Walt Rubel Commentary: OMDP faces tougher challenge

Here we go again.

In 2017 President Donald Trump sent Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to New Mexico to consider revoking or altering the status of the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument. Monument supporters rolled out the red carpet. Zinke toured the OMDP on horseback and had a rustic photo of himself plastered all over the front page of the newspaper. And it worked. Zinke recommended that other monuments be closed instead. Supporters of the OMDP felt like they had dodged a bullet, and it was now clear sailing ahead.

Now, the OMDP is reportedly again on the chopping block. And this time flattery may not be enough to save it.

Nothing is official yet, but a Washington Post story reports that the Trump administration is again considering changes to the monument, such as shrinking its boundaries and allowing for gas and oil production.

The Bureau of Land Management, which is responsible for the monument, released its Resource Management Plan earlier this year. The plan represents several years of careful study along with numerous hours of public input. It attempts to strike the right balance between recreation and economic development, while making conservation of the monument its top priority.

As we have seen these last 100 days, this Trump administration has no interest in balance. During the opening days of his first administration, Donald Trump was still feeling his way through. This time it's been nothing but slash and burn.

When the monument was first proposed, there was a vigorous effort led by local law enforcement to oppose it. Former Sheriff Todd Garrison warned us ominously that the OMDP would create a corridor where drug smugglers and human traffickers could operate freely. That turned out to be a bunch of hogwash.

Once the monument was opened, the local opposition seemed to melt away. The huge list of horribles we were warned about never happened. What did happen is more people were able to enjoy and appreciate these special sites. And that led to more tourism. A 2022 study by the Green Chamber of Commerce found that visitation to the monument has resulted in $13 million in tax revenue since the OMDP opened.

That new revenue represents exactly the kind of economic development the state needs to create as we work to diversify our economy and move away from our complete dependency on oil and gas revenue.

Ironically, it is that same dependency that may doom the monument. Trump has made it clear that increasing domestic gas and oil production is his only priority. If he comes to the conclusion that turning the OMDP over to the oil companies would be good for the bottom line, it won’t be long before it's full of rigs.

I recognize that in the grand scheme of things these days, protection of the OMDP seems minor by comparison. But an awful lot of work and study has gone into creating a management plan that would ensure other generations will have the same outdoors opportunities we have. That’s about to be lost.


Walter Rubel can be reached at [email protected].

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