Zinke moves to create public access to Sabinoso Wilderness

On the heels of his recent trip to New Mexico, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is moving forward with a plan to provide public access to the Sabinoso Wilderness in northern New Mexico, the only such federally-designated wilderness that isn’t accessible to the public. Zinke said today that he’s given the Bureau of Land Management a green light to finalize the process to consider whether the federal govermment should accept the donation of 3,595 acres – formerly known as the Rimrock Rose Ranch – adjacent to the Sabinoso Wilderness to be included as part of the wilderness . This final acceptance phase is expected to take three to four months to complete. The Sabinoso Wilderness area is currently enclosed by non-federal lands. Zinke said the move could make the area “accessible to hunters and all members of the public for the first time ever.” The rugged and remote 16,000-acre wilderness area is located in northeastern New Mexico in San Miguel County. “Expanding access to hunting, fishing, and recreation on federal lands is one of my top priorities as secretary,” he said. I originally had concerns about adding more wilderness-designated area, however after hiking and riding the land it was clear that access would only be improved if the Department accepted the land and maintained the existing roadways. Thanks to the donation of a private organization, we continue to move toward delivering this nonpartisan win for sportsmen and the community.”...more