Issue Position: Conservation & Public Lands

Issue Position

New Mexicans are deeply connected to our public lands, and I have spent my career advocating to protect them. From securing funds for environmental clean-ups in New Mexico to advancing the cause of environmental justice to creating and protecting public lands, my work always considers how to protect our natural resources for New Mexicans.

As the Trump administration has systematically attacked public lands across the country by selling or opening up these natural treasures to industries intent on destroying their pristine beauty, we need leaders who will stand up for our environment. That is the type of leader I have been -- and will continue to be -- for New Mexico.

In New Mexico, water is life. As a young boy, I remember waking up early on our small family farm to work the community acequia to bring precious water into our land. We must make sure our federal laws respect our ways of life and treat water like the life-giving resource is it. This is why I introduced legislation to ensure greater consultation and respect between the federal government and New Mexico's land grants and acequias.

My Record for Conservation and Public Lands

I led200 Members of Congress in introducing the ANTIQUITIES Act to protect America's treasured national monuments against the Trump administration's relentless attacks on public lands.
In a significant win for sacred land in New Mexico, I secured a one-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the greater Chaco Cultural Heritage Area to protect that sacred land from desecration. This will build on the momentum to pass the Chaco Cultural Heritage Protection Act to withdraw the federal lands around Chaco Canyon from further mineral development permanently.
I worked closely with the Obama administration to designate the Rio Grande del Norte National Conservation Area as a national monument -- protecting this beautiful region for future generations.
The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Conservation Act, legislation I championed in the House, established 10 permanent wilderness areas within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
I helped pass the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which invested more than $312 million in New Mexico to protect public lands and open spaces and increase recreational opportunities across the state.

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