President to designate Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

Retired U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich will join President Obama at a National Monument Proclamations Signing Ceremony in the Oval Office on Monday to establish the Río Grande del Norte in northern New Mexico as a U.S. National Monument. 

 In 2007, now-retired Senator Jeff Bingaman's office began working with residents of Taos and Rio Arriba Counties to identify how to best protect the land. 

Since then, Bingaman, Sens. Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, and Rep. Ben Ray Luján have worked to advance legislation through Congress to protect the area and asked the White House to consider a monument designation. 

President to designate Rio Grande del Norte National Monument