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New Mexico Senators Propose Wilderness Areas Within National Monument
New Mexico's two senators want to designate wilderness areas within one of the state's newest national monuments.
President Barak Obama created the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument via executive order in 2013.
New Mexico Bureau of Land Management
The Rio Grande del Norte National monument was designated by executive order in 2013. It includes the 800-foot deep Rio Grande Gorge just north of Taos, New Mexico.
On Wednesday, Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall introduced a bill that would create two wilderness areas within the monument. Together, the Cerro del Yuta Wilderness and Rio San Antonio Wilderness would add up to 21,420 acres, about 9 percent of the monument's total area.
A wilderness designation provides the highest protection against human development on federal land. It prohibits the use of vehicles, motorized equipment and construction of permanent roads.
The national monument stretches along the Rio Grande from the New Mexico-Colorado border to just south of Taos. It features the Rio Grande Gorge, an 800-foot-deep river canyon and is home to elk, golden eagles, bighorn sheep and other wildlife.