After half a decade听of legislative holdups, New Mexico鈥檚 White Sands National Monument听has officially been a national park.
Located 220 miles south of Albuquerque, White Sands is the largest gypsum dune field听in the world and is so expansive that it can be seen from space. It was established as a national monument in 1933, and听since its inception听has attracted more visitors than any other National Parks Service site in New Mexico, according to a statement from the office of U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich.听鈥淭his is a pretty prestigious recognition of White Sands, one of New Mexico's most remarkable natural wonders,鈥 said Heinrich, who introduced the bill to Congress with U.S. Representative Xochitl Torres Small in March 2019.听
Starting this spring, visitors to the 275-square-mile stretch of rolling dunes will now be able to hike and camp in its backcountry, sled down sandy hills, and stargaze鈥攚ithout the interruptions of missile tests. The听designation was included in the (the 2020 defense spending bill), which was passed through the U.S. Senate on December 17 and 听by President Trump. The reason it鈥檚 a provision in Congress鈥檚 defense bill is because the former monument shares land with the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), a U.S. military weapons testing area and the site of the first atomic bomb detonation.听
Since the 1970s, the U.S. Army has been trying to secure land within the national monument鈥檚 boundaries in order to more easily access its missile testing site.听The new legislation听gives the military 2,826 acres of land within the monument鈥檚 former boundaries to allow for听this access.听In exchange, the National Parks Service has been granted 5,766 acres of formerly Army-owned land on the eastern side of the park.听Not only does this mean that White Sands will expand by听2,030 acres, but visitors will no longer have to plan around the Range鈥檚 weapon听testing drills. Previously, on a random day or two of the week, the monument would close to visitors as a safety protocol.
The new designation will also have positive impacts on the surrounding community: a found that turning monuments to national parks could increase visitation by 21 percent (about 100,000 more visitors) in the first five years and result in a $7.5 million increase in the local economy, mainly due to increased visibility.听According to the legislation, all funding for the current monument will be directly transferred to the national park.听Additional funding is dependent on an increase in the park鈥檚 visitors, which would help White Sands compete for NPS resources. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always easier to get my colleagues, whether it鈥檚 in the appropriations process or or any other competitive process, to focus on something that people know the value of,鈥 Heinrich said. 鈥淵ou know, there is no stronger brand in the world than America鈥檚 national parks.鈥
Those who鈥檝e visited White Sands won鈥檛 be surprised by its new status, while others who are less familiar are in for a real treat. Beyond the surreal beauty of its endless dunes, the park is full of wildlife and has a long听, including evidence of hunter gatherers going back 10,000 years.