Meet  the man with a passion for Otero Mesa: Styve Homnick. In this feature article from Vámanos! weekly, Styve shares his journey from Brooklyn blues musician to wilderness defender and his special relationship with the Mescalero Apache. Walking Between the Worlds: The Life of Styve Homnick

On June 1st, Congressman Martin Heinrich (D-NM) wrote a letter to the Las Cruces Bureau of Land Management airing concerns over potential impacts of hardrock mining in America’s wildest grassland – Otero Mesa. Click here to read the full letter, and please call Congressman Heinrich to thank him for standing up for Otero Mesa.  In Albuquerque: 505-346-6781 In Washington, D.C.: 202-225-6316

Mining Claims in Otero Mesa Nearly Triple Geovic Mining Corp goes from staking 68 mining claims to 183 in the heart of America’s wildest grassland FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2011 CONTACT: Nathan Newcomer, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance 505-250-4225 John Cornell, New Mexico Wildlife Federation 575-740-1759 New Mexico Wilderness Alliance* The Wilderness Society* Southwest Environmental Center* New Mexico Wildlife Federation* National Wildlife Federation* Sierra Club* The Audubon Society* Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership* Restoring Eden* Environment New Mexico* Apache Advocates...

March 2, 2011 – KRWG TV Las Cruces interviews New Mexico Wildlife Federation’s John Cornell and New Mexico Wilderness Alliance’s Nathan Newcomer on the new mining claims staked on Otero Mesa’s Wind Mountain by Geovic Mining Corporation. Length: 5:52

Paradise Could Be Easily Lost Albuquerque Journal Monday, March 21, 2011 By Bennett A. Brown And John Cornell Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership; New Mexico Wildlife Federation “Otero Mesa is a majestic desert grassland in a remote area of southern New Mexico. Bordered on the north by the Sacramento Mountains and on the east by the Guadalupe Mountains, this 2,400-square-mile landscape encompasses roughly 1.2 million acres of public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Roughly half the area is grassland, including the largest remaining Chihuahuan Desert grassland assemblage...

Guest Commentary: The Antiquities Act By Bill Richardson “When Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings dating back to the 12th century were threatened, President Woodrow Wilson saved them by establishing Bandelier National Monument in my home state of New Mexico, 95 years ago this February. Now the designation of future monuments may be in jeopardy. Our next Bandelier, Grand Canyon, Statue of Liberty or other natural, historic and cultural treasures that shape our character and tell our story, may not be protected if current efforts to limit the Antiquities Act succeed. Bandelier...

New Mining Claims Staked On Wind Mountain Hudspeth County Herald – 2/23/2011 A Colorado-based company has staked more than 50 claims to mine cobalt from Wind Mountain and adjacent areas on Otero Mesa, a coalition of conservation groups announced this week. That news is likely to intensify the ongoing debate over the future of Otero Mesa, the management of federal lands there and the possibility of their designation as a national monument. According to a statement released Tuesday (Feb. 22) by the Coalition for Otero Mesa, Geovic Mining Corp staked more than 50 new mining claims on...

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN / Associated Press Posted: 02/23/2011 11:04:01 AM MST ALBUQUERQUE – The rolling hills and grasslands of southern New Mexico’s Otero Mesa have served as a battleground for environmentalists and the oil and natural gas industry for the past decade, and now a dozen new mining claims in the area have sparked concern among a coalition of environmental groups. Denver-based Geovic Mining Corp. has staked more than 50 20-acre claims in the hope of finding sources of zirconium and rare earth minerals. However, Geovic is still in the early stages of analyzing rock...

Mescalero group holds Otero Mesa sacred Alamogordo Daily News By Elva K. Osterreich, Associate News Editor 1/30/2011 Officially advocating for Otero Mesa to become a national monument, a group of Mescalero elders are making their voices heard on behalf of the grasslands of southern Otero County. The mission of the group is to preserve Otero Mesa and insure the history of the Mescalero Apache connection to the area is recognized. “We envision Otero Mesa as a place for Apache youth programs that will educate and inspire them by the unique lifestyle of their ancestors,” says their mission...

Show your love for Otero Mesa! On Valentine’s Day, many folks try to do something special for those they love. While you’re at it, why not do the same for the lands you love? All of us own 635 million acres of national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and western acreage overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Many of these places put up with a lot of abuse: poorly executed mining, drilling, and logging, to note a few– we need to make sure Otero Mesa isn’t one of them! Today, send a note to New Mexico’s BLM chief to let her know how much...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2011 CONTACT: Nathan Newcomer, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance 505-250-4225 John Cornell, New Mexico Wildlife Federation 575-740-1759 New Mexico Wilderness Alliance* The Wilderness Society* Southwest Environmental Center* New Mexico Wildlife Federation* National Wildlife Federation* Sierra Club* The Audubon Society* Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership* Restoring Eden* Environment New Mexico* Apache Advocates for Otero Mesa* Otero Mesa Targeted by Mining Industry Hardrock mining considered the “highest and best use” for public lands regardless of impacts...

Las Cruces Sun-News December 20, 2010 Their View: Otero Mesa and the role of a potential national monument By Ben Alexander Debate over a possible new national monument covering the Otero Mesa has erupted again. Given the importance of this issue, now is the time to discuss the economics of how a monument could impact southern New Mexico and whether it would be beneficial to residents. Let’s start with the area’s economy. The region’s economy has strong ties to the military, though since the mid-1980s these jobs have been declining. In contrast, services and professional sectors...