You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria related to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Resource Management Plan and nominations of new ACECs by any of the following methods:
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In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Director intends to develop a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument (Monument) and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping period to solicit public comments and identify issues, is providing the planning criteria for public review, and is issuing a call for nominations for areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs). The Mimbres RMP currently provides for BLM management in this new planning area. The RMP revision would replace the existing Mimbres RMP within the now-established National Monument.
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT COMMENT: AUGUST 1, 2023
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria related to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Resource Management Plan and nominations of new ACECs by any of the following methods:
You can also submit comments by mail to the following address:
BLM LAS CRUCES DISTRICT OFFICE,
ATTENTION: MARA WEISENBERGER,
1800 MARQUESS STREET,
LAS CRUCES, NM 88005
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online and at the Las Cruces District Office.
Presidential Proclamation 9131 of May 21, 2014
Section 2002 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act
The 2019 John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Pub. L. 116–9)
As the demand for recreation increases in the Monument, there is a need to improve access and connectivity to other less-used areas to reduce pressure on these popular recreation areas. Education and interpretation may also be needed to reduce user conflicts, educate about sensitive resources and traditional uses, and create a culture of preservation among recreationists.
The purpose of this plan is to protect, restore, and enhance the objects of scientific and historic interest in the Monument identified in Presidential Proclamation 9131, while respecting legal existing and traditional uses. The plan should also maintain and enhance recreational opportunities and other uses of the Monument through allocations, education, and interpretation.
The RMP will also safeguard Tribal treaty rights, and will, as provided for in the Proclamation, “in consultation with Indian tribes, ensure the protection of religious and cultural sites in the monument and provide access to the sites by members of Indian tribes for traditional cultural and customary uses, consistent with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (92 stat. 496, 42 U.S.C. 1996) and Executive Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites).” The RMP will respond to continued urban growth and increased tourism in the Las Cruces metropolitan area, changes in recreational uses in the Monument units, designation of new wilderness areas in the Monument, imposition of additional requirements for land acquisitions under Public Law 116–9, new scientific information, and the effects of climate change and livestock grazing.
