Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument saved for now

Las Cruces public land activists praised the failure to pass a controversial proposal to sell millions of acres of public land across the U.S.

The proposal caught the eye of the Senate Parliamentarian — a nonpartisan official who makes sure senate rules are followed — who said that since the proposal did not directly impact the budget, it could not be included in the budget bill. This portion of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was later removed. 

Executive Director of Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Patrick Nolan praised this development saying that this was “a win for public lands.”

“People across the west spoke out and said how bad of an idea this was and I think it was also bipartisan,” Nolan said. “There were folks from both sides of the aisle that really pushed to get this removed and I think that is a good thing.” 

However, Nolan said that he does not think this will be the last time a bill like this comes up. He said that Republican Senator from Utah, Mike Lee — the senator responsible for the proposal — has been pushing for similar bills for “as long as I can remember.”

“We certainly anticipate something like this coming back again,” Nolan said. “When, where, and how I think we don't know but we are fearful that it will come back.” 

Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and many other conservation groups in New Mexico have been holding protests and writing letters to elected officials in opposition to the proposal. Nolan said that working to defeat it “defined our work for the past month.”

“The community loves this place and they love these public lands and it adds to our quality of life. They deserve to be protected and not sent out to the highest bidder,” Nolan said. 

New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich, who was also a vocal opponent of the proposal, also said that this was a “victory.”

“Thank you for your incredible outpouring in defense of our American birthright,” Heinrich said in a statement. “Because of you, the lands that we cherish will remain ours.” 

In a statement prior to the removal of the proposal, Heinrich listed Monument Loop Mountain Biking Route as a possible piece of land that could have been sold.

H.R. 1 — commonly referred to as “The One Big Beautiful Bill” — passed the U.S. Senate on the morning of July 1 and will return to the U.S. House of Representatives to be voted on again.