Last week, we reported that Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury opposed transferring nearly 10,000 acres of the Sandia Mountains out of the National Forest. We thanked her publicly and encouraged our supporters to do the same.
Now, just one week later, Stansbury is declining to confirm that position and is suggesting she was misunderstood.
At our October 22 meeting, attended by representatives from Senator Heinrich's office, the Bernalillo and Sandoval County Sheriff's Departments, and Sandias For All, Stansbury made an important distinction: While she generally supports returning land to tribal ownership, she would oppose this particular transfer because of the protections established by the 2003 T'uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act.
This was not simply our interpretation. As The Paper reported on October 30th, several meeting attendees independently confirmed her statements to the press.
Yet when questioned publicly by the reporter, Stansbury declined to reaffirm her opposition, suggesting instead that she may have been misunderstood.
Stansbury cannot have it both ways. She clearly stated her opposition to the transfer in a meeting with 15 people, then refused to stand by that position publicly. New Mexicans deserve straight answers from their elected representatives, not political doublespeak designed to appease both sides.
New Mexicans deserve to know where their representative stands on a proposal that could permanently change the ownership and management of nearly 10,000 acres of National Forest and Wilderness.
Ask Congresswoman Stansbury for a clear answer: Does she oppose this transfer, as she told us on October 22, or has her position changed?
- Contact Congresswoman Stansbury | (505) 346-6781 or online form
We stand by our account of the meeting and remain committed to protecting the 2003 agreement, public access, and the Sandia Mountain Wilderness.
~ Sandias For All
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