Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – A package of bills introduced by U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today cleared a final hurdle and is now on its way to President Obama to be signed into law.  The package, which falls under the jurisdiction of Bingaman’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, contains several provisions to protect important sites in New Mexico.

Among the measures included in the package is Bingaman’s “Prehistoric Trackways National Monument Establishment Act”, which seeks to protect 290 million-year old fossilized animal tracks in the Robledo Mountains in Doña Ana County.  Specifically, the bill would create a new national monument out of approximately 5,367 acres of Bureau of Land Management land and preserve it for further scientific investigation.  
 
“Protecting this New Mexico treasure has been a priority for me and I am pleased that it is finally on its way to being signed into law,” Bingaman said.

The package also includes Bingaman’s Forest Landscape Restoration Act, which authorizes $40 million annually for landscape-scale forest restoration projects that cover 50,000 acres or more. Competitive grants would be awarded for restoration projects that are developed in collaboration with local communities. Eligible projects must be in need of ecosystem restoration, utilize the best-available science, encourage the use of restoration byproducts such as woody biomass, and be located primarily on National Forest System land. 

“Restoration projects help keep our forested areas healthy and fire-safe, while also creating jobs in nearby communities,” Bingaman said.

Additionally, the package includes legislation Bingaman introduced that clears title to several tracks of land and paves the way for the city of Albuquerque to complete its development of a Biological Park along the middle Rio Grande. The Biological Park incorporates the Rio Grande Botanical Garden, Tingley Beach, the Zoo and the Aquarium. 

“This title clarification makes it possible for the city to continue with plans to expand the popular bio-park,” Bingaman said. 

Also in the package is a bill Bingaman co-authored to provide federal protection to the Snowy River formation within the Fort Stanton Cave in Lincoln County.

The Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area Act, which was first introduced in the last Congress by then-Senator Pete Domenici, will provide permanent protection to the Snowy River formation and protect it for future research and educational purposes.  The formation contains a more than 4-mile-long continuous calcite-crystal river bed that is believed to be the longest one of its kind in the world.

"The Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave is a one-of-a-kind geological treasure, and scientists still have much more to learn about this unique formation.  This bill will ensure it is protected for future educational and scientific research,” Bingaman said. 

Additionally, the package contains the National Landscape Conservation System Act, a measure sponsored by Bingaman, which codifies the National Landscape Conservation System, the collection of national monuments, national conservation areas, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers and other landscapes on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 

Finally, the bill contains two measures that allow for the exchange of land in the Santa Fe National Forest; Pecos National Historical Park Land Exchange; Santa Fe National Forest Land Conveyance.