On Wednesday, the White House announced that President Barack Obama will make New Mexico's Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks a national monument.

The mountain range, which lies in New Mexico's south-central region is 500,000 acres, making it the largest monument to be declared by Obama.

"By establishing the monument, the president will permanently protect more than 496,000 acres to preserve the prehistoric, historic and scientific values of the area for the benefit of all Americans," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, according to USA Today.

The move is expected to bring $7.4 million worth of activity to the region based on an independent study by BBC Research & Consulting and is promoted as an investment. Democratic New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall introduced turning the mountains into a monument in December.

"The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument will put the unique and spectacular desert landscapes of southern New Mexico on recreation maps around the world, attracting tourists to the region, creating jobs and bringing in millions of dollars in tourism revenue," Udall told the Albuquerque Journal.

Meanwhile, some wonder if the designation will really accomplish conservation minded tasks despite a BBC Research & Consultancy study that found profits from tourism would come "while preserving access for sportsmen, ranchers and recreational users." Opponents think the designation will make things difficult for border enforcers. Ranchers have also expressed concern about harm to their businesses.

"It's a whole travesty of justice," Dudley Williams, a Doña Ana County rancher, said.

"It's pretty typical of what the president is doing now," Republican New Mexico representative Steve Pearce added. "It bypasses the will of the people. It's not going to be good for the county, and it will depress the economy over the long term and make it harder for the rural, New Mexico way of life to continue."

The designation of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks aligns with Obama's State of the Union Address when he said he would "protect more of our pristine federal lands for future generations," according to USA Today.

"This [announcement] was a long time coming and really an incredible vindication of all of the efforts that so many local community leaders have put on for over a decade now," Heinrich said.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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