Secretary Zinke to visit Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument
U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will visit the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument this week, a spokeswoman for Congressman Steve Pearce’s office confirmed.
This news comes exactly three months after President Donald Trump’s April 26 executive order that called for a review of designations under the Antiquities Act.
In May, the Department of the Interior released a list of 27 monuments under review, including the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
In the past, Congressman Steve Pearce has called for reducing the size of the monument from more than 496,000 acres to 60,000 acres.
“I support protecting the Organ Mountains as a National Monument, I even introduced legislation in 2013 to ensure they stay protected for generations to come,” Pearce said in a statement. “However, the current footprint is a good example of the abuse of the Antiquities Act by a number of different Administrations that have designated over-expansive monuments.”
In the next several months, city leaders and community activists vocally announced their opposition to the review.
In late June, hundreds of people packed the parking lot of the Dona Ana County Government Center on a Tuesday morning to defend the current size and scope of the monument at the Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners’ meeting.
July 10 was the deadline for public comment during the review. Government leaders, including Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, Anthony Mayor Diana Murillo-Trujillo and State Rep. Nathan Small, representing district 36.
