White Sands might become national park
Otero County Commission members briefed on proposal during their first meeting of 2018
ALAMOGORDO — Otero County Commissioners were briefed on a proposal to establish White Sands National Monument as a national park during their first meeting of the year Thursday.
Dara Parker with U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s office returned to update commissioners on the White Sands National Park Establishment Act, a piece of legislation proposed by the senator, to integrate the monument as a unit of the National Park System.
The bill was developed in close consultation with White Sands National Monument, the National Park Service, White Sands Missile Range, the Army and Holloman Air Force Base.
WSNM was established on Jan. 18, 1933, by President Herbert Hoover. Since then, the monument has been recognized as a major unit of the National Park System, which is enjoyed by more visitors each year since 1995 than any other park service unit in the state.
According to the bill, the designation of the monument as a national park would increase public recognition of the diverse array of nationally significant resources and increase visitation and economic growth to the region.
Parker said the bill also completes a land exchange between the monument and White Sands Missile Range, a process that has been ongoing since the 1970s.
In 1996, Congress authorized a land exchange but never completed it.
The new bill will reflect a new agreement reached by WSMR and WSNM in February 2017, which optimizes boundaries to address current needs better than the 1996 legislation. The Army will be able to retain approximately 2,500 acres to the northwest of the monument that the previous legislation would have transferred from WSMR to the monument. Keeping this land allows for better management of various military facilities within the parcel.
According to the bill, the land exchange will not affect roadblocks supporting military tests, testing will continue as normal. However, since the monument would acquire some additional resources outside the test evacuation area in the exchange, visitors would have opportunities to learn and explore outside the roadblocks, which is currently not possible. The move will keep visitors in the area longer, potentially leading to increased economic impact.
County Commissioner Lori Bies asked if there were currently any other national monuments that have transitioned to a national park to compare the language.
Parker said there were none to her knowledge and that the White Sands National Park Establishment Act would set a precedence for future monuments.
“This is setting a precedent. We have received some comments of concern for setting that precedent but we as a staff feel Sen. Heinrich wanted to be responsive to the county’s expression of concern first,” Parker said. “We want to make sure that the county has a say. Sen. Ron Griggs was one of the first people to bring up this idea redesignating the monument into a national park.”
Parker readdressed commissioner’s concerns regarding the possibility of the national park becoming a World Heritage Site, a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as of special cultural or physical significance.
Commissioners said they would fear an overreach of government if it were to be nominated for the World Heritage List.
Parker said the bill specifically states that a nomination could not occur unless both Otero and Doña Ana counties support the nomination.
“If this bill passes, your concurrence will be required by law before a nomination can move forward,” Parker said. “So essentially the county would have a veto on whether a nomination could occur or not.”