For a pdf version of the letter, click here
June 13, 2018
The Honorable Tom Udall
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Martin Heinrich
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Steve Pearce
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Ben Ray Lujan
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Michelle Lujan Grisham
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senators Udall and Heinrich, and Representatives Pearce, Lujan, and Lujan Grisham:
We are writing to you today as elected officials in New Mexico because the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), one of the best programs our nation has ever enacted to fund conservation and public access to outdoors spaces, may disappear. Most of you have supported LWCF vigorously, and it would seem common sense to keep it intact, but it is set to expire on September 30 unless you and your Congressional colleagues say otherwise.
LWCF is America’s most important conservation program, responsible for protecting parks, wildlife refuges and recreation areas at the federal, state and local level, ensuring that all Americans have access to and can enjoy our lands and parks across our nation. Without question, LWCF has done more to protect open space and develop outdoor recreation opportunities than any other federal program in American history.
For more than 50 years, LWCF has been hailed as the nation’s most successful bipartisan conservation program, so it was gratifying to see Congress increase LWCF funding for 2018, demonstrating the continuing bipartisan and bicameral support for the program during ten administrations and right through to today’s Congress. Thank you.
With all that LWCF has provided for recreation and enjoyment of public lands by Americans, it is incredible that the program is set to expire at the end of the current fiscal year (9/30/2018). Failure to renew LWCF not only jeopardizes funding for important local state and federal conservation projects, it also threatens our nation’s outdoor recreation economic sector, which contributes $887 billion annually in spending nationally, supporting 7.6 million American jobs. We are calling on you, our representatives in Washington, to ensure LWCF is reauthorized.
LWCF funding has benefitted the lives of countless Americans in nearly every state and county in the U.S. National parks like Rocky Mountain, the Grand Canyon, and the Great Smoky Mountains, as well as national wildlife refuges, national forests, rivers and lakes, community
parks, trails, and ball fields have been funded by LWCF providing access to the great outdoors
for the enjoyment of Americans. LWCF has supported more than 41,000 parks, ballfields, and
other recreation projects that meet state and local priorities.
In New Mexico, LWCF has provided over $312 million to protect and enhance lands enjoyed by
millions of New Mexico residents and visitors each year. This includes lands purchased from
willing sellers and added to Petroglyph, El Malpais, Rio Grande del Norte, and Kasha-Katuwe
Tent Rocks National Monuments; the Gila, Cibola, Santa Fe and Carson National Forests;
Pecos and Chaco Culture National Historical Parks; and numerous landscapes in between.
Through the Forest Legacy Program, LWCF helps protect private working ranch and forest
lands while also enhancing wildlife habitat. LWCF state assistance grants have supported over
1,000 projects across New Mexico’s state and local parks including Mesilla Valley Bosque and
Eagle Nest Lake State Parks. There are numerous pending and proposed projects in New
Mexico that are in need of continued LWCF funding.
From the outset, Congress authorized that LWCF would receive up to $900 million annually in
royalties paid by oil and gas companies drilling offshore. No taxpayer dollars are ever used for
this upkeep of our treasured outdoor spaces.
With the strong bipartisan support it receives, no one should be equivocating about the value of
the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The challenge for Congress is to act on fulfilling that
value. But we are running out of time to act.
We earnestly ask you and other Congressional leaders to listen closely to the vast majority of
Americans who agree that LWCF is essential to protecting the places we love.
Please support the Land and Water Conservation Fund and all that it’s done for New Mexico by
working to permanently reauthorize LWCF and reminding your Congressional colleagues to
embrace the bipartisan spirit and join you.
Sincerely,
Hector Balderas
New Mexico Attorney General
Maggie Toulouse-Oliver
New Mexico Secretary of State
Peter Wirth
New Mexico Senate Majority Leader
Mimi Stewart
New Mexico Senate Majority Whip
Bill Soules
New Mexico State Senator
Gail Chasey
New Mexico State Representative
Joanne Ferrary
New Mexico State Representative
Rudy Martinez
New Mexico State Representative
Bill McCamley
New Mexico State Representative
Matthew McQueen
New Mexico State Representative
Angelica Rubio
New Mexico State Representative
Rock Ulibarri
Chairman-San Miguel County Commissioner
Tom Blankenhorn
Taos County Commissioner
Harry Browne
Grant County Commissioner
Alicia Edwards
Grant County Commissioner
Jim Fambro
Taos County Commissioner
Alfonso Griego
Mora County Commissioner
Maggie Hart-Stebbins
Bernalillo County Commissioner
Janice Varela
San Miguel County Commissioner
Dan Barrone
Mayor of Village of Taos
Nora Barraza
Mayor of Mesilla
Linda Calhoun
Mayor of Red River
Nate Duckett
Mayor of Farmington
Mark Gallegos
Mayor of Questa
Tim Keller
Mayor of Albuquerque
Ken Ladner
Mayor of Silver City
Alan Webber
Mayor of Santa Fe
Roman Abeyta
Santa Fe City Councilor
Isaac Benton
Albuquerque City Councilor
Kasandra Gandara
Las Cruces City Councilor
Chuck Howe
Mayor of Angel Fire Pro Tem
Fritz Hahn
Taos City Councilor
Pat Davis
Albuquerque City Councilor
Darien Fernandez
Taos City Councilor
Yvonne Flores
Las Cruces City Councilor
Diane Gibson
Albuquerque City Councilor
Jose Ray
Silver City Councilor
Carol Romero-Wirth
Santa Fe City Councilor
Signe Lindell
Santa Fe City Councilor
Renee Villarreal
Santa Fe City Councilor
Chris Rivera
Santa Fe City Councilor
Gabe Vasquez
Las Cruces City Councilor