DATE: June 2, 2000

Las Cruces, NM - The Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association and Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club filed suit today against the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) challenging the agency's closure of public roads in the Robledo Mountains to motorized vehicles.

Prior to the BLM's closure, the roads in the Robledo Mountains northwest of Las Cruces were in regular and historic use by members of the public for sightseeing, hunting, mineral collecting, wildlife watching, academic study, and driving for pleasure since at least the early 1950's.

The plaintiffs in the suit are New Mexico non-profit corporations representing over 1500 families throughout New Mexico and the southwest. They are represented by attorneys Lee E. Peters of New Mexico and Barbara Hjelle of Utah.

Plaintiffs contend that the road closures violated New Mexico law as the routes were established as public roads under Revised Statute (R.S.) 2477 (43 U.S.C. 932) and therefore are protected under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976.

According to Mark Werkmeister, President of the Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association, "We filed this lawsuit to stop the Bureau of Land Management from furthering the agenda of elitist groups who want our public lands all to themselves. These roads have been used and enjoyed by several generations of the general public since at least the 1950's for a wide variety of pursuits and we simply desire that these uses continue for all."