This is the thirty-first diary in my Expanding the National Parks series. Prior diaries are linked and located at the bottom of the diary. Last time, I was in New Jersey, this time I am in New Mexico. New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment' and for good reason, it has some of the most beautiful scenic areas in the West. Much of the state is protected- 41.8% is federally owned, good for 9th in the country, just behind Wyoming and ahead of Colorado. New Mexico's 14 monuments place it second in the country for number of monuments- only Arizona has more with 18. But there are several more areas in the state that deserve monument status, and I will pick 5 of them to add to the state ledger. Currently New Mexico has 1 national park, 14 national monuments, 1 national preserve, 7 national forests, 7 wildlife refuges and 5 historic sites and other NPS units.
New Mexico
Total Area 121 590 sq miles
Land Area 121 298 sq miles
Water area 292 sq miles
Coastline 0 miles
Additional monuments-5
ADDITIONAL MONUMENTS-5
* La Bajada Mesa Located slightly south of Sante Fe, the mesa and escarpment have been an important local landmark for centuries, dividing the region in Spanish times into Upper River and Lower River regions. Currently threatened by a strip mining operation, the mayor of Sante Fe has asked Obama to set it aside as a monument. Estimated area 130000 acres= 200 sq miles- a tenth the size of Delaware
* Otero Mesa Located in the Chihuahuan Desert in the southern part of the state, Otero Mesa was included on the list of 14 proposed monuments that was leaked in 2010. creating it as a monument would make it the first monument of Obama's to top 1 million acres. Estimated area 1.2 million acres=1875 sq miles- larger than Rhode Island
* Lesser Prairie Chicken Would conserve habitat for the lesser prairie chicken, which was put on the Endangered Species List in 2014, after losing 80% of its historic habitat. the monument would conserve a good amount of its habitat in New Mexico, which is one of 5 states-OK, TX KS and CO are the others- where the chicken is native. Estimated area 60000 acres= 90 sq miles
* Old Sante Fe- CCC/WPA Would conserve the Old Sante Fe Building, which was the New Mexico state headquarters for the CCC during the Depression and also hosts a museum of Works Progress Administration artifacts. Despite the extremely important role it played in developing the national and state parks systems during the 1930s, there is no monument in any state honoring the CCC to date. the mayor of Sante Fe has asked Obama to declare the building a national monument. Estimated area 10 acres
* Las Trampas famed for the Church of San Jose De Gracia, which dates back to the 1700s, Las Trampas was proposed for inclusion in the park system in 1967, but to date is only listed as an historic district. declaring it as a monument would bring in additional revenue to the neighboring town of Las Trampas. Estimated area 1000 acres
EXISTING AREAS
NATIONAL PARKS-1
* Carlsbad Caverns Established 1930 Covers 46 766 acres
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Stalactites in the cave are seen in the above picture
First set aside as a monument in 1923 by Calvin Coolidge, Congress upgraded Carlsbad Caverns to a park in 1930. the cave, which contains the 5th-largest chamber in North America, and which has many named rooms, was further protected in 1978 when Congress declared nearly 2-3rds of the park as wilderness. Carlsbad remains New Mexico's only national park to date. nearly 400000 people visited the park in 2014.
NATIONAL MONUMENTS-14
* Aztec Ruins Established 1923 Covers 318 acres
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part of the monument's ruins are shown above
The smallest in size of New Mexico's 14 monuments, Aztec Ruins was created as a monument in 1923, although the ruins it protects were not built by the Aztecs but by Ancient Pueblos. the ruins date to the 1100-1300s and most of them are closed to the public for preservation purposes. the ruins were named as a World Heritage site in 1987 as part of the Chaco Culture Historical Park. over 40000 people visited the monument in 2011.
* Bandelier Established 1916 Covers 33 677 acres
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Alcove House , part of the monument, is shown above
Established in 1916 by President Wilson and named for Swiss anthropologist Adolph Bandelier,who documented the area and pushed for its preservation, the monument conserves 50 sq miles, at the time of its creation the monument was the largest in size in the state at over 30000 acres, even today, it is still the 5th largest. much of the infrastructure in the monument was created by the CCC, in fact, Bandalier contains the largest number of unaltered CCC structures in the country, those structures are now included in an historic district. 70% of the monument is now classed as wilderness. Over 150000 people visited the monument in 2012.
* Capulin Volcano Established 1916 Covers 793 acres
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Capulin Volcano which last erupted roughly 60000 years ago, is shown above.
one of the smaller monuments in the state at under 800 acres, Capulin was first withdrawn from development in 1891, but it wasnt until 1916 that it received monument status due to the volcano's scientific importance. over 45000 people visited the volcano in 2011.
* El Malpais Established 1987 Covers 114276 acres
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the Ventana Arch, part of the monument, is shown above
Set Aside by Congress in 1987, the monument gets its name from the Spanish Malpais- or 'badlands' for its barren volcanic field, which is one of the largest of the Basin and Range area which extends over much of the Southwest and into Mexico.During World War 2, the area was considered as a testing site for the atomic bomb, White Sands Proving Ground, which is south of the monument, was eventually chosen. both El Malpais and El Morro are managed as a single unit. Over 100000 people visited El Malpais in 2011.
* El Morro Established 1906 Covers 1279 acres
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A view of the monument from a distance
The oldest monument in the state (created in December 1906) El Morro (which is spanish for 'the Headland')was a landmark for travelers through the region and for many hundreds of years visitors carved initials and writings into the rocks, before the creation of the monument banned further carvings. over 800000 people visited the monument in 2006.
* Fort Union established 1954 Covers 721 acres
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part of the ruins of Fort Union are shown above
Set aside by congress in 1954, Fort Union conserves the remains of two of three army forts on the site.the fort was part of the Sante Fe Trail and operated for 40 years. interestingly enough, the fort was built on private land called the Mora Grant and the government never paid any compensation to the settlers during the 40 year operation of the fort(1851-1891). the fort was abandoned in 1891 and quickly fell into ruins, which can be be seen today on the site. nearly 10000 people visited the site in 2011.
* Gila Cliff Dwellings Established 1907 covers 533 acres
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A view of the cliff dwellings from below is shown above.
The second-oldest (second only to El Morro) and second-smallest(only Aztec Ruins is smaller) monument in the state, Gila Cliff Dwellings protects the ruins of dwellings built by the Mongollon peoples between 1250 and 1300 AD. Vandalism and looting of the site as well as others in the Southwest spurred the passage of the Antiquities Act in June 1906, and Gila Cliff Dwellings became the 5th area to be designated as a monument on November 16, 1907. the monument became part of the Gila Wilderness- the first wilderness anywhere in the world - in 1924. the monument was expanded by President Kennedy to its current size in the early 1960s.
* Kasha -Katuwe Tent Rocks established 2001 Covers 5402 acres
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Part of the monuments Tent rocks are shown above.
Set aside by President Clinton as a midnight monument shortly before leaving office. Kasha- Katuwe means ' white cliffs' in Keresan, a Pueblo language. the rocks are as a result of volcanic eruptions millions of years ago, and resulting erosion over time. formations that have lost their 'cap' rocks are rapidly disintegrating. the monument is managed by the BLM.
* Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Established 2014 Covers 496 330 acres
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The Organ Mountains, part of the monument, is shown Above.
New Mexico's newest and largest monument, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks was created by President Obama in May 2014. Efforts to protect the area had been ongoing for several years, with several attempts to create either a conservation area, monument, or wilderness. all attempts were blocked by House Republicans until Obama acted on his own. Half of the monument covers areas that was wilderness prior to its creation.
* Petroglyph Established 1990 covers 7532 acres
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One of the many petroglyphs in the monument is shown above
Created by Congress in 1990, the monument is managed by a partnership between the Park Service and the city of Albuquerque, of which the city manages two-thirds. this has been a problematic partnership , given the city's increasing development, which puts the monuments relics at risk. over 110000 people visited the monument in 2011.
* Prehistoric Trackways Established 2009 Covers 5255 acres
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One of the dinosaur footprints within the monument is shown above
Created by Congress as part of the 2009 Omnibus, Prehistoric Trackways conserves dinosaurs prints and tracks, as well as fossil plants and wood dating back nearly 300 million years. the monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, which had managed the area prior to it becoming a monument. the monument became the 100th existing monument at the time of its creation.
* Rio Grande Del Norte Established 2013 Covers 242 455 acres
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Ute Mountain and part of the Rio Grande gorge are seen in the above photo
Set side by President Obama in 2013, Rio Grande del Norte conserves the Rio Grande Gorge, which is a popular spot for boating and rafting, parts of two Wild and Scenic Rivers- Rio Grande and Red Rivers- as well as artifacts dating back to the Archaic period. at the time of its creation it was the largest monument in the state- its currently second to Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM.
* Salinas Pueblo Missions Established 1909 Covers 1077 acres
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Some of the ruins of the monument are shown above
Set aside originally as Gran Quivara NM in 1909, the monument is the third oldest in the state and was the first in the state set aside by President Taft- the second president to use the Antiquities Act. the monument conserves ruins of three Spanish Franciscan churches(Abo, Gran Quivara and Quarai) which were built in the early 1600s, but had fallen into disuse by the later part of the 1670s. the monument was enlarged in the early 1980s, absorbing two New Mexico state monuments (Abo and Quarai) and was renamed in 1988. over 30000 people visited in 2005.
* White Sands Established 1933 Covers 143 733 acres
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part of the dunes in the monument are shown above
White Sands was first proposed as a national park in 1898, as Mescalero NP, in honor of the Mescolero Indian tribe which had lived in the area at the time of first exploration by the US army in 1849. the effort to make the area a preserve failed and it wasnt until 1933 that the area received federal protection as a monument. The white sands in the monument are made from gypsum, in a crystal form called selenite. normally gypsum doesn't form sand because it is water soluble and is carried off by water , but in the case of the White Sands monument, the area- called the Tulascora Basin- is enclosed, without any outlet to these, of the water dries up leaving the cystals behind. unlike dunes made of quartz sand, gypsum does not absorb heat well, so it is safe to walk barefoot on the dunes, even in the hottest periods of summer, where temperatures can top 100 degrees.
NATIONAL PRESERVES-1
* Valles Caldera Established 2000 covers 89 216 acres
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part of the caldera is seen in the above picture
created in 2000 by Congress as a preserve, Valles Caldera consists of nearly 90000 acres of the former Baca ranch. 5000 acres of the ranch was given to the Santa Clara Pueblo, and 300 acres was added to Bandelier NM. the preserve was managed by a unique private-public group called the Valles Caldera Trust, with a mandate to be self-sufficient by 2020, which would require 3 million dollars a year.in 2010 the trust reported it had only raised 850000 well short of the amount needed. efforts to dissolve the trust and bring the preserve into the Park Service were started in 2011, culminating in legislation attached to the defense appropriations in 2014 which transferred the preserve to the Park Service and abolished the Trust. it became the 19th preserve managed by the Park Service.
NATIONAL FORESTS-7
* Apache-Sitgreaves Established 1908 Covers, 2,761,386 acres (in AZ and NM)
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Part of the Apache NF is shown above
Lying mostly in Arizona, Apache Sitgreaves was once two separate forests, but were merged in 1974 as a single unit. Apache-Sitgreaves is one of two forests in New Mexico that stretch into Arizona (Coronado is the other), Sitgreaves was named for Lorenzo Sitgreaves who led the first scientific expedition across Arizona in the 1850s. the forests has 4 wilderness, all but a small portion of which lie in Arizona. The only portion of the forest that lies in New Mexico is in Catron County
* Carson Established 1908 Covers 1,391,674 acres
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Sangre De Cristo Mountains, part of the forest, are shown above
Named after pioneer Kit Carson, Carson contains Mount Wheeler the tallest mountain in New Mexico at 13,161 feet, and was created from the merger of Taos and Jemez NFs in 1908. the forest added over 100000 acres in the 1980s with the additions of the Valle Vidal unit, and currently contains 5 wilderness areas although more are proposed.
* Cibola Established 1931 Covers 1,633,783 acres
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A map of the forest is seen above
Divided into 4 districts (Magdelena, Mountainair, Mt Taylor, and Sandia) the forest is named after the Spanish for buffalo, although it is believed it was originally named by the Zuni after their tribal lands. Magdelena is the largest of the 4 in size at 800000 acres. Nearly 140000 acres of the forest is wilderness, and the forest also manages grasslands in New Mexico (Kiowa) Texas (McClellan Creek) And Oklahoma (Black Kettle and Rita Blanca, both of which stretch into Texas).
* Coronado Established1902 Covers 1,780,000 acres (In AZ and NM)
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Wilderness areas in the forest are shown in the Above map
Lying Mostly in Arizona (the only part in New Mexico is in Hildalgo County), Coronado has 5 districts (Douglas,Nogales, Safford, Santa Catalina, and Sierra Vista) and contains 8 wilderness areas. the forest is a result of combining several separate forests, including Santa Catalina, Dragoon Crook and Santa Rita, into Coronado at one time or another.
* Gila Established 1905 Covers 2,710,659 acres
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a map of the wilderness in Gila NF is shown above
the largest national forest completely in New Mexico at over 2.7 million acres, Gila contains the oldest wilderness in the world - created in 1924,and has 3 wildernesses in all- Aldo Leopold and Blue Range are the others). forest was first set aside in 1899 as the Gila River Forest Reserve was managed by the General Land Office (Now BLM) until 1906 when it was transferred to the Forest Service, where it became a national forest in 1907. Gila absorbed Big Burros NF in 1908 ( Its currently part of the Silver City district), Datil NF in 1931 (its now part of Cibola NF) and part of Crook NF in 1953(the rest went to Tonto and Coronado NFs).
* Lincoln Established 1902 Covers 1,103,897 acres
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a map of the forests and its districts is above
Named after President Lincoln, and home to the original Smokey bear, Lincoln is the smallest of New Mexico's Forests(of the 5 that lie completely in the state) at 1.1 million acres. the forests contain 2 wilderness area- Capitan mountains and White Mountain- and 3 districts- Guadalupe, Sacramento and Smokey Bear. Lincoln was first created in 1902, then absorbed Gallinas NF in 1908(its now part of Cibola NF) and Alamo NF in 1917, which became the Sacramento and Guadalupe districts.
* Santa Fe Established 1915 Covers 1,558,452 acres
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a map of the districts in Santa Fe is shown above
created in 1915 from the merging of Jemez and Pecos NFs Santa Fe is the third largest NF in the state (behind Cibola and Gila) and contains 4 wildernesses which stretches into all 5 sections of the forest.
WILDLIFE REFUGES-7
* Bitter Lake Established 1937 Covers 24 536 acres
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Some of the wildlife at bitter Lake is Shown above
The Oldest refuge in the state, Bitter Lake was created in 1937 to provide habitat for the sandhill crane, the refuge also contains unique aquatic habitats from the Pecos river passing through the refuge. the importance of the refuge was noted when it was named a Ramsar Wetland in 2010.
* Bosque Del Apache Established 1939 Covers 57 331 acres
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Sandhill cranes, which are native to the refuge, are shown above
The second largest refuge in the state( but only by a mere 116 acres over San Andres), Bosque del Apache means 'Forest of the Apache' in Spanish. and is host to 10000 sandhill cranes as well as nearly 400 other species of birds. of the refuges areas, over 44000 acres is grassland, nearly 4000 is floodplain,and 9000 is wetlands.160000 people visited the refuge in 2006.
* Grulla Established 1969 Covers 3200 acres (in NM and TX)
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Arch Lake, part of the refuge, is shown above
The smallest refuge in the state at 3200 acres (of which a small amount reaches into Texas), Grulla is named after the Spanish word for " crane', after the sandhlil cranes that nest in the lake when it is wet. Arch Lake, which makes up a good chunk of the refuge, is a saline playa- a lake that is dry much of the year. the refuge is managed by Muleshoe WR in Texas.
* Las Vegas Established 1965 Covers 8672 acres
created in 1965, Las Vegas (Spanish for 'the meadows") conserves some of the few remaining wetlands in the state, and provides wheat barley and other plants which the wildlife use for food.Part of the Central Flyway, it is an important stop for migrating birds.
* Maxwell Established 1965 Covers 3699 acres
the second-smallest refuge (ahead of only Grulla), the refuge was part of the Santa Fe trial during much of the 1800s- the trial passed just outside the current refuges boundaries. today the refuge is home to owls, bald eagles and many other kinds of birds.
* San Andres Established 1941 Covers 57 215 acres
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the San Andres mountains, part of the refuge, is shown above
the third-largest refuge in the state, it conserves the largest Chihuahuan mountain range in the region, and also provides habitat for bighorn sheep and onyx. as well as mountain lions and hummingbirds.
* Sevilleta Established 1973 Covers 230000 acres
The biggest and youngest refuge in the state, Sevilleta was named after the Spanish city of Seville. the land that makes up the refuge eventually was bought by General Thomas Campbell in 1936, who ran cattle and sheep on it until his death in 1966 a foundation founded shortly before Campbells death settled on a refuge as the best way to conserve the area, and donated the land to the Nature Conservancy who in turn donated it to the feds.
HISTORIC SITES AND OTHER NPS UNITS-5
* Chaco Culture NHP Established 1907 Covers 33978 acres Budget $1,434,000
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The great kiva, part of the Historic park, is shown above
First protected as a national monument in 1907 by President Roosevelt, the designation of Chaco Culture was changed in 1980 to a historic park by Congress. the parks importance was solidified in 1987 when it was listed as a World Heritage Site. Almost 40000 people visited in 2011.
* El Malpais NCA Established 1987 Covers 263000 acres
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part of the conservation area can be seen above
created alongside the El Malpais NM, the conservation area is managed by the Bureau of land Management, and a good portion-100000 acres- is wilderness.
* Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave NCA Established 2009 Covers 25080 acres
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Snowy river cave, part of the conservation area, is seen above
created in 2009 by Congress, the conservation area protects the area around Fort Stanton, as well as the cave system that includes Snowy River cave. the cave system, called Fort Stanton Cave, is the third longest in the state. Fort Stanton itself is managed by the New Mexico state parks.
* Kiowa NG established 1960 Covers 137 131 acres
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Part of the grasslands are shown in the above picture
Split into two sections- a larger western unit and a smaller eastern unit, Kiowa is the only grassland in the state, but is managed alongside grasslands in Texas and Oklahoma as a single unit.
* Pecos NHP Established 1965 Covers 6671 acres
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The Pecos mission church, part of the historic park is shown above
first protected as a monument in 1965, Pecos was expanded and designated by Congress in 1991. pecos conserves the remains of a pueblo as well as a spanish mission church as well as a civil war battlefield (Glorieta Pass). the battlefield which was classed as a priority 1 battlefield - which ranks it in importance alongside Gettysburg and Antietam- is closed to public . most of the battlefield 80% is in private hands although efforts are ongoing to bring it into public hands by expanding the park. over 40000 people visited the park in 2011.
this concludes my study of New Mexico. next I'll be in the Empire State, New York, walking down Broadway and trying to convince the Park Service to let me go up to the Statue of Liberty's torch. As always comments, concerns and input are welcome. See you in the Comments!
Prior Diaries
1.Alabama
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2 Alaska
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3 Arizona
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4 Arkansas
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5 California
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6 Colorado
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7 Connecticut
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8 Delaware
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9 Florida
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10 Georgia
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11 Hawaii
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12 Idaho
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13 Illinois
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14 Indiana
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15 Iowa
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16 Kansas
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17 Kentucky
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18 Louisiana
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19 Maine
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20 Maryland
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21 Massachusetts
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22 Michigan
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23 Minnesota
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24 Mississippi
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25 Missouri
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26 Montana
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27 Nebraska
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28 Nevada
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29 New Hampshire
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30 New Jersey
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