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| Wilson Highlights Preserving NM Wilderness |
October 28, 2004 |
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| Wilson, Pino Visit School & Talk Ojito Act
Albuquerque – Speaking today to fifth-graders at Inez Elementary School, Congresswoman Heather Wilson and Zia Pueblo Governor Peter M. Pino discussed the importance of preserving wilderness lands in New Mexico.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ojito Wilderness and Land Transfer Act (H.R. 3176) to protect 11,000 acres of wilderness and transfer ancestral lands to the Zia Pueblo. Wilson is an original cosponsor of the bill along with Rep. Tom Udall.
The bill would establish the Ojito Wilderness Study Area as a permanent wilderness area to be protected under the 1964 Wilderness Act. It also provides for the purchase and transfer of adjacent ancestral lands, now under the Bureau of Land Management, to the Pueblo of Zia. While the public would have continued access, the lands would be preserved as open space and the transfer would unite two areas of the reservation.
Wilson talked with students about what makes the Wilderness unique:
It has many species of animals and plants.
It has interesting formations of rock and land, including badlands, plateaus and mesas.
It contains cultural, paleontological and archeological sites.
It is the discovery place of one of a large dinosaur in 1978 – a 110-foot Seismosaurus, one of the world’s longest dinosaurs.
The area is historic with multi-room pueblos and petroglyphs of dating back to the Zia ancestors.
“We are protecting this land now so that it will be preserved for the next generation,” Wilson said. “We also want to make sure the Pueblo has these important ancestral lands.”
"The Pueblo appreciates Congresswoman Wilson`s leadership on the Ojito Wilderness Act," Governor Pino said last month. "She and Congressman Udall have helped us move closer than ever to uniting our reservation land."
The Pueblo has worked with the county, the Bureau of Land Management and the state land office in developing legislation with broad support. The effort has the support of Rep. Udall, Sen. Pete Domenici, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Governor Richardson, State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons, all 20 Pueblos of New Mexico, Bernalillo and Sandoval county commissions, the city of Albuquerque, adjacent landowners and grazing permit holders.
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