Obama poised to protect public lands in New Mexico, California

The Obama administration is preparing to designate areas in New Mexico and California off-limits to development under its executive authority, according to individuals familiar with the matter, a move that signals a bolder public-lands policy in the president’s second term. The individuals, who asked not to be identified because a final decision has not been made, said that the White House is poised to act unless Congress moves soon on legislation that will afford similar protections.  One of the two sites, the nearly 500,000-acre Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks region near Las Cruces, N.M., is twice as large as the largest national monument established by President Obama. The other site is about 1,600 acres on California’s central coast known as the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands. Although Congress traditionally designates protection for public lands, presidents have used their authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to set aside prized areas. Obama drew an enthusiastic response from Democrats and conservationists when he said in his State of the Union speech that he would use his authority “to protect more of our pristine federal lands for future generations.”...The move to designate Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks is more contentious, and more significant. Republicans and Democrats agree that the area has historic, cultural and environmental significance. There are petroglyphs from three American Indian societies in its canyons, as well as desert grasslands and a petrified forest. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has authored legislation that would create a 498,000-acre national monument, about half of which would be managed as wilderness. Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-N.M.), however, has proposed a bill that would establish a 54,800-acre monument without any wilderness areas.  While the Senate bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), stipulates that grazing permits would be maintained, local and national ranching groups argue that it would hurt their operations. Some law enforcement officials, such as Dona Ana County Sheriff Todd Garrison, have also said that the move would make it more difficult to monitor illegal activity near the Mexican border.  Dustin Van Liew, executive director for federal lands at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said that in the wake of national monument designations at Utah’s Grand Staircase Escalante, “we have seen grazing over time be diminished or stopped altogether.” Dona Ana County Commissioner Billy G. Garrett said that he and others want a national monument designation, because it will keep “the focus of growth” within a limited corridor while leaving other parts of the county untouched.Jewell toured the site Jan. 24 with Heinrich and Udall. As part of a community hearing during Jewell’s visit, Pearce sent a letter to all three officials. “The best way to form a collaborative agreement that respects the needs of all our constituents is to let the legislative process run its course,” he wrote. Heinrich said in an interview that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has endorsed his proposal because it allows for immediate pursuit into the monument’s jurisdiction and creates a buffer zone for law enforcement operations...more at Washington Post