Heinrich: ‘Fight is not over’ on selling off public lands

BY: DANIELLE PROKOP
​Courtesy of Source NM

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (center) hosted a roundtable discussion with other western Democratic senators and advocates in wildlife, hunting and fishing and lands rallying against proposed sales of public lands. (Screenshot by Danielle Prokop)

Republican-backed proposals to sell swaths of public lands represent an assault to tribal sovereignty, outdoor recreation, critical wildlife habitat and “our children’s birthrights,” U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said Wednesday.

“In one fell swoop, these proposals threaten every form of outdoor recreation, every form of natural and cultural heritage and habitat for wildlife — all to pay for a tax handout,” Heinrich said during a discussion he hosted in Washington, D.C. that included other Democratic US senators, alongside hunters, wildlife advocates and legal experts. “That doesn’t sound very American to me, and it clearly doesn’t sound very American to the hundreds of thousands of people across the political spectrum in the West raising their voices right now.”

Heinrich’s event comes as uncertainty prevails regarding a controversial proposal to sell off public lands to build housing spearheaded by Republican Sen. Mike Lee from Utah.

After the U.S. Senate Parliamentarian determined earlier this week that the language in Lee’s proposal did not comply with the Senate’s rules for budget reconciliation, Lee said he would revise the proposal and that he would exclude U.S. Forest Service land and limit the Bureau of Land Management land to areas near “population centers.”

Heinrich, the ranking member of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, applauded the parliamentarian’s decision, but warned “the fight is not over.”

​He pointed out the finality of selling off public lands, saying: “Once these lands go into private hands, we will not get them back. From the date of sale, the land must be used for what it is sold for: development. It can never be used for conservation, recreation, hunting, fishing — all the things that these lands provide today.”

Hilary Tompkins, a former solicitor in the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Obama administration, said Wednesday that Lee’s proposed sales of public lands are overlooking local or tribal input. (Screenshot by Danielle Prokop)

Hilary Tompkins, a former solicitor in the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Obama administration, said Lee’s proposal bypassed tribal consultation, even though much of the land in question lies in Indian Country.

“There’s also no clear protection for sacred sites and cultural resources of tribes and the public lands that would be sold to the highest bidder,” Tompkins said.

She noted the original proposal identified U.S. Forest Service lands on Mount Taylor in Grants, New Mexico, one of four mountains sacred to the Navajo nation.

“This is a very precious place for me and my family, and we have conducted important ceremonial life journey milestones involving that mountain. We cannot put these precious places on the auction block,” said Tompkins, who is originally from Ramah, New Mexico.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) urged Lee to listen to people with concerns about sales of public lands.

“If he wants to do something in his own state of Utah, more power to you, go do it, work with all the stakeholders, let’s do it,” she said. “But don’t come into our states and dictate what should be done.”

Heinrich pointed to his recent experiences fishing on Pecos River, and said while the lands are some of his favorite places in New Mexico, it’s crucial that they remain open for future generations.

​“Public lands are an essential democratic part of American culture and identity, and they belong to us,” he said. “They define us.”