ICYMI: ENR Ranking Member Heinrich and Senator Sheehy Launch Senate Stewardship Caucus
Heinrich: “We need a caucus that can come together from both sides of the aisle and accelerate the amount of work that we’re doing in this space. Everything that’s durable, everything that’s lasted the test of time in the conservation space has been bipartisan.”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) launched the Senate Stewardship Caucus to advance bipartisan efforts aimed at protecting and expanding access to public lands and waters, recovering wildlife, and restoring habitat.
Heinrich and Sheehy launched the bipartisan Senate Stewardship Caucus at a celebratory reception hosted by Nature is Nonpartisan.
Additional inaugural members of the Senate Stewardship Caucus include U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.).
“I can’t think of a better day to launch the bipartisan Senate Stewardship Caucus than on Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday. It’s also the day that a book called the Sand County Almanac was published in 1949. As a young person, I had the privilege of serving as an outfitter guide in the very landscapes that Aldo Leopold wrote of in that book. It was seminal in creating what he called a ‘Land Ethic’ — the relationship that our communities have with place, with land — public and private — with streams, with wildlife,” said Heinrich. “Putting together this Stewardship Caucus is an opportunity for all of us to work on these issues together to protect and conserve the places we know and love for this generation and the next.”
“Being stewards of our public lands is a big undertaking; it’s complex, it requires input from all stakeholders, and it demands a lot of patience. In Nevada, we know this better than anyone,” said Cortez Masto. “That’s why it’s so critical that we’re coming together to form this Stewardship Caucus. Because it takes all of us working together to protect our public lands and prepare for the future.”
“North Carolina has a long, proud history of conservation efforts to protect the natural beautiful across our state,” said Tillis. “I am proud to join the Senate Stewardship Caucus and ensure our public lands are protected for generations to come.”
"Our public lands make Colorado what it is," said Hickenlooper. "We will protect our landscapes and preserve our American treasures for future generations to enjoy, working with anyone who stands with us."
"I'm grateful to be part of founding the bipartisan Senate Stewardship Caucus and represent Alabama the Beautiful. Our great state is not only a destination for countless sportsmen, hunters, anglers, and nature-goers, but also the proud home to hardworking famers and foresters who work diligently to feed and clothe our state, nation, and world. It's our job as legislators to work toward responsible conservation solutions, and I'm looking forward to continuing that work as a part of this caucus to do just that," said Britt.
“Even when America feels more divided than ever, conservation is a place of consensus,” said Benji Backer, Founder & CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan. “The most durable solutions come from bipartisanship, and we look forward to supporting the important work of the Senate Stewardship Caucus.”
###
