The White Sands National Monument is otherworldly. Described by Outside as “the largest gypsum dune field in the world,” its sand stretches for 275 square miles, large enough to see from space, and it’s home to the largest preservation of extinct megafauna tracks in the United States. Mammoth, dire wolf, saber-toothed cat, North American camel and giant ground sloth tracks have been found in the alkali flats of the valley floor.
This place is so unique that legislation introduced in May is advocating it be designated as an official national park.
The problem with that, Outside reports, is that while while the monument is the most popular National Park Service site in the state — generating $29.3 million for the local economy — it’s located “within the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), part of the largest military installation in the United States and the site of the Trinity test, the first atomic bomb detonation.”
The Department of Defense has reportedly wanted land within the park so access to its sites are easier, and failed legislation in the past has tried to appease both interests. Now, as Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico works with the Committee of Armed Services and other legislators to come to a compromise, the state — and the rest of the country — has to wait. As for how long it will take?
“I’m not in the time estimation business,” Henrich told Outside. “But so far, my experience on these kinds of projects is get the details right, play the long game, and they will happen.”
Take a look at some incredible shots from the monument below.
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