Doña Ana County commissioners on Tuesday decided to back a federal measure that would create 259,000 acres of wilderness in the county.
Commissioners heard from several opponent and supporters of the wilderness area before voting 5-0 in favor of a resolution in support of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act, introduced into Congress last week by New Mexico's senators.
In addition to wilderness -- the most-restrictive land-use protection granted by the federal government -- the bill would create another 100,850 acres of national conservation area, a less-restrictive designation.
"I see this resolution as our way of showing support for this bill, and I support this bill," said County Commissioner Scott Krahling.
County Commissioner Oscar Vásquez-Butler said the resolution wasn't subtracting anything from previous measures, but was only "reaffirming" them.
Dara Parker, a field representative for U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, said the legislation includes several changes from a proposal that has been debated in recent years, including that 16,000 acres now classified as temporary wilderness along the international border would be released to keep from hindering Border Patrol activities in that area. Plus, she said, land that might be needed for future flood control structures and a number of roads was excluded from proposed wilderness as part of compromise measures.
"Sen. Bingaman really does feel this bill strikes the right balance," said told commissioners.
Rancher Tom Cooper, a member of People for Preserving Our Western Heritage, a group that has opposed wilderness in Do-a Ana County, expressed concerns about creating new wilderness so close to the border, something that has been problematic for border law enforcement in the Organ Pipe Cactus Wilderness, in southern Arizona.
Nathan Small, a city council member who also works for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, said the problems noted by Cooper stem from the wilderness directly abutting the international border. But the wilderness proposed in Do-a Ana County will be between one and two miles from the border.
Cooper said the resolution didn't take into account the support for less-restrictive types of land protection. He asked the commission to delay voting on the measure until his group had a chance to give its own presentation.
Attendee Jim Graham, a member of the Las Cruces Home Builders Association, said he's promoted the idea of protecting the Organ Mountains since the 1980s.
"I think our open spaces attract a lot of desirable people to the area that contribute a lot to the economy," he said. "We can develop like Phoenix does, where they sprawl all over the place, or we can look at a development model like Boulder (Colo.), where people have higher property values and a lot of it is because they've protected their open spaces."
Angel Montoya, a local wildlife biologist, said some 75 percent of the land being proposed in the bill for wilderness already exists in temporary wilderness designations that "for all intents and purposes is already being managed as a wilderness area."
"We need to move on; either we designate them as wilderness or we undesignate them," he said, adding he favors the proposed legislation.
Resident Jodi Denning, also a member of People for Preserving Our Western Heritage, said she agreed that much of the land in temporary wilderness should be protected, but she's concerned about the type of protection they'll be given and how much that will restrict access.
"I want to be able to drive out there and park my trailer and ride my horses," she said.
The commission initially passed one version of a resolution on Tuesday morning with a vote of 4-1, with County Commissioner Karen Perez dissenting, but reconsidered later in the day at the request of Krahling.
Krahling said he asked for the resolution to be reconsidered because he'd thought of a language change to address Perez's concerns.
The revised measure added a line indicating the commission's support for retaining the rights of ranchers to continue grazing the federal lands that would be newly designated as wilderness. The federal law allowing for the creation of wilderness indicates that grazing is permitted; however, ranchers contend the designation would interfere with their operations.
Perez said the senators' newest bill showed the "most progress" of any proposal since she's been tracking the issue.
Diana M. Alba can be reached at dalba@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5443.
