NEWS RELEASES
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Public News Service's website.
New Mexico's White Sands National Monument is set to become a national park. Designation of White Sands National Monument as a national park could increase visitation by 21 percent and boost spending in local communities by $7.5 million. Gypsum sand covers 275 square miles of desert in southern New Mexico and attract thousands of visitors each year.Roz Brown of Public News Service relays in his article, "Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, says the park designation was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 and approved by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Heinrich hopes the designation will improve the economies of towns that surround White Sands." White Sands National Monument has been designated as a national monument since 1933. Making White Sands a national park dates back to 1898, but failed when the Interior Department objected to inclusion of a hunting preserve there. It is expected that once White Sands becomes a national park, it will improve the economies of towns that surround White Sands.
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