Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument (17717943249)

The Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument is a United States national monument in the state of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the

National Landscape Conservation System National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West. The monument is located in the

Mesilla Valley The Mesilla Valley is a geographic feature of Southern New Mexico and far West Texas. It was formed by repeated heavy spring floods of the Rio Grande. Background The fertile Mesilla Valley extends from Radium Springs, New Mexico, to the west s ...

in southern New Mexico, surrounding the city of Las Cruces in Doña Ana County. The protected area includes several mountain ranges of the

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lo ...

. The five identified as being within the national monument are the

Robledo Mountains The Robledo Mountains are a mountain range in Doña Ana County, New Mexico just northwest of Las Cruces. They are an uplifted block of Paleozoic rocks on the west side of the Rio Grande Rift. The range was named for Pedro Robledo, who died on Ma ...

, Sierra de las Uvas,

Doña Ana Mountains The Doña Ana Mountains are a mountain range in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. The highest elevation in the range is Doña Ana Peak at 5835 feet / 1779 meters, at . Description The Doña Ana Mountains are a small, rugged mountain range in the dese ...

Organ Mountains The Organ Mountains (also known as La Sierra de los Órganos) are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument was declared a national monument on May 21, 2 ...

and Potrillo Mountains. The

Prehistoric Trackways National Monument Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is a national monument in the Robledo Mountains of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, near the city of Las Cruces. The monument's Paleozoic Era fossils are on of land administered by the Bur ...

is nearby. The monument protects a large variety of geological, paleontological and archaeological resources.Presidential Proclamation – Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

The White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...

, 21 May 2014 President

designated the monument on May 21, 2014. Half of the monument is designated wilderness and closed to development or motorized use.

Protected areas

Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks protects many archaeological and cultural sites of interest. Before the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, this land included the border between Mexico and the United States. The Aden Lava Flow Wilderness is here and there are 243 known archaeological sites within the monument,New National Monument Created in New Mexico
National Geographic, retrieved 9 June 2014 including some of the earliest Native American settlements and petroglyphs known from three different tribes. The land also includes Shelter Cave and Conkling Cavern.Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument Fact Sheet
organmountains.org, retrieved 9 June 2014 Fossils of ground sloths have been found in the area. More recently the land was used by William H. Bonney, better known as the outlaw

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

, and Geronimo, a leader during the Apache Wars, both of whom lived in various parts of New Mexico in the 19th century. It is said that Billy the Kid visited "Outlaw Rock", and there is a cave known as "Geronimo's Rock". The monument also includes of the historic Butterfield Stagecoach Trail. The monument includes sites where

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

bombers practiced their targeting, as well as Kilbourne Hole in the

Potrillo volcanic field The Potrillo volcanic field is a Monogenetic volcanic field, monogenetic volcanic field located on the Rio Grande Rift in southern New Mexico, United States and northern Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Mexico. The volcanic field lies southwest of ...

, where American astronauts trained for lunar missions in the 1960s.Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument to be Protected
nwwild.org, retrieved 9 June 2014

Campaign for establishment

The area was given national monument status following a campaign by conservation advocates that lasted several years. Several bills were introduced in Congress to protect the area through legislation, but they were blocked by House Republicans. In contrast with some previous monument designations, communities and governments of Doña Ana County were supportive of the application for designation. A poll found that 60 percent of the local voters favored establishing this land as a 500,000-acre national monument.Poll finds strong support for larger Organ Mountains proposal
Phil Taylor, ''Environment and Energy Publishing'', 23 January 2014

References

External links

BLM.gov: official Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument website

BLM.gov: Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument photos album

Friends of Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument
– ''public group''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument National Monuments in New Mexico Bureau of Land Management National Monuments Bureau of Land Management areas in New Mexico Protected areas of Doña Ana County, New Mexico Units of the National Landscape Conservation System National Monuments designated by Barack Obama Protected areas established in 2014 2014 establishments in New Mexico Protected areas of the Chihuahuan Desert