Pete Domenici: “Today I rise to introduce an uncontroversial piece of legislation that I hope will receive prompt committee action and…”

“Today I rise to introduce an uncontroversial piece of legislation that I hope will receive prompt committee action and will make its way quickly to the President's desk for his signature. I would first like to familiarize the Senate with the important mission and related work of the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park in Las Cruces, NM. The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest desert in North America and contains a great diversity of unique plant and animal species. The ecosystem makes up an indispensable part of southwest's treasured ecological diversity. As such, it is important that we teach our young ones an appreciation for New Mexico's biological diversity and impart upon them the value of this ecological treasure. The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park is a non-profit institution that has spent the past six years providing hands-on science education to K-12th graders. To achieve this mission, the Nature Park provides classroom presentation, field trips, schoolyard ecology projects and teacher workshops. The Nature Park serves more than 11,000 students and 600 teachers annually. This instruction will enable our future leaders to make informed decisions about how best to manage these valuable resources. I commend those at the Nature Park for taking the initiative to create and administer a wonderfully successful program that has been so beneficial to the surrounding community.”