A place near and dear to my heart

PHOTO: The Gila River flows through the Gila Wilderness, photo courtesy of EcoFlight.

Dear Friend,

There are very few places left on Earth where you can understand what the saying water is life truly means. I can think of no greater example than the headwaters of the Gila River--a place near and dear to my heart and special to so many New Mexicans.

I am so proud to join Senator Tom Udall in introducing the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act to conserve segments of the greater Gila watershed with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for future generations. Our legislation is named in memory of Dutch Salmon, a longtime nature writer, and even longer time avid fisherman, from Silver City, who was a staunch advocate for the Gila.

As long as I have lived in New Mexico, I have always been drawn to the Gila. Trips into places like McKenna Park, Turkey Feather Pass, and the Jerky Mountains have given me the time and space to grow closer to my family and friends and to reflect on what is truly important. I hope you can take a moment to listen to what I had to say today about why protecting the Gila is vitally important to both economic development and sustaining our way of life in New Mexico.

VIDEO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich discusses his introduction of legislation to designate New Mexico's Gila River as Wild and Scenic, May 12, 2020.

The upper Gila and San Francisco rivers are some of the last truly naturally-flowing tributaries of the greater Colorado River watershed. The headwaters of the Gila have long been home to indigenous cultures, including the Mogollon, Mimbres, and Apache. Nearly 100 years ago, this spectacular landscape and the ecosystems shaped by these waters inspired a young forester named Aldo Leopold to call for the establishment of the United States' first wilderness area.

In the years since, Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968. This bipartisan law has allowed us to provide the highest form of protection for treasured rivers all across the country, including New Mexico's Rio Chama, the East Fork of the Jemez, and sections of the Rio Grande and the Pecos. It's long past time that we recognize that the greater Gila and San Francisco watershed deserves this same recognition.

Wild and scenic designation would permanently protect the Gila's extraordinary scenic values and free-flowing segments. It would enhance water quality, conserve fish and wildlife habitat for unique native species, and improve the recreation opportunities that attract visitors from around the world and sustain the way of life for local communities. Our legislation would also allow for continued traditional uses and preserve existing private land rights, public access points, and water rights.

Finally, I want to assure you that as communities across New Mexico continue to confront immense public health and economic challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, I remain firmly focused on securing funding and resources for a lifesaving public health response that is rooted in science and a strong economic recovery that leaves no New Mexico community behind.

I strongly believe that part of our broad economic recovery and, in an even truer sense, our national renewal in the wake of this time of crisis must come from investing in the future for places that make us who we are as Americans. Protecting treasured places like the Gila and putting Americans to work fixing the maintenance backlog in our national parks, forests, and refuges will be a key way for us to create jobs in the short-term and create new opportunities for our tourism economy for years to come.

I encourage you to stay in touch with me about this and other issues important to you and your family.

Be well and stay healthy.