Obama Administration Backs Organ Mountains Bill

By KRWG News

Las Cruces – The Obama administration has thrown its backing behind a bill that would protect the Organ Mountains east of Las Cruces and other scenic areas in Dona Ana County.

A Bureau of Land Management official expressed the administration's support for the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act during testimony at a U.S. Senate hearing on Thursday.

New Mexico Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall introduced the bill last month. It would create a 259,000-acre wilderness area and a 100,000-acre conservation area.

They say the bill would allow continued public use while protecting the Organ Mountains' granite peaks and the volcanic cinder cones of the Potrillo Mountains.

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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.