New Mexico hunters and anglers have voiced their support of U.S. Senators Bingaman and Udall, who on Thursday submitted a letter to President Obama requesting the designation of National Monuments at Rio Grande del Norte and the Organ Mountains. In their letter, Sens. Udall and Bingaman cited the broad local support for protecting the two locations, as well as the inability of Congress to act before the year is up.
“For anglers, permanent protection of this stretch of the Rio Grande is the key to long-term health of our local fishing opportunity and the economic contribution that fishing brings to this area,” said Nick Streit, owner of the Taos Fly Shop and a lifelong Taos hunter and angler.
Hunting guide Mark Casias of Taos also applauded the senators’ request for national monument status for El Rio Grande del Norte. “Residents of northern New Mexico have
used this area for centuries to feed their families and pass on the hunting tradition,” he said. “As a national monument, we can be assured that those uses will continue on into the future.”