Happy New Year & Mimbres Peaks
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good afternoon,
For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
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Quick Thoughts of the Week
It’s been a great, yet busy, start to 2024 for me. How about you?
Tell the grinches at Dept of Energy: hands off our appliances! Take action HERE. Learn more at IWF Center for Energy and Conservation.
Foreign workers are flocking to my dad’s hometown in Lithuania.
The hilarious cabbie-turned-comedian Jimmy Failla announced he’s the official host of Fox News Saturday Night program starting January 13th, 2024.
My podcast trended in North America again after a year-long absence from the charts.
Get your tickets for the 23rd annual Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival happening next weekend.
Long-time National Rifle Association chief, Wayne LaPierre, announced his resignation from the organization effective January 31st, 2024. His tenure was greatly scrutinized—even by longtime NRA members.
That’s a wrap for this past week. Stay tuned for next week’s update!
Biden Admin Could Eye Mimbres Peaks As Next National Monument
The Biden administration could potentially be eyeing its sixth national monument, if petitioners in New Mexico get their way.
A campaign to establish the Mimbres Peaks National Monument launched last month. Petitioners claim this proposal would “conserve” 245,000 federal land acres from multiple-use activities like grazing and mining. The area would encompass the Florida Mountains, Cooke’s Range, the Good Sight Mountains, and the “Tres Hermanas” peaks.
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The effort is spearheaded by groups and interests from outside Luna County, New Mexico—namely state Sen. Carrie Hamblen, a Democrat representing Las Cruces, who also serves as chief executive officer of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce. Las Cruces, for context, sits 1.5 hours east of the proposed monument.
During a recent episode of my District of Conservation podcast, state Rep. Jenifer Jones (R-Deming) and miner Lori Coleman, owner of Spanish Stirrup Rock Shop, LLC., shared their concerns about Mimbres Peaks potentially getting on President Joe Biden’s radar.
“It was a surprise to most people, including all local and state elected officials,” remarked Rep. Jones. “Outsiders have proposed the monument and it was a big surprise. There was no public input before this went across the county as an immediate launch, which includes many untruths, and a lot of information that no one here knew about ahead of time that was really promoted from outsiders.”
The state lawmaker worries about locals, including constituents in agricultural and mining industries, losing access. Jones fears it’ll lead to economic displacement of rural folks who live off the land.
The Antiquities Act requires objects (or antiquities) of scientific, historic, or cultural significance to be protected on public lands that fall under these designations. Presidents have authority under Section II of the law to create, enlarge, or downsize monuments using existing federal lands but must limit declarations to the “smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” Democrat presidents, including Joe Biden, defer to wide sweeping National Park-like designations that, ironically, do little to protect antiquities yet limit public access for multiple uses.
ICYMI
Articles/commentary/media appearances from the past week.
MEDIA MENTIONS
I returned to the Lone Star Outdoor Show podcast with host Cable Smith.
I joined Fox 5 DC’s Monday AM Quarterback segment to dish on New Year’s Resolutions for politics.
ARTICLES/BLOGS
Townhall: Biden Admin Could Eye Mimbres Peaks As Next National Monument
District of Conservation
Catch up on District of Conservation episodes below.
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—Gabriella