Commentary: Following President Trump’s February budget proposal that slashed funding for the Department of Interior, including a 97% reduction to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), conservation groups across the state are now applauding bipartisan legislation that would fully fund LWCF.
“This would be a historic win for land and water conservation, and for the people of New Mexico,” said Jesse Deubel, Executive Director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. “Our Congressional Delegates, particularly Senators Heinrich and Udall, have worked on this for years and Representative Torres Small and our House members have brilliantly picked up the torch. The momentum right now is very real. Full and permanent funding of LWCF is a real possibility in the near future. ”
The legislation, as well as the Restore Our Parks Act, a program to address deferred maintenance in U.S. national parks, will come before the Senate in the next several days and could be heard on the House floor before the end of the month. Both bills have received emphatic support from President Trump.
“Optimism. That’s what many of us who have been entrenched in the fight to fund LWCF feel,” said Demis Foster, Executive Director of Conservation Voters New Mexico. “Some of us, and our two Senators in D.C., have been fighting for this our entire careers. It is one of the single most important, and most successful conservation programs in our country, and it’s role in protecting New Mexico conservation assets cannot be overstated.”
LWCF uses offshore oil and gas royalties to fund a multitude of conservation and outdoor recreation projects nationwide. For Senator Tom Udall, it’s been a family affair for more than 50 years. His Father, Stewart Udall, was the architect of many conservation initiatives, including LWCF, when he was Secretary of the Interior in the 1960s.
“Our entire delegation, including our new Congresswomen (Representative Xochitl Torres Small and Representative Deb Haaland), have been extreme champions for the natural environment in New Mexico,” said Patrick Nolan, Executive Director of Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. “We’re lucky they have our backs, standing up for what matters in New Mexico.”
Angel Peña, Board President of Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project commented that “LWCF is a great example of bipartisan legislation that has impact in nearly every county in the country. What it’s done for New Mexico over the last 50 years has been tremendous for communities across the state. LWCF has been an unsung hero across the country and it’s wonderful for the President to finally give it the attention it deserves.”
“It’s nearly impossible to find a place or a person in New Mexico that hasn’t benefited from LWCF,” said Mark Allison, Executive Director of New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. “From our national monuments to city parks to Chaco Canyon – our state has received more than $300 million to protect and restore some of the best natural treasures in the country, and to build playgrounds in communities across the map. LWCF has been so important to our state and it looks like it will live on in perpetuity.”
"LWCF doesn't just invest in lands and waters - it invests in the communities that depend on them," said Teresa Martinez, Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. "LWCF is critical to the completion of the Continental Divide Trail and to the continued growth of the outdoor recreation economy in rural communities along its length. We are grateful to New Mexico's Senators and Representatives for once more leading the way to ensure that this critical tool for conservation is fully and permanently funded."
In a tweet on March 3, President Trump called on Congress to permanently fund LWCF, indicating that he would sign it into law immediately. LWCF is authorized to receive $900 million each year, but funds have been historically diverted elsewhere for other purposes.