FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: 4-11-25
CONTACT: Patrick Nolan, Executive Director, Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, director@organmtnfriends.org, 575-520-8817
Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks at a loss by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Veto of House Bill 219
Governor Lujan Grisham vetoes Slot Canyon Riverlands State Park–now limiting the public land and river access to Southern New Mexico.
Las Cruces, NM – On April 11, 2025, the last day for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign bills from the 2025 legislative session, the Governor vetoes a strongly supported bill from Southern New Mexico. Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks are profoundly disappointed in the Governor’s veto of HB 219 which would have created Slot Canyon Riverlands State Park, New Mexico’s 36th State Park. This amazing property adjacent to Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and the Rio Grande would help address access to public lands, and our river, in Doña Ana County.
“To say we are disappointed in the Governor’s veto would be an understatement. This project was well thought out, closely coordinated with the State Parks Department, and supported by a significant number of Southern New Mexicans,” said Patrick Nolan, Executive Director of Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. “It was by all measures a winning idea that would have insured equitable and safe access to our public lands for generations of New Mexicans and their families. At a time where the federal government is proposing a sell off of public lands, New Mexico had the opportunity to demonstrate our shared values on protected public lands and open spaces, and the Governor failed to do so.”
The proposed park was purchased by the State Parks in 2008 using Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) dollars. LWCF land acquisitions are required to be managed for public access according to the LWCF Act of 1965. In the 16 years that this land has been owned by the state of New Mexico, this is not happening. HB 219 addressed this long standing issue, while also protecting its unique wetlands habitat.
The Governor stated that the reason for her veto is that “Our state parks are already woefully understaffed and under maintained… adding another state park will only spread already stretched resources even further.” However, the New Mexico State Parks Department recommended that this property be open in the 2024 Broad Canyon Feasibility Study. In this study, the State Park’s Department’s preferred alternative is one that honors the LWCF agreement and also “establishes a reserve for ecosystem restoration on the lower Rio Grande.”
