IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 303

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should declare

Kneeling Nun Mountain in Grant County, New Mexico, to be a national

monument, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 20, 1998

Mr. TORRES (for himself, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA,

Mr. FROST, Mr. FILNER, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. GUTIERREZ,

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD,

Ms. SANCHEZ, and Mr. MARTINEZ) submitted the following concurrent

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President

should declare Kneeling Nun Mountain in Grant County,

New Mexico, to be a national monument, and for other

purposes.

Whereas Kneeling Nun Mountain is one of southwest New

Mexico’s most identifiable landmarks with a distinctive

profile that can be seen for miles;

Whereas Kneeling Nun Mountain is and has been a culturally

significant source of centuries-old legends and beliefs

among Native Americans, Hispanics, and other residents

of the area;
2

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Whereas the National Congress of American Indians adopted

a resolution describing Kneeling Nun Mountain as ‘‘sacred to the native Indian population of southwestern New

Mexico for many centuries’’ and calling for its permanent

protection as ‘‘a national monument dedicated to preserving the history and cultural heritage of the great

Mimbres and Mogollon cultures’’;

Whereas part of Kneeling Nun Mountain is owned by the

Federal Government and is managed by the Bureau of

Land Management of the Department of the Interior;

Whereas Kneeling Nun Mountain is threatened environmentally by the plans of the Phelps Dodge Corporation

to expand mining activities in the area;

Whereas the environmental threat to Kneeling Nun Mountain

from mining activity would be intensified by a land trade

being contemplated by the Phelps Dodge Corporation and

the Bureau of Land Management;

Whereas expanding mining activities on and around Kneeling

Nun Mountain will not significantly add to the ore reserves of the Phelps Dodge Corporation or provide a significant number of jobs for residents of communities near

the mountain; and

Whereas thousands of citizens of southwest New Mexico have

joined with representatives of various community groups

in signing a petition urging that Kneeling Nun Mountain

be declared a national monument: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) Kneeling Nun Mountain in Grant County,

4 New Mexico, is historically and culturally significant;
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1 (2) the President should declare the Federal

2 land on and around Kneeling Nun Mountain to be

3 a national monument in accordance with section 2 of

4 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the preservation of

5 American antiquities’’, enacted June 8, 1906 (16

6 U.S.C. 431; commonly known as the Antiquities Act

7 of 1906); and

8 (3) until such time as the President acts as de9 scribed in paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Inte10 rior should act to protect and preserve the Federal

11 land on and around Kneeling Nun Mountain from

12 private encroachment and environmental damage.

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