Heinrich Touts New Report Showing Public Lands Protections Provide Major Boost to Small Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 6, 2016) - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) touted a new economic report released by the Small Business Majority, a national small business advocacy organization, that demonstrates the strong link between the protection of public lands and economic growth.

The report shows that the 11 national monuments designated by President Obama, including Rio Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in New Mexico, have created a total of $156 million of new economic activity and helped create 1,820 new jobs. Senator Heinrich was joined by Renee Frank, a Las Cruces realtor and a founding member of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce, who underscored the positive economic impact the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks has had in southern New Mexico.

"This report demonstrates the significant impact national monuments make on the economies of their surrounding communities, and I commend the Small Business Majority for its work to disseminate this data," said Sen. Heinrich. "I am proud to have worked alongside local coalitions to welcome the President's designation of both Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. Both of these new monuments will permanently protect treasured landscapes in the Taos and Las Cruces areas, and are also proving to be good for business. New visitors from across the country and around the world are fueling New Mexico's tourism industry and creating new jobs and business opportunities."

"I'm here today to talk about how National Monuments can inject vibrancy into a community and provide growth opportunities for small businesses," said Renee Frank. "In 2014 President Obama designated the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in our county, in southern New Mexico. Since then, real estate sales have increased steadily month over month over previous years and just recently we experienced our biggest month of sales since 2009. National Monuments create local growth opportunities. And I have no doubt that small business owners around the country can benefit from this as ours has."

Key findings and the full report from the Small Business Majority are available here.