VIDEO: Ranking Member Heinrich Celebrates National Public Lands Day with Public Lands Advocates and U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Huffman

VIDEO: U.S. Senator MartinHeinrich(D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. SenateEnergy and Natural Resources Committee, along with Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Tracy Stone-Manning, President of The Wilderness Society, Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, and Ryan 'Cal' Callaghan, Board Chair of Backcountry Hunters and Anglerscelebrate National Public Lands Day, September 24th, 2025.

"I started guiding in my 20s, and it was really amazing to me, because I had a chance to travel around the world a little bit, and I realized that we have something in this country that most people in the world would be absolutely envious of. We have this great sort of physical manifestation of democracy in these lands that belong to all of us," Heinrich said. "And I think the thing that'sreally motivated me to keep working on these issues for well over 20 years now is how much of my personal life story and identity is tied up in these places. My best memories- the time around the campfire, with family, with close friends. These are the things that make me who I am, and without public lands, I would be a completely different person."

Heinrich continued, urging for Americans to defend their public landsby sharing what theirlands mean to them, "On National Public Lands Day, get out and enjoy those lands and then turn around and turn that into a story that you can communicate to the broader public. Post your stories on social media, and while you'rereconnecting with the outdoors and all the things that make us proud to be Americans, use that energy to support our public lands and the people who care for them."

This celebration follows Heinrich's successful efforts in Congress to keep public lands in public hands during the reconciliation processand preventplans 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 roundtableand 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 landsfollowing the release of the reconciliation text.

Heinrich also secured the resources to complete historic land acquisitions that opened upnew public access to New Mexico's Sabinoso Wildernessand secure the addition of the historic L Bar Ranch propertyto 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 Actin 2019 and the Great American Outdoors Actin 2020, two of the most significant pieces of conservation legislation to be signed into law in decades.

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