Public lands can power our recovery
Dear Friend,
I hope you can take a moment to read and share the column below that I wrote in the Las Cruces Sun-News about the Great American Outdoors Act. Last year, I led the effort in the Senate to pass this new law, which permanently and fully funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund and invests nearly $2 billion in each of the next five years in helping our public lands tackle long-term maintenance issues.
Over the next year, the Great American Outdoors Act will deliver $60 million for important maintenance and infrastructure work in New Mexico’s national parks, monuments, forests, and wildlife refuges. By supporting this work to rebuild and reopen critical recreation infrastructure on our public lands like campgrounds and trail systems, we will create jobs at a time when we really need them and fuel long-term growth in our outdoor economy.
Sincerely,
MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator
Public lands can power our economic recovery
By U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
As I descended deep underground at Carlsbad Caverns National Park last month, it was reassuring knowing that the elevator we were on was in top shape, thanks to federal funding that I helped secure. I joined Superintendent Doug Neighbors to not just see the iconic limestone formations that make Carlsbad Caverns National Park a world-renowned destination, but to also see how investing in the infrastructure of our public lands is critical for the safety of visitors and growing our outdoor recreation economy.
Our national parks and public lands have long been hailed as America’s best idea. They’re iconic landscapes that we all own, and places that should be accessible to everyone to learn about our history and make new memories. But they will only remain accessible if we take care of them.
That’s why I worked hard to pass the historic and bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act into law last year. This new law not only permanently and fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but it also invests $ to help our national parks and other public lands finally tackle their multibillion infrastructure backlog.
This year alone, the newly established National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund that we passed in the Great American Outdoors Act will deliver more than $60 million to New Mexico’s public lands. President Biden’s recently released budget request for the coming year includes tens of millions of funding from the Great American Outdoors Act to support maintenance work and enhance recreational access in national parks, national monuments, national forests and national wildlife refuges across our state.
That includes $29 million to allow Bandelier National Monument to replace 60-year-old underground water, wastewater and electrical infrastructure and also repair bathrooms at its visitor center that were damaged by floods in 2013. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge will receive more than $15 million for maintenance work, including major renovations to its main office and visitor center. National forests like the Gila, the Lincoln, the Santa Fe, the Cibola, and the Carson are in line for nearly $12 million in Great American Outdoors Act funds from the U.S. Forest Service to replace roads and bridges, restore trail networks and renovate campgrounds.
Each of these major infrastructure projects will support good-paying jobs at a time when many New Mexicans are trying to get back to work. The jobs fueled by the investments in the Great American Outdoors Act will translate into employment opportunities on our public lands on a scale not seen since the New Deal era’s Civilian Conservation Corps nearly a century ago.
The even broader economic benefits stemming from new opportunities to get outside and access our public lands will provide a major boost to New Mexico’s outdoor recreation industry, which was already one of the fastest growing parts of our economy before the onset of the pandemic. More visitors to our state’s public lands means more people shopping in our local stores, filling up at our gas stations, hiring local outfitter guides, spending the night in our hotels and eating at our local restaurants.
These benefits will likely outlive us all. You can still see the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps members who built up our public lands infrastructure back in the 1930s. Fifty or even 100 years from now, families and children enjoying a day out in one of New Mexico’s public lands probably won’t know how the trailhead, parking lot, campground, or visitor center that allowed them to visit a stunning and accessible landscape got there.
We can all be proud that, through the implementation the Great American Outdoors Act, we’re leaving our own lasting legacy on treasured public lands all across New Mexico that many future generations will be able to enjoy.
