Sen. Henrich presses governor on protecting public lands while supporting outdoor recreation and energy uses

During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources: Senate Committee hearing, Senator Henrich asked the Governor whether proposals and legal challenges this year risked ‘‘wholesale’’ divestment of public lands and how the federal government could balance conservation with economic and recreational uses.

The question came after a year of litigation, Henrich said, and focused on whether the department would ‘‘divest of our public lands’’ and how to ‘‘stay true to our conservation history’’ while supporting local economies that rely on outdoor recreation.

The Governor answered that New Mexico provides an example of striking that balance. ‘‘We can find the balance,’’ the Governor said, citing New Mexico’s record of protecting cultural and historical lands while remaining an energy producer. The Governor urged local consultation before making ‘‘wholesale changes to conservation designations,’’ proposing meetings with the Governor and local leaders who helped create existing protections.

The Governor said recent federal legislation and permitting reforms also reflect the importance of outdoor recreation. The Governor mentioned the Explorer Act and said permitting reform included in that package recognizes the outdoor recreation sector as a major economic driver. The Governor said outdoor recreation in New Mexico supports about 29,000 jobs and roughly $1 billion in economic activity; on a national scale, the Governor said, the sector represents over $1 trillion.

Both speakers emphasized consultation with local stakeholders. The Governor listed consultation partners as tribes with current and historic connections, grazing associations, county commissioners, mayors and rural residents, and said that prior incidents of ‘‘complete and total opposition and no local consultation’’ show why early engagement matters.

The Governor also described state-level tools used to support recreation access, saying that while serving as governor he created an office of outdoor recreation and supported a technology tool that displays private-land posting status for hunters on phones and provides landowner contact information to request access.

No formal votes or motions on land management policy were recorded in the transcript excerpt.

The Governor and Senator Henrich agreed on the need for local consultation before federal changes to conservation designations and on the economic importance of outdoor recreation to rural gateway communities.