June 6, 2003

Mr. James M. Hughes
Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management
VIA FAX: (202) 208-5242

 Dear Mr. Hughes:
            We, residents of Southern New Mexico and West Texas, appreciate the work done by the BLM in protecting a considerable amount of area in the Organ Mountains as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and as Wilderness Study Areas.  We support this mission of the BLM’s Mimbres Regional Management Plan which directs them to continue to pursue the acquisition of private in holdings in the Organ Mountains for the purpose of connectivity and access.
            The BLM currently is in position to acquire an important piece of privately owned land which would provide access to the protected Achenbach Canyon area in the Organ Mountains for the public.  The Organ Mountains are a popular recreational destination for people all over Southern New Mexico and West Texas.  We enjoy the scenery, hiking and bird watching; however, public access is a continuing problem. This is the result of private land holdings which completely hem in the borders of prime public lands.  The Citizen’s Task Force for Open Space Preservation, a grass-roots organization which strives to preserve natural landscapes for public benefit, supports the acquisition of enough of these properties by the BLM to assure access to Achenbach Canyon.
            Former Congressman Skeen’s office worked to appropriate a fund of $8 Million of Land and Water Conservation Funds for the purpose of acquiring lands in the Organs.  However, the unspent $4 Million of these funds remaining have recently been re-assigned to projects out of the Southern New Mexico area and no longer will benefit our local citizens' need for additional points of access to this wonderful recreation area.  Because of this unfortunate and unforeseen loss of funds, a land exchange would be the best way to acquire the Organ Mountain properties currently available.  The current owner, a local developer, has expressed a desire to exchange his Organ Mountain properties for land in Section #3 adjacent to his other holdings.  The owner was to have acquired the entire section initially through the trade process in which BLM acquired Picacho Peak, but he cooperated in good faith with BLM's requests to alter the trade and delay the release of the entire section.  We believe that the owner has conscientiously followed BLM protocol and has tried to assist BLM in fulfilling their mission.
             President Bush has stood for a policy which encourages local decisions affecting public lands.  We encourage your office to listen to local support for acquiring these key properties before the opportunity slips away.  Please also recognize that Dona Ana County relies on its beauty to attract people and protecting this beauty and providing access for informal recreation is critical for future economic development in the region.

Sincerely,
John Bunn
Spokesperson for CTF

cc:  Governor Richardson
       Senator Bingaman
       Senator Dominici
       Representative Pearce
       Representative Udall
       State Director Linda Rundell