The following was sent to me by Frank DuBois through Western Heritage Alliance. While I share their skepticism of online petitions, proponents of the land grab are using them, so opponents of the Monument designation should do the same.
The controversy around a National Monument in Dona Ana County has moved from local to national input. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell came to Las Cruces a few weeks ago for a listening session on the 500,000 acre Organ Mts-Desert Peaks National Monument. The environmental supporters had ample time to get notices out to rally support for the large national monument. Supporters of a smaller national monument for just the Organ Mountains had only 2 days to notify the local citizens of the meeting. The Sun News did not report about the meeting until the day of the meeting. Buses were used to bring supporters from Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Silver City and El Paso. Consequently, the room was packed to over capacity with monument supporters and the Secretary may have left with a false impression that the majority of the local people were in favor of a large national monument.
I have been skeptical of on line petitions until I received two from Senator Tom Udall, one asking for my signature on his petition in support of his bill S 1805 and the other on climate change. He will be using an online petition to generate support for his bill and or recommending to Secretary Jewell and President Obama he sign a Presidential Proclamation designating one fourth of Dona Ana County as a National Monument.
I have developed an online petition for those opposed to a large national monument to make it known to the President, Secretary Jewell and as well as Senators Udall and Heinrich that there is not a consensus in favor of the 500,000 acre national monument.
It is important that you sign the petition and pass the link on to your contacts for their signature. Together, we can stop this major land grab.
Jerry G. Schickedanz, Chairman
Our open spaces attract many people and businesses to the area that contribute a lot to our local economy. Anti-National Monument people would have us develop like Phoenix where there is sprawl all over the place. Just look at the Phoenix aerial photo. President Obama needs to establish the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. We don’t want to become another Phoenix in the future. Preserve our open spaces from unnecessary development.
http://3scape.com/photo/6130/Aerial-view-of-Phoenix-urban-sprawl.jpg
Professor Jerry Schickedanz is anti-wilderness. He wrongly and sarcastically described the typical visitor to the Organ Mountain as ” a white male in the upper-income bracket. This typical wilderness visitor has the time, the means and the energy to pack into or have some outfitter haul their gear from spot to spot so they can sit and contemplate the wonder of it all.” His arguments about the ranchers, border security and water are without merit in his opposition to the National Monument.
http://www.peopleforwesternheritage.com/Article_SunNews_Schickedanz_TrueConsequences_100409.pdf
Southern New Mexico residents as well as Mr. Gessing should know that Tea Party Steve Congressman Pearce had a private and rather secret dinner meeting way back in April 30, 2012 with developers associated with the Builders Trust of New Mexico and the New Mexico Home Builders Association both of Albuquerque based on a series of emails dated April 30th, May 1st and May 4th in 2012. It was to develop a strategy to undermine the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument proposal and to gain support for his “pro-developer” position. After a hearty meal, this cabal then told the New Mexico Home Builders Association and the Las Cruces Building Association to email members to support Congressman Steve Pearce’s miniature National Monument by attending Mr. Pearce’s so-called public forum. This meeting was a facade. Obviously the Pearce proposal will allow developers to build in the Desert Peaks area and the Organ Mountains foothills. This is a travesty. In addition Mr. Pearce has never supported wilderness designation for anything. Frontiersman Davy Crockett best described these political backroom antics by Congressman Steve Pearce and his supporters: “There ain’t no ticks like poly-ticks. Bloodsuckers all.”
Mr. Lennes, what is wrong with philosophically opposing “wilderness designations?” I don’t care for government land ownership of productive resources and there’s no more important resource than the land itself. We already have 41 percent of New Mexico owned by Washington. Why would I want to support a massive new federal land grab that puts more land off-limits to economic uses by New Mexicans? At the very least, I hope you’ll agree that Congress should decide how much and what land is put aside, not the unilateral action of a President.
This is NOT a” massive new federal land grab that puts more land off-limits to economic uses by New Mexicans” The land is BLM land. In addition, to be prosperous community we need open spaces to be preserved for future generations. The designated National Monument area would probably never be used in economic development. We have lots of land for development. However maybe you like Phoenix sprawl as our future. Then I strongly disagree with you. I want a balanced community. As a retired businessman I want open spaces and economic development. Congress will never pass any bills with an impending election. Crazy Congress has not pass a wilderness bill in ages. I am for the establishment of a National Monument by President Obama like the great Republican President Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1947 President Harry Truman clearly expresses my feelings : “The battle for conservation cannot be limited to the winning of new conquests. Like liberty itself, conservation must be fought for unceasingly to protect earlier victories. There are always plenty of hogs who are trying to get natural resources for their own personal benefit! Public lands and parks, our forests and our mineral reserves, are subject to many destructive influences. We have to remain constantly vigilant to prevent raids by those who would selfishly exploit our common heritage for their private gain. Such raids on our natural resources are not examples of enterprise and initiative. They are attempts to take from all the people just for the benefit of a few. ” We don’t need for the private interests to carve up the Organ Mountains foothills and the Desert Peaks area simply for land speculation. This is not economic development. I guess you support that.
It appears Tea Party Congressman Pearce and his pirate band wants to dole out federal land to their supporters under the disguise of private property rights and border security. Personally I am disgusted with and outraged by Mr. Pearce and his “behind the scenes” maneuvers to decimate these wilderness areas in Dona Ana County for strictly private selfish reasons. This is not good business!
Occasionally I hear something so incomprehensibly stupid that I am obliged to respond. So is it with comments that there is economic development advantage attached to a part of the desert that has very little to offer but bird hunting: the Desert Peaks, at Mts Cox and O’Reilly. That’s like saying sports teams bring economic development benefiting a community; no one is that stupid, are they?
And the 2014-2015 NM Proclamation on hunting prohibits hunting on ALL Federal monuments. And I have noticed a distinct fall-off in visitors to that region since NM 9 was first partially paved while I was on Desert Storm – 1990-1991.
As far as The Organs are concerned, national monument status for that real estate makes sense.
And selected areas of Las Uvas make sense for protection, but certainly not all
Now if we could get Las Cruces to wise up and encourage development on the west mesa where it belongs.