Last May, Secretary of Interior Babbitt announced his intention to ask President Clinton to proclaim 164,000 acres of BLM land in western Monte-zuma and Dolores counties as a national monument. His stated purpose was to secure funding for the long-term protection of the extensive archaeological resources within the "ACEC." When confronted with local objections to the kind of unilateral action that was taken in creating the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, Babbitt stated that the only alternative would be to increase protection through Congressional legislation creating a National Conservation Area. He has repeatedly stated that "doing nothing is not an option." If Congress doesn’t act, he and President Clinton will before they leave office.

On Jan. 11, 2000, President Clinton proclaimed three new national monuments. The largest monument, a million acres north of the Grand Canyon, was created against the vocal opposition of the congressional delegation and governor of Arizona. The proposed national monument in our back yard would have been on the Jan. 11 list, had we not been aggressively pursuing an alternative since that day in May when Secretary Babbitt announced his intentions in Cortez.

We began by insisting on immediate and open public involvement. A local working group was created under the Southwestern Regional Advis-ory Council, made up of farm, ranch, oil and gas, environmental, archaeological, recreational, small business and local government representatives. In six public meetings involving hundreds of local people, the working group gathered input and produced a summary report addressing the full range of local concerns and recommendations.

The working group summary called for increased funding to BLM for archaeological stabilization and protection, expanded community stewardship efforts, and the protection of multiple uses under BLM management including grazing, oil and gas, archaeological research and all forms of recreation. The summary also addressed the protection, access and use of private property. An advisory group was recommended with representation from affected stakeholders to oversee the development of a resource-management plan that will address long-term archaeological and multiple-use protections in detail.

Since that report was issued in August, we have done everything in our power to push for a legislative solution that addresses the concerns and recommendations raised by the community and documented by the Working Group. With the support of letters from a diverse and influential coalition of organizations, Sen. Campbell is preparing to introduce legislation based on the working group principles. Sen. Allard and Rep. McInnis have agreed to support a legislative effort that insures these fundamentals.