Rep. Stansbury Declines to Confirm Opposing Nearly 10,000-Acre Sandia Land Transfer; Advocacy Group Says She Voiced Opposition at October 23 Meeting
Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico — The proposed transfer of nearly 10,000 acres in the Sandia Mountains drew renewed attention on October 30, when U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, in an interview with The Paper., declined to confirm that she opposes the transfer.
Sandias for All, a group of neighbors and recreation users opposing the transfer, said on its website that Stansbury "clearly stated that she does NOT support transferring 10,000 acres of the Sandia Mountains out of the National Forest" at an October 23 meeting. The group said the meeting also included representatives from Senator Martin Heinrich's office and officials from the Bernalillo and Sandoval county sheriff's departments.
Several attendees confirmed to The Paper. that Stansbury explained she would normally support land-back efforts but viewed this proposal differently because of the 2003 T'uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act, which established a preservation area within the Cibola National Forest and Sandia Mountain Wilderness, recognizing Sandia Pueblo's rights while protecting the area's national forest and wilderness character and public use.
In the October 30 interview, however, Stansbury declined to confirm she had opposed the transfer, said the group may have misunderstood her position, and said she is following Heinrich's lead in seeking a path forward. Heinrich has said he opposes the transfer as proposed by Sandia Pueblo but is pursuing a shared-management approach with the Pueblo. Bernalillo County Commissioner Walt Benson has also written against the transfer, citing public access, land management and law enforcement concerns.
Source: GSM America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：New Mexico State Capitol。来源：Wikimedia Commons（Jim Bowen，CC BY 2.0）
