Las Cruces backs upgrading White Sands to national park

LAS CRUCES — The Las Cruces City Council on Monday OK’d a statement of support encouraging the federal government to upgrade White Sands National Monument to a national park.

The council voted 6-0 in favor of the statement, which calls on lawmakers to pass the proposed White Sands National Park Establishment Act during the 115th Congress, a bill that hasn’t yet been introduced.

The large gypsum dune field, located between Las Cruces and Alamogordo, was designated a national monument in 1933.

Dara Parker, field representative for U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, told city councilors the proposed bill would not only turn the monument into a national park, but it also would achieve a land swap of some acreage with White Sands Missile Range and clarify some questions raised by previous congressional actions.

In terms of management and oversight, there’s not a great deal of difference between a monument and a national park, Parker told councilors.

But national parks do tend have a higher profile than monuments, which could boost tourism, she said.

“National parks are perceived to be more prestigious by the traveling public,” she said. “Already, White Sands is really important to the local economy.”

A National Park Service report of showed that White Sands National Monument attracted nearly 555,800 visitors 2016. They spent an estimated $29.3 million in nearby communities, supporting an estimated 437 jobs, according to the report. The estimated “cumulative benefit” of the monument-related spending was about $33.6 million.

Parker said the spending generated by the monument is an “economist’s dream,” because much of it is from outside the region and not local dollars recirculating.

In addition to the dunes, the monument features animal species that are highly adapted to the unique environment and Ice Age mammal tracks.

It’s these combined features that, legally, would allow the monument to be upgraded to a park, Parker said.

Parker said WSMR has been cooperating on the details of the proposed bill. And while the agency isn’t allowed to take a public stance on the issue, an informal review by a Department of Defense indicated support for the bill.

“The bill hasn’t yet been introduced,” she told the City Council. Mayor Pro Tem Gill Sorg introduced the measure at Monday’s city council meeting.

“New Mexico has so many enchanting areas all across the state,” he said.

“White Sands National Monument is one of those.”