White Sands National Monument, located about 15 miles west of the TDS cable markets of Alamogordo and Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, was officially designated a national park.
White Sands National Park is the second national park in New Mexico, after Carlsbad Caverns National Park, also a TDS service community, was named a national park in 1930.
The designation includes a land swap between the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Army (DOA). Being named a national park from a national monument brings increased visibility to the area and will likely lead to more tourism to the Alamogordo area.
About 2,826 acres of land within the White Sands National Monument’s current boundaries would be transferred from the Army’s management to that of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service.
Another 5,766 acres of “new additions” would also be added to NPS management in White Sands National Park.
In exchange, about 3,737 acres of land previously managed by the DOI, would be transferred to the jurisdiction of the DOA.
The boundary of White Sands Missile Range would be altered to reflect the land swap.
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