[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 128, 113th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 9131--MAY 21, 2014

Proclamation 9131 of May 21, 2014

Establishment of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In southern New Mexico, surrounding the city of Las Cruces in the
R[iacute]o Grande's fertile Mesilla Valley, five iconic mountain ranges
rise above Chihuahuan Desert grasslands: the Robledo, Sierra de las
Uvas, Do[ntilde]a Ana, Organ, and Potrillo Mountains. These mountain
ranges and lowlands form the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area.
The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area is important for its ruggedly
beautiful landscape and the significant scientific, historic, and
prehistoric resources found there. The abundant resources testify to
over 10,000 years of vibrant and diverse human history of many peoples.
Objects left behind by this multi-layered history and spread throughout
this geologically and ecologically diverse landscape enhance the
experience of visitors to the area and represent a vital resource for
paleontologists, archaeologists, geologists, biologists, and historians.
Archaeologically rich, the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area features
hundreds of artifacts, rock art, dwellings, and other evidence of the
Native peoples of the area. Three of the many rock art areas are in the
Las Valles Canyon in the Sierra de las Uvas, the Providence Cone area in
the Potrillo Mountains, and the Do[ntilde]a Ana Mountains. Scattered
Paleo Indian artifacts, including those from the Folsom and Clovis
cultures, represent the first people who lived in southern New Mexico
and have been found in the Robledo and Potrillo Mountains as well as the
Las Uvas Valley. The majority of the cultural items known to be in the
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area are from the Chihuahuan Archaic period
between 8,000 and 2,000 years ago. Diverse rock art images, along with
ceramic fragments, demonstrate that the area was the scene of many
cross-cultural interactions as the region's early occupants transitioned
over time from roaming hunters to semi-permanent villagers.
The deeply creviced peaks of the Organ Mountains, named in 1682 by early
European explorers for their resemblance to organ pipes, conceal
numerous ancient dwellings, including La Cueva, and other caves where
smoke-blackened ceilings evidence long-extinguished campfires. The
Native people of these mountains used natural overhangs for shel

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ter and food storage, and their obsidian points, basket fragments, and
food remains are still present. Small caves and pit-house villages can
be found across the landscape, including ruins of a ten-room pueblo in
the Robledo Mountains.
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail memorializes an
early trading route linking numerous pre-existing Native American
footpaths to connect Spanish colonial capitals. The Trail, used through
the 19th century by travelers, traders, settlers, soldiers, clergy, and
merchants, skirts the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area as it follows
the R[iacute]o Grande Valley. Explorers and travelers along the Trail
documented the marvels of this area in their journals and explored the
mountains in search of mineral riches and game. Historians continue to
study the southernmost portion of the area, which was acquired in 1854
as part of the Gadsden Purchase, the final territorial acquisition
within the contiguous United States.
In the 1800s, the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area was central to
several battles among the Apaches, Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans, and
between Union and Confederate troops. The first Civil War engagements in
New Mexico were fought in the Organ Mountains when Confederate soldiers
used Baylor Pass Trail to outflank Union soldiers. In a Robledo
Mountains legend, the famed Apache leader Geronimo is said to have
entered a cave to avoid U.S. soldiers; while the soldiers stood guard at
the only entrance of what is now known as ``Geronimo's Cave,'' the
Apache leader mysteriously disappeared without a trace. An 1880s U.S.
military heliograph station, the remains of which still stand at Lookout
Peak in the Robledo Mountains, transmitted Morse code messages during
the Army's western campaigns.
In the late 1850s, John Butterfield developed the Butterfield Overland
Trail, a mail and passenger stagecoach service from Memphis and St.
Louis to San Francisco. Butterfield set upon improving the segments of
the Trail in southern New Mexico that had been previously used by
Spanish explorers, the Mormon Battalion, and western settlers. Crossing
the Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks area are about 20 miles of the Trail,
along which sit the remains of at least one stage stop.
Visitors to the Organ Mountains can still see remnants of Dripping
Springs, a once-popular resort and concert hall, built in the 1870s and
converted into a sanatorium before its abandonment and decay. In the
late 19th century, the infamous outlaw Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney)
repeatedly traversed this area. While hiding in the Robledo Mountains,
``the Kid'' inscribed his signature, which is still visible today, on
what is now known as ``Outlaw Rock.'' During World War II, the Army
Corps of Engineers constructed 18-acre bombing targets, the remains of
which still dot the landscape.
The long, diverse, and storied history of this landscape is not
surprising given its striking geologic features and the ecological
diversity that they harbor. The dramatic and disparate mountain ranges
of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area tower above the surrounding
grasslands and deserts of the R[iacute]o Grande watershed, while the
R[iacute]o Grande winds through the valley between the ranges. From the
sedimentary deposits of the Robledo Mountains in the west, where the
story of ancient life and activity is recorded in fossilized footprints,
to the needle-like spires of the Organ Mountains in the east and the

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ancient volcanic fields and lava flows in the south, these peaks trace
the region's varied geologic history.
The Sierra de las Uvas, the westernmost of the peaks, are low volcanic
mountains that bear the red tint of the lava from which they formed over
10 million years ago. The tallest, Magdalena Peak, is a lava dome rising
6,509 feet above sea level. For millennia, the ridges, cliffs, and
canyons of the rugged Sierra de las Uvas have defined the movement and
migration patterns of humans and wildlife alike. The Robledo Mountains,
which are composed of alluvial limestone bedrock and contain numerous
caves, have long been an important site for research on the formation of
desert soils and sedimentary rock, including geological studies of
sedimentation and stratigraphy.
The Potrillo Mountains and volcanic field are testament to the area's
violent geologic history of seismicity and volcanism. Millions of years
after the Cenozoic tectonics that opened the R[iacute]o Grande Rift,
volcanic activity left its mark on the surface, which is punctuated by
cinder cone and shield volcanoes, thick layers of basalt, craters, and
lava flows. The Potrillo volcanic field contains over 100 cinder cones,
ranging in age from 20,000 to one million years old. The Aden Lava Flow
area is characterized by lava tubes, steep-walled depressions, and
pressure ridges that memorialize the flow of lava that created this
unique landscape.
The volcanic field also contains five maars, or low-relief volcanic
craters. Kilbourne Hole, a maar with unique volcanic features that the
Secretary of the Interior designated as a National Natural Landmark in
1975, is over a mile wide and over 300 feet deep. The sparkling yellow
and green olivine glass granules found inside rocks blown from the
crater attract amateur and professional geologists to this site, and its
resemblance to the lunar landscape provides scientists and visitors with
other-worldly experiences, as it did for the Apollo astronauts who
trained there. A slightly smaller maar, Hunt's Hole, brings visitors and
geologists to the southeastern corner of the Potrillo Mountains complex.
The wide range of unique and exemplary volcanic features in the
Potrillos makes this area a center for research in geology and
volcanology.
The iconic Do[ntilde]a Ana Mountains include limestone ridges, hogbacks,
and cuestas topped by monzonite peaks, including Summerford Mountain and
Do[ntilde]a Ana Peak, the highest of these at nearly 6,000 feet. To the
east, the steep, needle-like spires of the Organ Mountains rise to over
9,000 feet and have been a landmark for travelers for centuries. These
block-faulted, uplifted mountains expose geologically significant
Precambrian granite and metamorphic basement rocks.
Much of the area is ripe for paleontological discovery. For example,
Shelter Cave in the Organ Mountains is a well-documented fossil site,
including fossil remnants of ancient ground sloths, birds, and voles.
The Robledo Mountains are also an important site for paleontological
research; the fossilized tracks and remains of prehistoric creatures
preserved there play a vital role in our understanding of the Permian
period. This area, along with the Organ Mountains, also contains
abundant invertebrate fossils. The congressionally designated
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is adjacent to, and shares its
paleontologically rich geologic formations with, the Organ Mountains-

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Desert Peaks area, suggesting that this landscape could yield many more
significant fossil discoveries. Among the volcanic cones in the Potrillo
Mountains is Aden Crater, a small shield cone where a lava tube housed
the 11,000-year old skeleton of a ground sloth, one of few ever
recovered with skin and hair preserved and a key to understanding the
extinction of this and other species.
The diverse geology underlies an equally wide array of vegetative
communities and ecosystems, which range from low-elevation Chihuahuan
grasslands and scrublands to higher elevation stands of ponderosa pine.
Seasonal springs and streams in the mountains and canyon bottoms create
rare desert riparian ecosystems. These communities provide habitat for
many endemic and special status plant and animal species.
Throughout the area, the characteristic plants of the Chihuahuan desert
are evident. Tobosa grasslands can be found in the desert flats,
punctuated by creosote bush and mesquite, as well as sacahuista,
lechuguilla, and ferns. In the Sierra de las Uvas Mountains, black grama
grasslands appear on the mesas while juniper woodlands and Chihuahuan
vegetation give way to higher elevation montane communities. Formed by a
series of alluvial fans, bajadas extend out from the base of the area's
mountains and provide purchase for oak species, Mexican buckeye, prickly
pears, white fir, willow, catsclaw mimosa, sotol, agave, ocotillo,
flowering cactus, barrel cactus, brickellbush, and tarbush. The Potrillo
Mountains are home to desert shrub communities that also include
soaptree yucca and four winged saltbush.
These species are emblematic of the Chihuahuan Desert, and the diversity
of plant and animal communities found here is stunning. The transitions
among vegetation zones found in the Sierra de las Uvas and Potrillos
make this area an important resource for ecological research. Similarly,
the Do[ntilde]a Ana Mountains abut one of the Nation's long-term
ecological research areas, making them an important feature of many
studies in wildlife biology, botany, and ecology.
The Organ Mountains are home to alligator juniper, gray oak, and
mountain mahogany, as well as the endemic Organ Mountain evening
primrose, Organ Mountains giant hyssop, Organ Mountains paintbrush,
Organ Mountains pincushion cactus, Organ Mountain figwort, Organ
Mountains scaleseed, night-blooming cereus, Plank's Catchfly, and
nodding cliff daisy, and likely the endangered Sneed's pincushion
cactus.
The area also supports diverse wildlife. Across the Organ Mountains-
Desert Peaks landscape, many large mammal species can be found, such as
mountain lions, coyotes, and mule deer. The Organ Mountains were also
historically home to desert bighorn sheep. Raptors such as the golden
eagle, red-tailed hawk, and endangered Aplomado falcon soar above the
area's grasslands and foothills, where they prey on a variety of mice,
rock squirrels, and other rodents, including the Organ Mountains
chipmunk.
The area's exceptional animal diversity also includes many migratory and
grassland song birds and a stunning variety of reptiles, such as black-
tailed, western diamondback, and banded rock rattlesnakes; whipsnakes
and bullsnakes; and tree, earless, Madrean alligator, and checkered
whiptail lizards. Birds such as Gambel's quail, black-throated sparrow,
ladder-backed woodpecker, verdin, black-tailed

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gnatcatcher, lesser nighthawk, Scott's oriole, and cactus wren also make
their homes here, along with many species of bats. Other mammals,
including black-tailed jackrabbits, cactus mice, and kangaroo rats,
inhabit the area. One of several species of rare terrestrial snails in
the area, the Organ Mountain talussnail, is also endemic.
The protection of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area will preserve
its cultural, prehistoric, and historic legacy and maintain its diverse
array of natural and scientific resources, ensuring that the
prehistoric, historic, and scientific values of this area remain for the
benefit of all Americans.
WHEREAS section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C.
431) (the ``Antiquities Act'') authorizes the President, in his
discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks,
historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or
scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled
by the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and to
reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all
cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper
care and management of the objects to be protected;
WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve the objects of
scientific and historic interest on the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
lands;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Antiquities
Act, hereby proclaim the objects identified above that are situated upon
lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of
the United States to be the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National
Monument (monument) and, for the purpose of protecting those objects,
reserve as part thereof all lands and interests in lands owned or
controlled by the Government of the United States within the boundaries
described on the accompanying map, which is attached to and forms a part
of this proclamation. These reserved Federal lands and interests in
lands encompass approximately 496,330 acres, which is the smallest area
compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be
protected.
All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of the
monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of entry,
location, selection, sale, leasing, or other disposition under the
public land laws, including withdrawal from location, entry, and patent
under the mining laws, and from disposition under all laws relating to
mineral and geothermal leasing, other than by exchange that furthers the
protective purposes of the monument.
The establishment of the monument is subject to valid existing rights.
Lands and interests in lands within the monument's boundaries not owned
or controlled by the United States shall be reserved as part of the
monument upon acquisition of ownership or control by the United States.
The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall manage the monument
through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as a unit of the National
Landscape Conservation System, pursuant to applicable legal authorities,
including, as applicable, the provisions of section 603 of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1782) governing

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the management of wilderness study areas, to protect the objects
identified above.
For purposes of protecting and restoring the objects identified above,
the Secretary, through the BLM, shall prepare and maintain a management
plan for the monument and shall provide for maximum public involvement
in the development of that plan including, but not limited to,
consultation with tribal, State, and local governments.
Except for emergency or authorized administrative purposes, motorized
vehicle use in the monument shall be permitted only on designated roads,
and non-motorized mechanized vehicle use shall be permitted only on
roads and trails designated for their use; provided, however, that
nothing in this provision shall be construed to restrict the use of
motorized vehicles in wilderness study areas beyond the requirements of
section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. No additional
roads or trails shall be established for motorized vehicle or non-
motorized mechanized vehicle use unless necessary for public safety or
protection of the objects identified above.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to preclude the
Secretary from renewing or authorizing the upgrading of existing utility
line rights-of-way within the physical scope of each such right-of-way
that exists on the date of this proclamation. Other rights-of-way shall
be authorized only if they are necessary for the care and management of
the objects identified above. However, watershed restoration projects
and small-scale flood prevention projects may be authorized if they are
consistent with the care and management of such objects.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge or diminish the
rights of any Indian tribe or pueblo. The Secretary shall, in
consultation with Indian tribes, ensure the protection of religious and
cultural sites in the monument and provide access to the sites by
members of Indian tribes for traditional cultural and customary uses,
consistent with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (92 Stat. 469,
42 U.S.C. 1996) and Executive Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred
Sites).
Laws, regulations, and policies followed by the BLM in issuing and
administering grazing permits or leases on lands under its jurisdiction
shall continue to apply with regard to the lands in the monument,
consistent with the protection of the objects identified above.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge or diminish the
jurisdiction of the State of New Mexico, including its jurisdiction and
authority with respect to fish and wildlife management.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to affect the provisions of
the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture regarding ``Cooperative National Security and
Counterterrorism Efforts on Federal Lands along the United States'
Borders.''
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke any existing
withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; however, the monument shall
be the dominant reservation.
Nothing in this proclamation shall preclude low level overflights of
military aircraft, the designation of new units of special use airspace,

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or the use or establishment of military flight training routes over the
lands reserved by this proclamation.
Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not to appropriate,
injure, destroy, or remove any feature of the monument and not to locate
or settle upon any of the lands thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of
May, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.
BARACK OBAMA


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