近距离内射合集

I have spent much of my life outdoors. I have climbed mountains around the world, but the Sandia Mountains are home. They are part of what makes Albuquerque such an extraordinary place to live, they are protected public lands and we should think carefully before changing that.

Today, the Pueblo of Sandia is asking U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., to introduce legislation to transfer 10,000 acres on the west face of the Sandias from the U.S. Forest Service into trust for Sandia Pueblo.

I don鈥檛 fault the pueblo for asking. As a sovereign nation, Sandia Pueblo has every right to advocate for its interests, and its concerns about sacred sites, cultural resources and management deserve to be taken seriously. But Congress has a responsibility to everybody.

I know something about this issue because I was governor when we dealt with it the first time.

The dispute had gone on for decades, involving competing claims over ownership and questions about protecting the pueblo鈥檚 cultural interests, preserving the wilderness and protecting the public鈥檚 longstanding use of the mountain.

There was no solution that gave everyone everything they wanted. Instead, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and others worked to reach a compromise. Congress enacted it in 2003 as the T鈥檜f Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act.

The pueblo received unprecedented protections for its cultural interests and co-stewardship of the area. In return, they agreed to permanently give up their claims to ownership. The land remained national forest and wilderness and the public鈥檚 use and enjoyment was protected.

We should not walk away from that compromise without a very good reason.

The pueblo has raised concerns about cultural resources, litter, roads, trails and vandalism. Those concerns may be legitimate. But before Congress gives away 10,000 acres of national forest, it must answer two questions: First, have these claims been verified? Second, these are management problems. Why does solving them require a change in ownership?

Before government acts, it should explain what problem it is trying to solve, whether the proposal actually solves it and what unintended consequences may follow. I don鈥檛 believe that case has been made.

If cultural sites need greater protection, protect them. If U.S. Forest Service management isn't working, improve it. If the pueblo needs a stronger role in stewardship, figure out how to provide it. None of that requires transferring ownership of 10,000 acres of public land.

Today, this is national forest land. Much of it is federally designated wilderness, and the 2003 act provides specific protections for public use.

Putting the land into tribal trust changes that legal framework. Supporters may sincerely intend for public access to continue, but there is an important difference between an assurance from today鈥檚 leaders and a legal right that will exist in perpetuity.

One lesson I learned in business and government is simple: Don鈥檛 promise what you can鈥檛 deliver. If elected officials are promising New Mexicans that existing access and recreational opportunities will remain, put those protections in the law. Make them permanent and enforceable.

If that can鈥檛 be done, don鈥檛 tell New Mexicans that nothing meaningful is changing.

There is a better path. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., has said he does not support transferring the land out of Forest Service management and has instead discussed strengthening co-stewardship with the pueblo. That makes sense to me.

New Mexicans should not have to choose between respecting Sandia Pueblo and keeping the Sandias public. The 2003 agreement recognized that the pueblo has profound cultural and religious interests in these mountains, that the wilderness deserves protection, and that the public has a legitimate interest in continuing to use and enjoy this land.

All three can be true at the same time.

We spent years fighting over this land, and then years doing the hard work of finding a solution. The result wasn鈥檛 perfect for anyone. That鈥檚 what made it a compromise.

Twenty-three years later, we are debating the same land, the same competing interests and, remarkably, many of the same questions. We shouldn鈥檛 have to relearn the lessons that brought us to the 2003 agreement in the first place.

We already solved this once. Let鈥檚 remember why 鈥� and build on that solution instead of starting the fight all over again.

Gary Johnson was the governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003. He is a longtime climber, cyclist and outdoor enthusiast, he also lived for many years in the Tierra Monte neighborhood at the base of the Sandias.