Udall And Heinrich To Host News Conference With U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell In The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Region Near Valles Canyon

Press Release

Discuss Conservation Initiatives To Boost Region's Tourism And Outdoor Economy, Improve Recreational Opportunities, And Protect Diverse Natural and Cultural Resources

U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich will hold a news conference with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks region near Valles Canyon on Friday, January 24, 2014 at 12 p.m. MT to discuss conservation initiatives to preserve some of Doña Ana County's most iconic landscapes, while boosting the region's tourism and outdoor economy and improving recreational opportunities.

In December 2013, the Senators introduced legislation to designate the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument to conserve, protect and enhance scenic, recreational and culturally significant land.

The area is home to a variety of wildlife, including pronghorn and deer, as well as rare plants and animals, some found nowhere else in the world, such as the Organ Mountains pincushion cactus. It encompasses Broad Canyon, Sleeping Lady Hills, Rough and Ready Hills, Picacho Peak, Mount Riley, Peña Blanca and Bishop's Cap. And it contains over 5,000 archeologically and culturally significant sites, including Geronimo's Cave, Billy the Kid's Outlaw Rock, Spanish settlement sites, and numerous petroglyphs and pictographs.

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