Interior secretary’s NM monuments agenda includes meetings, hikes, and horseback rides

By Michael Coleman / Journal Washington Bureau

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is scheduled to arrive in New Mexico Thursday as part of two days of meetings and sightseeing ahead of his decision on whether to shrink the state’s two national monuments or leave them as they are. On Thursday, Zinke will tour the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument by helicopter then meet with elected officials, ranchers, academics, ​border security experts, ​and others local stakeholders “who represent all sides of the issue,” according to the Interior Department. On Friday, Zinke will hike with southern New Mexico veterans and then hold meetings​ with the Mescalero Apache​, Fort Sill Tribe, and Friends of Organ Mountains Desert Peaks . On Saturday, the Interior secretary will hike and ride horseback with Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, both of whom are opposed to shrinking either monument...more

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