Environment

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Introduced legislation that creates a new wilderness area on federal Bureau of Land Management Land in Sandoval County. The Ojito Wilderness Act recognizes that the area’s dramatic landforms and rock structures, multicolored badlands, and rare plants are worthy of permanent protection.
• Introduced legislation that would make the Valle Vidal a national preserve, protecting the area from drilling of coalbed methane while allowing for continued public access
• Led the effort to bring the privately-owned Baca Ranch/Valles Caldera into public ownership for all of America to enjoy
• Introduced the “Community Forest Restoration Act,” which became law. This measure provides $5 million annually in grant funding to New Mexico organizations to work with the U.S. Forest Service to implement responsible forest thinning initiatives
• Secured funding that will go to restoration and maintenance of riparian areas along the Rio Grande and Pecos River where the state is working to treat and kill the noxious salt cedar
• Supports of the Vanishing Treasures Initiative, which has helped the National Park Service maintain and restore numerous examples of prehistoric Pueblo architecture at eight parks and national monuments throughout New Mexico
• Co-authored the “Conservation and Reinvestment Act,” used as the basis for a related measure signed into law in October 2000, which set aside about $1.6 billion in off-shore oil royalties to fund recreation and conservation efforts in New Mexico and across the country

POLICY THEMES

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