PHOTOS | VIDEO

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, hosted a roundtable with ENR Committee Democratic members, sportsmen, and conservationists, sounding the alarm on Republicans’ continued efforts to sell America’s public lands.

“Until two nights ago, Senator Lee’s proposal required the sale of 2-3 million acres of public lands in the West – an amount that is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined,” said Ranking Member Heinrich. “The Parliamentarian blocked this massive public land grab because it violated Senate rules. I applaud her for making the right decision. But I also know that Senator Lee has made clear: he’s ‘just getting started.’”

Heinrich continued, “We must stay vigilant. Everyone who loves our public lands - we cannot sleep on Republicans’ continued efforts to push land grab proposals. We know Republicans are serious about taking our lands. They’ve been trying for decades, and their proposals just keep coming – from the White House to the Senate. But we will not let them sell our American birthright to build luxury condos or vacation homes, all to pay for tax breaks to billionaires.”

Heinrich was joined by ENR Committee Democratic Members Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), former Solicitor for the United States Department of the Interior Hilary Tompkins, Land Tawney of American Hunters and Anglers, Conservation Lands Foundation Chief Conservation Officer Jocelyn Torres, Wyoming Wildlife Federation Government Affairs Director Jess  Johnson, and Dr. Mike Tracy at 307 Health.

“This proposal is being rushed through without effective stakeholders and decision makers. For example, public lands are often located in Indian Country, but there has been no outreach to Tribal Nations,” said Hillary Tompkins, former Solicitor for the United States Department of the Interior. “For example, under the original proposal, lands in Mount Taylor in Grants, New Mexico, could be open for sale. Mount Taylor is one of the four sacred mountains of 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.”

“It doesn’t matter who you voted for in the last election. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is. It doesn’t matter how much money is in your bank account- these public lands belong to us all,” said Land Tawney, American Hunters and Anglers. “This is not about affordable housing, this is just the camel’s nose underneath the tent to sell more public land. They do it once, they can do it again.”

“In my experiences, fishing, hunting, hiking, backpacking, the wilderness really transcends a lot of things, including age, profession, where you’re from, what language you speak, what music you listen to, and especially and including political parties. If you tried to make a list of a typical recreational land user, the word ‘eclectic’ comes to mind,” said Dr. Mike Tracy, Physician at 307 Health and Volunteer with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. “The users of public lands in America are truly eclectic and that’s I think what makes the provision for the mandatory sale of BLM and, until two days ago, the U.S. Forest Service land not just unpopular but wildly unpopular, and that’s not just in Wyoming and in other Western States — it’s across the United States.”

“Public lands are an essential part of my life and lives of so many Americans. They have value well beyond what can be placed on a balance sheet,” said Jocelyn Torres, Chief Conservation Officer, Conservation Lands Foundation. “Indiscriminately selling public lands is short sighted and hurts the vast majority of Americans who rely on these lands and waters, and it certainly won’t solve affordable housing problems in communities like Las Vegas.”

“I think about my own moments... I was on this amazing parcel of public land, tiny, little, you know, it's one to three miles from Lander. It's BLM. It's really nothing special to look at, except it is everything to me, and it's what's dictated my career since then, is that remembering this connection with this wild animal and my responsibility to keep open landscapes for our next generations and the generations to come,” said Jess Johnson, Government Affairs Director, Wyoming Wildlife Federation.

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