CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Hardrock mining is threatening the very heart of Otero Mesa. In July of 2011, the State of New Mexico approved a permit for Geovic Mining Corporation to begin conducting exploratory drilling on Wind Mountain, the most iconic peak in Otero Mesa, and mining officially started in the area August 1. Visit our online action center to speak up against this attack on our state’s last great grassland.

Click here to read our May 5, 2011 press release on this dangerous development.

America’s Wildest Grassland – Our Next National Monument

Our campaign to protect Otero Mesa has been ongoing since 2001, when the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance helped form the Coalition for Otero Mesa, a broad coalition of hunters, ranchers, conservationists, and state leaders. The Coalition has led the way in preserving this last great desert grassland as our nation’s next National Monument, a designation the President can proclaim without Congressional legislation by invoking the American Antiquities Act. In late 2010, Otero Mesa gained the confirmed support of Governor Richardson, who wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to designate Otero Mesa a National Monument. We’ve never been closer to seeing this national treasure permanently protected.

At 1.2 million acres in size and with over 1,000 native plant and animal species, Otero Mesa is the largest and wildest grassland left on publiclands in America. Almost 500,000 acres of Otero Mesa qualify for Wilderness designation, making it the largest potential wilderness area left in New Mexico. Thousands of ancient archeological sites can be found in Otero Mesa, including on Alamo Mountain, where petroglyphs date back 1500 years. Furthermore, the Salt Basin aquifer, which underlies Otero Mesa, is considered to be the state’s largest, untapped freshwater resource.

Approximately 30% of the entire Chihuahuan Desert eco-region lies north of the U.S./Mexico Border in southern New Mexico and western Texas. Only 2.5% of the entire Desert, comprising 390,600 square miles in Mexico and the United States is under formal protection. The majority of publicly held lands within this region are in New Mexico.

The Otero Mesa Grasslands within the Chihuahuan Desert (of southern New Mexico) has long been recognized as “special” by the State of New Mexico, Governor Bill Richardson, numerous state legislators and scientists, tribal and religious leaders, sportsmen, ranchers, and conservationists.

In early 2001, the Bush Administration and the oil and gas industry targeted Otero Mesa for full scale development. Yet, through our tireless on-the-ground organizing, we were able to mobilize a to stop any new oil and gas drilling.Located in south-central New Mexico, about an hour east of Las Cruces and El Paso, Texas, Otero Mesa offers outstanding opportunities for recreation and solitude, including hiking, camping, hunting, photography, and unsurpassed wildlife viewing.

This expansive landscape is home to mule deer, black-tailed prairie dogs, mountain lions, coyote, golden and bald eagles, 200 species of migratory songbirds, the endangered Aplomado falcon, and the state’s healthiest herd of native pronghorn antelope.

From the desk of Governor Bill Richardson, to city and county resolutions passed in southern New Mexico, and from hunters, ranchers and church leaders to students, teachers and businesses across the state, the chorus of support for preserving this wild and beautiful grassland is growing.

It is the objective of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance to gain permanent protection for America’s Wildest Grassland – Otero Mesa.

Otero Mesa – Monument Proposal from EcoFlight on Vimeo.