NEW MEXICO — Conservation groups across New Mexico today are denouncing President Trump’s budget proposal, which would cut the Department of Interior by more than 16 percent from its FY2020 Budget.
The proposal, released Monday by the White House, includes a 10-percent cut to the Bureau of Land Management, a 32-percent cut to the Bureau of Reclamation, a 16-percent cut to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and a 9-percent cut to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The President’s budget also shockingly decimates the nation’s most successful, bipartisan conservation program, the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), proposing to reduce the fund by more than 97 percent.
Conservation leaders around New Mexico voiced their concern:
_ “New Mexico’s 23 million acres of federal public lands should be managed responsibly and sustainably to ensure we can pass down our hunting and fishing traditions to the next generation, it’s part of our way of life. By severely handicapping the agencies tasked with managing our public lands, the president endangers wildlife and its habitat, puts in danger the future of our forests, rivers, deserts and mountains, and undercuts the hard work done by New Mexicans to grow our state’s outdoor recreation economy,” said Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.
_ “The president’s proposed budget is an insult to New Mexicans who have worked tirelessly for years to protect wild places that hold immeasurable significance to our residents and to the American public at large. Trump’s budget nearly eliminates the Land & Water Conservation Fund, one of this nation’s cornerstone conservation programs, which has provided us with access to places like the Valles Caldera, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, and the Carson National Forest. We strongly condemn the irresponsible proposed cuts to departments that positively impact New Mexicans’ lives every day,” said Mark Allison, executive director of New Mexico Wild.
_ “In the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument, the Land & Water Conservation Fund has helped our community enjoy places like Soledad Canyon, Achenbach Canyon, and Peña Blanca in perpetuity. Las Cruces residents and visitors alike can enjoy these places thanks to this conservation program, which doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime. It is shameful that the president would try to deeply cut this important program for our community,” said Patrick Nolan, executive director of Friends of Organ Mountains Desert Peaks.
_ “The president’s budget completely ignores the exponentially growing economic impact of outdoor recreation in communities throughout New Mexico. Because of protected federal public lands like White Sands National Park, Bandelier National Monument, and the Gila National Forest, rural communities are able to build the small business economy that serves locals and visitors alike, providing a livelihood to thousands of New Mexico residents that otherwise would lack meaningful economic opportunities. Cutting our land management agencies and defunding the Land & Water Conservation Fund threatens to decimate our state’s outdoor recreation economy,” said Alexandra Merlino, executive director of the Partnership for Responsible Business.
_ “Already, we are seeing the destruction of sacred Native American sites and national monuments across the Southwest border by the actions taken by this toxic administration, causing irreparable harm to native communities and communities of color with no regard for justice or environmental protection. The latest budget proposed by the president would bring even more harm to the thousands of important protected federal lands that are important to Mestizo, Hispanic, and Native American communities throughout New Mexico. With no one left to manage them, they will be left vulnerable and unprotected,” said Angel Peña, president of the Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project.
_ “The Land and Water Conservation Fund is vital to rural communities across New Mexico, where investment in public lands and trails is key to the continued growth of outdoor recreation. A full 97 percent of small business owners along the Continental Divide Trail believe that protecting and enhancing public lands is important to their community’s economy. This administration’s continued attacks on LWCF and federal land managers ignore the voices of these business owners and countless others in communities that value and rely on public lands,” said Teresa Martinez, Executive Director, Continental Divide Trail Coalition
_ “This budget is a clear statement of the president’s priorities, which are to undermine protected federal public lands, climate change, and bedrock environmental protections at every opportunity. In the face of climate change, reducing the Department of Interior’s budget by nearly one-fourth is highly irresponsible and would cause long-term impacts to our state and its people who rely on public lands for jobs, sustenance, and cultural practices. We denounce the president’s proposed budget.” said Greg Peters, Public Lands and Wildlife Advocate for Conservation Voters New Mexico.
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