Heinrich Delivers Keynote Address to Commemorate 25th Anniversary of National Conservation Lands

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, joined Conservation Lands Foundation and Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks to deliver a keynote address commemorating the 25th anniversary of the National Conservation Lands. Heinrich was joined by CEO of Conservation Lands Foundation Chris Hill, Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Executive Director Patrick Nolan, and Conservation Lands Foundation Associate Program Director Romir Lahiri.

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivers a keynote address commemorating the 25th anniversary of the National Conservation Lands. September 26, 2025.

"We are in a very different time than when Bruce Babbitt created and set up the National Conservation Lands. We had one of the biggest attacks on our public lands in history, just earlier this year," said Heinrich. "Fortunately, in response, all of you - left, right, and center -spoke up and said 'Hell no. We're not selling off our public lands.' I overheard so many conversations in Washington, D.C. from folks who were damn scared because of the incredible voice with which people across the political spectrum and across our great state spoke out. And that's what turned this around."

"I think that folks figured out that they're not going to be able to sell our public lands off wholesale. But now we have agencies that are depopulated. We have attacks on the Roadless Rule and many other ways to try and get at this stuff," Heinrich continued. "Be a reluctant warrior but be a warrior when you need to. Because your voice can protect these places and make sure that the New Mexico we pass onto future generations is the incredible place that we've all gotten to experience in our lifetimes."

The National Conservation Lands currently includes 906 units covering over 38 million acres designated by Congress to conserve America's public lands, from winding rivers to mountain vistas. The National Conservation Lands offer the American people exceptional opportunities for hunting, solitude, wildlife viewing, fishing, history exploration, scientific research and a wide range of traditional uses. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages these public lands for the benefit of current and future generations.

The celebration follows Heinrich's successful efforts in Congress to keep public lands in public hands during the reconciliation process and prevent plans to sell off our public lands.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Heinrich successfully fought Senate Republican provisions to sell off public lands in the Big Bad Bill, lead an amendment to prevent the privatization of our public lands, hosted a roundtable and sounded the alarm about New Mexico public lands that were at risk of being sold off by Republicans, continuously uplifted New Mexicans' voices who called his office to raise their concern with Republicans' plan to sell off these lands, and released a statement immediately criticizing Senate Republicans' plan to sell off public lands following the release of the reconciliation text.

Heinrich also secured the resources to complete historic land acquisitions that opened up new public access to New Mexico's Sabinoso Wilderness and secure the addition of the historic L Bar Ranch property to western New Mexico's Marquez Wildlife Area - the greatest additions to protected public land in New Mexico in generations. Additionally, Heinrich played a leading role in securing strong, bipartisan support for the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act in 2019 and the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020, two of the most significant pieces of conservation legislation to be signed into law in decades.

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