U.S. Rep. Harry Teague among those who show up; Bingaman says there’s not yet a timeline for moving the legislation forward
By Heath Haussamen 2/15/10 8:52 PM
Udall, left, listens as Bingaman speaks at today’s hearing. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Hundreds of people showed up in Las Cruces today for an official U.S. Senate hearing on a proposal [...]

Albuquerque Journal
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
By Gilbert Apodaca
President, Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces
Early this month our organizations were proud to have sponsored the seminar ‘“Wilderness Economics, Creating Jobs from Protected Lands.” We, along with 150 other attendees, listened to an impressive lineup of speakers discuss many ways Doña Ana County could help create jobs [...]

Conservationist Group Cheers Senate Committee for Approving Measure
The Río Grande del Norte National Conservation Area Establishment Act was approved by the Senate Energy Committee today, sending it to the full Senate for action. The measure, introduced by Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, will protect some 235,980 acres northwest of Taos, New Mexico, as a [...]

Happy Trails and Wilderness Tales
 The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance has just released its 2010 Wild Guide.
The NMWA, supported by more than 5,900 members, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to the protection and restoration of wilderness in New Mexico. An important part of the NMWA’s work remains connecting people to wild public lands like Otero Mesa [...]

THE NEW YORK TIMES
EDITORIAL
Published: November 23, 2009
In 2003, Gale Norton, then the secretary of the interior, and Michael Leavitt, then the governor of Utah, struck a deal that removed federal protections from about 2.6 million acres of public land in Utah that the Clinton administration had designated as potential wilderness. At the same time, Ms. [...]

BLM regional oil, gas lease sale smallest in years
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press Writer
© 2009 The Associated Press
Oct. 19, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Bureau of Land Management this week is holding the smallest oil and gas lease sale the region has seen in five years after it declined to offer more than 100 parcels [...]

Albuquerque Journal
Friday, November 13, 2009
By Nathan Newcomer
Associate Director, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
“Land of Enchantment” was added to New Mexico’s license plates in 1941, a nickname that beautifully captures the diversity and richness of our state — the richness of our history and many cultures and the incredible diversity of our landscapes and ecosystems.
For decades now, [...]

Las Cruces Sun-News
EDITORIAL
Our view: Our wilderness around Las Cruces deserves protection
09/26/2009
For some three decades now, the most pristine areas of the Organ Mountains and other natural treasurers just outside Las Cruces have been regulated under a federal designation that was intended to be temporary — a wilderness study area.
It seems to us there has been [...]

EDITORIAL
From the Las Cruces Sun-News
09/26/2009
For some three decades now, the most pristine areas of the Organ Mountains and other natural treasurers just outside Las Cruces have been regulated under a federal designation that was intended to be temporary — a wilderness study area.
It seems to us there has been plenty of time for study, now [...]

Sportsmen, business owners, conservationists, local elected officials and other community members hailed the introduction today of The Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks Wilderness Act, by Senator Jeff Bingaman and Senator Tom Udall. The measure will protect nearly 400,000 acres of public land in Dona Ana County, by designating 271,050 acres as wilderness and creating a [...]