Salazar gives progress report on wilderness plan 

By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press

9/29/2011

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—In his latest stop across the West, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stopped in New Mexico on Thursday to discuss plans for what would be the Southwest’s first urban wildlife refuge and to rally support for protecting public lands.

Salazar was in the state to talk about areas that were recommended by county and state officials throughout the region for potential wilderness designation. He said the key to getting such an initiative approved by Congress this term was to recommend plans that have been developed locally and have the support of residents and local governments.

Interior officials acknowledged that there can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach to land conservation.

“What we’ve heard from communities across the West is that land conservation proposals need to be tailored in a manner that meets the uniqueness of the area,” Salazar said.

Since June, department officials have toured several potential sites in New Mexico, California, Nevada and Utah as part of the Obama administration’s wilderness initiative.

The need for the recommendations came in June, after Congress defunded Salazar’s so-called “Wild Lands” order, which could have expanded wilderness protections to millions of acres of public lands. That policy overturned a Bush-era approach that opened some western lands to commercial development.

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N.M. Green Chamber of Commerce touts economic benefits of monuments

By Staci Matlock

The Santa Fe New Mexican

More than 200,000 visitors a year tour Bandelier National Monument, and help support, directly and indirectly, 181 jobs in Northern New Mexico, according to the National Park Service.

That was one of the facts released by the 1,243-member New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, touting the economic benefits of national monuments in the state.

The report was produced in response to ongoing efforts in Congress to change the federal Antiquities Act of 1906, which would make it more difficult for the president to unilaterally designate new national monuments.

Six Republican presidents and four Democrat presidents have designated 10 national monuments in New Mexico under the Antiquities Act. Of those, nine are managed by the National Park Service. Two — Carlsbad Caverns and Chaco Canyon — were later re-designated as national parks.

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Udall wants GAO to investigate whether mining profits are being properly taxed

By David O. Williams

The American Independent

With profits soaring for hard-rock mining and oil and gas companies doing business on public lands, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is leading the charge to get the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate whether American taxpayers are getting their fair share.

Udall, cousin of Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, sent a letter to GAO officials Thursday asking the agency to “undertake an examination of the value of minerals extracted and the amount of revenues collected in fiscal year 2010.” U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., also signed the letter.

“The U.S Department of the Interior manages approximately 700 million acres of subsurface federal minerals on public land and 1.7 billion acres on the Outer Continental Shelf,” the lawmakers wrote. “These minerals include hard-rock minerals — such as gold, silver and copper — that are available without having to pay a royalty.

“It is vitally important that the American taxpayer receives a fair return for the mineral resources extracted from federal land.”

The lawmakers want the GAO to prepare a report on the minerals being extracted under the 1872 Mining Law, which does not require royalties, and various other mineral leasing acts. Specifically, they want to know:

• The amount of minerals extracted from federal lands and the Outer Continental Shelf and the estimated dollar value of those minerals.

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N.M. dairy farm on Rio Grande to become urban wildlife refuge

By April Reese, E&E reporter

The site of an old dairy farm along an urbanized stretch of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, N.M., will become the newest addition to the national wildlife refuge system, Interior Department officials announced (September 29).

At a press conference at the Price Dairy site this afternoon, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the department has officially greenlighted the refuge, clearing the way for the Fish and Wildlife Service to purchase the land and establish what will become the Middle Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge.

“With the support of Bernalillo County, the Trust for Public Land, New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, and many partners, New Mexico will gain its first urban national wildlife refuge,” Salazar said in a statement. “Once complete, this refuge, which is within a half hour drive of nearly half of New Mexico’s population, will be a place for people to connect with and learn about the natural world and will provide valuable habitat for wildlife, including the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher.”

Only a handful of refuges have been created under FWS’s 13-year-old urban wildlife refuge program.

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Protecting our state’s national monuments

Opinion column by David Crider

Las Cruces Sun News

When most people think of national monuments they think of majestic natural places and critical pieces of our nation’s cultural and historic heritage. What they probably don’t think about is how national monument designations impact nearby communities and local businesses.

Now, as Congress considers measures to limit the creation and designation of national monuments, a healthy debate about the local economic impact of these monuments is crucial – especially here in New Mexico where they fuel the economies of several small communities.

National Monuments may be designated by the President under the Antiquities Act, which was signed into law in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. In New Mexico, six Republican and four Democratic presidents have designated 10 national monuments: Aztec Ruins, Bandelier, Capulin Volcano, Carlsbad Caverns, Chaco Canyon, El Morro, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, Salinas Pueblo Missions, and White Sands. Two of these areas – Carlsbad Caverns and Chaco Canyon – were later re-designated by Congress as national parks.

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