Sen. Heinrich warns of public land sales in New Mexico under Republican reconciliation bill

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member on the U.S. Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has issued a warning about the potential sale of public lands in New Mexico if the Republican reconciliation package becomes law.

According to Heinrich, the bill mandates the sale of two to three million acres of public land nationwide, including lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

“Our public lands hold our shared identity: they are where we gather, fish, hunt and hike. These lands house our collective history, support jobs, and sustain our rural economies,” Heinrich said in a press release. “From the hiking trails near the Sandia Crest to the biking trails of the Monumental Loop to the lands surrounding the Santuario de Chimayo, these places are the anvil on which our identities are forged. We can’t let Republicans take them from us.”

Sen. Heinrich criticized the Republican proposal, arguing that it has “nothing to do with affordable housing or lowering costs for families” and is instead an attack on New Mexicans.

“Republicans can’t fool us: their scheme to sell public lands has nothing to do with affordable housing or lowering costs for families. It’s a direct attack on every New Mexican, whether you have an elk tag, a fishing license, a backpack, a tent, a mountain bike, or a soft spot, special memory, or sacred connection to a particular place important to you, your family, and your ancestors,” Heinrich said. “Now is the time to raise your voices and join our fight to keep public lands in public hands – before we lose these lands forever.”

Heinrich’s office provided the following list, which includes many, but not all, of the places in New Mexico at risk of being sold off if Senate Republicans’ reconciliation bill becomes law:

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