Udall's N.M. Legacy Spectacular, Everlasting
By Linda Rundell, New Mexico State Director, Bureau of Land Management
On March 20, a humble champion of our most treasured landscapes in America, and our special Santa Fe resident passed away.
Former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Lee Udall made his mark on our country and, specifically, on our great state of New Mexico. While his achievements are many, I would like to highlight just a few that involve the Bureau of Land Management.
President Barack Obama signed public-lands legislation last year, which included a bill originally introduced by then-Congressman Tom Udall, to create the Sabinoso Wilderness. This 16,030-acre wilderness is a remote area in the northeastern portion of New Mexico. The rugged country contains piñon, ponderosa pine and juniper woodlands with beautiful grass-covered mesas, and streams that flow in the canyon bottoms. The BLM is now able to manage this mystical area to preserve its wilderness character, natural and undeveloped.
Without Secretary Udall, the spectacular Sabinoso Wilderness might not be wilderness today, nor would New Mexico's other spectacular wilderness areas, including the Bisti/De-Na-Zin, Cebolla, Ojito, and West Malpais, for it was due to his work and dedication as secretary of the Interior that the Wilderness Act of 1964 became law.
As you head west from Sabinoso Wilderness, you encounter the Río Grande Gorge, with the invincible Río Grande flowing through the majestic cliffs it created. I'm sure most of you will agree that no matter how many times you drive through, you're struck by the awe-inspiring beauty of the area as if you're being engulfed in the sheer magnitude and power of nature. In 1968, the Río Grande became one of the first eight rivers Congress designated into the National Wild and Scenic River System, a system created by Congress under Secretary Udall's term as Interior secretary. As you head further west, you are amazed by the beauty of the Río Chama, a major tributary of the Río Grande, flows through a multi-colored sandstone canyon whose walls grow to 1,500 feet. Towering cliffs, heavily wooded side canyons, and historical sites grace the area. The Río Chama, also a Wild and Scenic River designated by Congress in 1988, might not have been protected today as a Wild and Scenic River without the efforts of Secretary Udall.
Many also credit Secretary Udall for his work in passage of the National Trail System Act of 1968. In New Mexico, this brought protection for the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, which provides scenic hiking and horseback riding on 3,100 miles between Mexico and Canada; El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, which traces the primary route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico City and Santa Fe and the Old Spanish National Historic Trail between Santa Fe and
Los Angeles, protecting the historic culture of the trail.
On a personal level, Secretary Udall, while extremely accomplished and successful throughout his lifetime, remained a genuine and kind man. We had the privilege of having him as a keynote speaker for a BLM conference held in Santa Fe three years ago. A BLM employee recalls nervously picking Secretary Udall up for the event only to find his gracious invitation into his home to autograph a book.
We also tried to honor him with a BLM lifetime achievement award, but he responded thanking us instead saying "... I must respectfully decline the invitation. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for your gesture, and thank you for the work of you and your colleagues in protecting and conserving our Nation's natural resources."
We will miss Secretary Udall and thank him for who he was and for all he did in protecting our national treasures throughout New Mexico and the nation.
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