Otero Mesa National Monument up for discussion

Thursday's regular meeting of the Otero County Commission will be held in the commission's old chambers in the county courthouse to accommodate the large crowd expected for the hearing on an ordinance opposing any designation of Otero Mesa as a national monument. A news release issued from Gov. Bill Richardson's office March 18 states the Obama administration may be considering 14 sites across the West for national monument status, including Otero Mesa. National monuments are created by a president's signature, while national parks are created by an act of Congress. During an interview Monday, county Commissioner Ronny Rardin said the rumor is that the president may exercise his powers under the Antiquities Act to make 1.2 million acres of Otero Mesa a national monument. Rardin said the county's ordinance opposing a national monument on the mesa has changed, and the version posted on the county's Web site has not yet been updated. At the end of the ordinance, a statement was added that the ordinance opposes designating the national monument "without the express written consent of the Board of County Commissioners of Otero County after local public hearings and appropriate consultation, coordination and development of appropriate social and scientific data demonstrating the effects on the local community, including the county's custom, culture and history." "That's the law," Rardin said. "That's what the federal government has to follow under NEPA National Environmental Protection Act. But if the president signs an executive order, we're thinking he may just totally skip all of this."...more