The Los Alamos County Council presented U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman with its “Key to the County” honor during a visit by Bingaman to Los Alamos last week. County Council Chairman Michael Wismer offered four primary reasons why the Council chose to bestow this award on Bingaman — one of which was the Senator’s ongoing effort to secure passage of legislation that would transfer management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service. The other reasons Wismer provided were Bingaman’s support for green technology, support of LANL projects and Northern New Mexico’s economy, and funding of specific county projects and programs. Click here to read a story in the Los Alamos Monitor about Bingaman’s award.
Chairman Wismer presented the following remarks regarding Bingaman’s advocacy of transferring the Valles Caldera to the National Park Service:
This Summer, the Senator has been very active in matters concerning the Valles Caldera National Preserve – acreage near Los Alamos that is near and dear to our community – and one that we hope will have a favorable outcome soon with congressional action. I was honored to be in Washington D.C. to testify last June when Senator Bingaman chaired the Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to discuss legislation that he and Senator Tom Udall wrote to transfer the management of the Preserve to the National Park Service. We support the Senators’ bill which directs the Park Service to take over management in a way that protects the Preserve’s natural and cultural resources. The preserve is a national treasure and we hope the legislation will be successful.
