscapes that will boost local economies while protecting traditional ways of life.  The conservation areas, wild lands, and open spaces protected through this landmark legislation will be a proud legacy for generations to come.”

The legislation, cleared for the President’s signature after passage by the U.S. House on a 285-140 vote last week, also codifies the BLM’s administratively created National Landscape Conservation System, which consists of 850 Federally recognized areas covering 27 million acres of BLM-managed public land.

The Sabinoso Wilderness encompasses a rugged and dramatic landscape that includes deep sinuous canyons interspersed with flat-topped mesas that are home to mule deer, elk, mountain lion and wild turkey.  Elevations range from 4,500 to 6,000 feet, featuring pinon-juniper woodlands, grassland savannas, and clusters of ponderosa pine.

The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument contains sedimentary rocks with fossil tracks of a diverse group of land-dwelling vertebrates that roamed New Mexico before the age of the dinosaurs.  The ‘trackways’ represent the largest Paleozoic fossil footprint discoveries ever made in the United States.

The Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area protects an exciting and awe-inspiring series of cave passages (‘Snowy River’) that were discovered in the Ft. Stanton Cave and partially explored over the past decade. At least five miles of cave floors are coated with calcium carbonate (calcite) – with no end in sight – deposited over thousands of years.

“We’re thrilled that the Senate and House have passed this legislation,” said BLM-New Mexico State Director Linda Rundell, “and we would like to commend Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, as well as former Senator Pete V. Domenici, for their dedication and years of effort in protecting these special areas.”

The BLM manages more land – 256 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency.  This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska.  The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.  The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.  The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, and cultural resources on the public lands.

– BLM –