The New Mexico Wildlife Federation reached out in September to all the major party congressional candidates in the state. The following candidates responded to the NMWF questionnaire about conservation issues:
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan
Lujan, D-N.M., is the Democratic Party nominee seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM
NMWF: If elected, how will you work to increase federal funding for wildlife conservation and habitat protection programs?
Lujan: In the House of Representatives, I have worked to fully fund and defend our conservation programs. The Great American Outdoors Act, which fully funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund, was a major step forward in ensuring federal conservation programs receive the funding they need. In the Senate, I will continue to support these programs and ensure they have the necessary resources.
NMWF: Do you hunt and fish? If so, how long have you been hunting and fishing and for which species and when did you last hold a hunting and fishing license?
Lujan: I do hunt and fish.
NMWF: Do you support establishing no-drilling buffer zones to prevent energy development around Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other public land that is sacred to Native Americans? Why or why not?
Lujan: I support placing a 10 mile no-drilling buffer around Chaco Canyon, and am the lead sponsor of legislation in the House of Representatives that would enact such a barrier. It is our responsibility to respect sacred places like Chaco Canyon which is why I have opposed drilling on federal land surrounding Chaco.
NMWF: Do you support opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling? Why or why not?
Lujan: I oppose opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. ANWR is a national treasure and one of the last truly wild areas in the United States. Damage done by drilling for oil and gas would be irreversible.
NMWF: How, if at all, will you work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Lujan: I support taking strong measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including making investments in our renewable energy sector to grow our economy and decrease emissions. In Congress, I introduced a bill called the Clean Energy Standard Act that would put the United States on a path to 100% clean electricity generation.
NMWF: Should the United States continue construction of the Border Wall? Why or why not?
Lujan: The United States should not continue construction of the administration’s border wall. The wall is ineffective and ill conceived.
NMWF: Do you see the need for additional federal gun-control measures? If so, what should they be?
Lujan: Common-sense measures supported by a majority of Americans will save lives. That’s why I’ve worked to keep guns out of dangerous hands through common-sense measures like universal background checks, which the vast majority of Americans support, while respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
Rep. Deb Haaland,
Haaland, D-N.M., the incumbent U.S. representative representing the state’s First Congressional District is running for reelection.
NMWF: If elected, how will you work to increase federal funding for wildlife conservation and habitat protection programs?
Haaland: Last year I was appointed to the US House Committee of Natural Resources, and later elected as Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. These positions have especially allowed me to champion bills such as the PAW and FIN Conservation Act, which stops the Trump Administration from undermining the Endangered Species Act and the Extinction Prevention Act, and the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act. Mine and the Committee’s efforts will provide much needed funding for the recovery of the most imperiled wildlife species in the US. I will continue my fight to protect our lands via comprehensive legislation that allocates funding in such a manner that enriches our New Mexico wildlife and habitat protection programs. In addition, I have introduced the 30 by 30 Resolution to Save Nature, which sets a national goal of conserving 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030. If we can put such a goal in place, it will make the path to increasing conservation funding easier.
NMWF: Do you hunt and fish? If so, how long have you been hunting and fishing and for which species and when did you last hold a hunting and fishing license?
Haaland: I do not hunt or fish.
NMWF: Do you support establishing no-drilling buffer zones to prevent energy development around Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other public land that is sacred to Native Americans? Why or why not?
Haaland: Yes, I co-sponsored the Chaco Culture Heritage Area Protection Act to permanently establish a ten-mile buffer to protect the park from drilling, and I have requested ongoing leasing moratoria in the annual spending bills during my time in Congress. As Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, I shepherded the bill through committee and managed it on the floor when it passed the House, and I am working with my colleagues to get the bill through the Senate. As a tribal member of the Laguna Pueblo, respect for our land, water and air is of the utmost importance to my culture. My experience serving on the Subcommittee for the Indigenous Peoples of the US has also strengthened my perseverance to stop the exploitation of Native American’s and their lands from the oil and gas industry. Our reliance on the oil and gas industry only proves to serve those few at the top and wreak havoc on our environment. Clean energy is our only viable source to preserve our planet for future generations.
NMWF: Do you support opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling? Why or why not?
Haaland: No, public lands and tribal lands are not up for sale to the highest bidder. Public lands need to be accessible to the public and tribal lands must remain under Native American sovereignty. Allowing oil and gas drilling will only privatize these lands, destroying wildlife and ancestral tribal lands, and eliminating public access. We cannot continue to enable big oil and gas companies at the expense of our wildlife, environment and future. I’m determined to repeal the last minute and unethical efforts the Trump Administration took to include the oil drilling and auctioning off of the ANWR in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and I’ve cosponsored several bills to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling including H.R. 1146, H.R. 5999, and H.R. 7876.
NMWF: How, if at all, will you work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Haaland: I am committed to achieving a transition to a 100% clean economy by 2050 as a lead author of H.R. 5221, as well as a complete ban on fracking. I have co-sponsored several bills during my first term in Congress to promote renewable energy and better regulate GHG emissions (e.g. H.R. 7827, H.R. 5968, H.R. 2711), including the resolution in support of the Green New Deal (H.Res.109). I will continue to fight for government investment in solar, wind and geothermal energy in my state, which would allow us to phase out our coal, oil and natural gas energy sources while creating thousands of high paying jobs for New Mexicans. Through targeted retraining and prioritized hiring programs, we can ensure that current oil and coal workers do not lose their livelihoods during this transition. I am also a strong advocate for public land conservation, including national parks and forests that serve as carbon sinks, and I introduced the Climate Stewardship Act (H.R. 4269) to promote reforestation, wetland restoration, and climate friendly farming practices. I am deeply committed to the intersecting fights for Indigenous sovereignty and climate justice. Native American communities, from New Mexico to South Dakota to Alaska, have been the victims of attempts of fossil fuel corporations to drill on their lands for decades. I have sponsored legislation to protect the right of tribal governments to land ownership and self-determination, and will continue to advocate for Indigenous sovereignty if reelected. As one of the highest contributors to global GHG emissions, the United States has a responsibility, both to our citizens and to other nations, to dramatically lower our carbon footprint. Particularly given that poorer nations will be most affected by climate change, it is urgent that our country invest its considerable wealth and technological resources into the renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and public transportation sectors. Campaign finance and lobbying reform will be critical in our attempts to reduce GHG emissions, because as long as the fossil fuel industry is able to influence elections and politicians with their money, we will not be able to pass the policies necessary to transition to renewable energy sources.
NMWF: Should the United States continue construction of the Border Wall? Why or why not?
Haaland: The United states should absolutely NOT continue construction of the Border Wall. Not only does the Border Wall create an unjust barrier for immigrants seeking asylum and safety, but it also creates massive cultural and ecological problems along the southern border of the US. The wall is predicted to threaten and harm the landscapes it cuts through: a wall increases soil erosion, exacerbates flooding, and will disrupt migration patterns. It will cut through Native land, sacred land, and continue a centuries old decimation of native culture. I believe in building bridges, not walls. Sacred sites that have been blasted through in Tohono O’odham Land can never be made whole again. It is an irreparable damage made to a people who have already seen violence and mistrust at the hands of the US Government. A wall will bring fear and encourage hate in our border communities. We must welcome humans who are fleeing their country because of violence and abject poverty in hopes of a better future. Our planet needs our stewardship, a wall will continue the downward spiral of harming the environment when we must be moving towards remediating and caring for nature. There is no other action, in my opinion, than to desist in the construction of an unnecessary and childish wall, that is costing people and the planet much more than it could ever benefit.
NMWF: Do you see the need for additional federal gun-control measures? If so, what should they be?
Haaland: Yes, I believe that there is still a lot to do when it comes to federal gun-control laws. We must do everything in our power to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have access to them. We can do this by implementing mandatory 100% background checks as well as closing firearms purchasing loopholes through gun shows. Additionally, we need to rid our communities of military-grade weapons; neither hunting nor policing require automatic weapons. And finally, we need to strip the NRA of its power through commitments from elected officials to NOT ACCEPT campaign contributions from them. No one should live in fear of attending a concert, dancing at a nightclub, or going to school.
Teresa Leger Fernandez
Leger Fernandez is the Democratic Party nominee seeking the Third Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan.
NMWF: If elected, how will you work to increase federal funding for wildlife conservation and habitat protection programs?
Leger Fernandez: I am a huge advocate of the recently passed permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In addition, as Congress puts together the recovery bill to pull us out of the COVID Recession, I will advocate for programs similar to the WPA – many of our public lands have long delayed maintenance and improvements that could be funded by a WPA program, just as throughout New Mexico today we travel to public places that were built during the WPA.
NMWF: Do you hunt and fish? If so, how long have you been hunting and fishing and for which species and when did you last hold a hunting and fishing license?
Leger Fernandez: I used to hunt and fish when I was younger. My family has always hunted and wild game (elk, deer, antelope) was part of our regular diet, and thanks to my brothers, remains a traditional part of our Christmas tamales. The last tag I had myself personally was around 1993 for elk. I still accompany my friends and family along our mountain rivers where they fly fish and I marvel at the graceful arc of the line as it dances from the sky to the water’s surface. I usually hike while they fish.
NMWF: Do you support establishing no-drilling buffer zones to prevent energy development around Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other public land that is sacred to Native Americans? Why or why not?
Leger Fernandez: Yes, I support the establishment of no-drill buffer zones around Chaco, and the legislation introduced by our New Mexico delegation to accomplish this protection. I also think the Bureau of Land Management and USDA should undertake a thorough cultural and economic survey of our public lands to determine how extractive resources undermine other viable economic and cultural activities that could be undertaken on our public lands. We must respect the cultural traditions and sacred places of Native Americans who’ve lost so much land over the centuries. Once lost to development, the remaining cultural properties can never be replaced. As a former Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, I support protections for the cultural and traditional properties that comprise our American heritage, and believe the Historic Preservation Act should be strengthened to give it more teeth and ability to protect historic, sacred and cultural sites.
NMWF: Do you support opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling? Why or why not?
Leger Fernandez: No, I oppose. Drilling will ruin this fragile ecosystem and the risks of permanent damage and destruction that cannot be remedied are so very high. Furthermore, there is no urgent need for the oil and gas; if it is left in the ground, we can replace it with renewable sources that exist or will be found as we innovate in the energy field.
NMWF: How, if at all, will you work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Leger Fernandez: I am an advocate of the Green New Deal, and believe we must transform our economy to move away from our heavy dependence on fossil fuels, which is a huge driver of greenhouse gas emissions. We must address methane emissions here in New Mexico and at the national level.
NMWF: Should the United States continue construction of the Border Wall? Why or why not?
Leger Fernandez: No. I strongly oppose Trump’s expensive, racist, and ineffective border wall. We must cease construction because it is an inhumane response to asylum seekers who have a legal right to seek refuge at our borders, and it is also having devastating ecological consequences for the plant and animal species that call the borderlands home, and whose ecosystem has been or will be unnaturally torn apart by the wall.
NMWF: Do you see the need for additional federal gun-control measures? If so, what should they be?
Leger Fernandez: Yes. Americans overwhelmingly support gun safety, and I will vote for background checks on all gun sales, a red flag law, closing the boyfriend loophole and reinstating the assault weapons ban. The House of Representatives has passed background checks, so has New Mexico at the state level. These gun safety laws do not compromise the ability of hunters to acquire and own the guns they would use for hunting.