Recently, New Mexico’s Congressional delegation sent a letter to the Trump Administration asking the administration to keep national monuments in the state and across the country intact.
The Washington Post and Public Domain have reported the administration is looking at possibly reviewing some national monuments, including The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in southern New Mexico. That has conservation groups like Friends of Organ Mountains- Desert Peaks raising their voices to leave the monument as is.
To learn more, Anthony Moreno talked with Kyla Navarro, a policy and communications coordinator with Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks.
Transcript:
Anthony Moreno: Kyla, what are your thoughts on a possible review of the Organ Mountains- Desert Peaks National Monument?
Kyla Navarro: For us, this comes out of nowhere because I think the Organ Mountains- Desert Peaks National Monument is a prime example of a community truly embracing and using our public lands. In an economic report that was published 2022, most of the users of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks are locals and they're recreating on this land. They're, you know, helping their businesses. Things are branded with OMDP as well. As you know, we have a plethora of photographers using our mountains as a backdrop, and our public lands, so it seems sort of out of nowhere and honestly baseless that they would review this and just open it up for potential oil and gas leasing or mineral extraction.
Anthony Moreno: Your organization connects local communities to the monument. How could a downsizing of the monument play a role in impacting those efforts?
Kyla Navarro: Right now, we're not really sure what the intention is or what the reasoning behind this review is, but a lot of people are saying it would be for energy development, and you know whether it's oil and gas leasing, or mineral extraction. Those would disrupt the everyday things that our community members are using this land for. So that's mountain biking, camping. You know, my organization takes out plenty of elementary school kids out on hikes. All of this would be disrupted or halted because there will be industry located right in our backyards.
Anthony Moreno: What is your organization communicating to elected officials who may have a say in addressing this issue for the folks here in southern New Mexico that use the monument on a daily basis?
Kyla Navarro: So, we're incredibly grateful because the New Mexico delegation actually sent a letter ahead of time to the Secretary of the Interior asking not to touch New Mexico monuments, in particular, because, they understand that our state loves our public lands, and everyday people are using and benefiting from it. We're very confident that our elected officials understand the value that this landscape has for our communities, that isn't just numbers on a spreadsheet.
Anthony Moreno: Through your tenure with your organization, how have you seen the monument make an impact in drawing more people to the area?
Kyla Navarro: The monument was designated when I was like a freshman in high school. So, I would say that yeah, since I've been living in Las Cruces, our community has changed and I have seen the community embrace these mountains as an identity, as like a part of everyday things. I would say, even New Mexico State University uses the mountains, not just for research and study, but to advertise to faculty and potential students. This is a great place to live and since being involved with my organization, seeing so many folks who come here just to mountain bike, to bike pack and. It's a little bit mind blowing to me, having grown up here with a lot of the rhetoric being there's nothing to do, but people find like adventure in our public lands. But I've also seen through my work how our public lands are being used, not just by people who are traveling, but everyday people would just drive up like 10-15 minutes to do, like a little weekend hike with their family as a form of like exercise. And I think it also has built community because folks organize around, like, biking. together on our monument or doing group hikes or photography walks, all these sorts of things.
Anthony Moreno: Kyla Navarro is a policy and community coordinator with Friends of the Orgon Mountains-Desert Peaks. Kyla, thanks for joining us.
Kyla Navarro: Thank you.
