Conservation is vital to so many in NM

Ranching is a cornerstone of New Mexican lifestyle and heritage. My family has lived in Arroyo Seco since the early 1800s, and we have been farmers and ranchers since then. For generations, we have lived where we have ranched and have a true understanding of what it means to graze cattle in proposed and designated wilderness areas.

That is why I support the Cerros del Norte Conservation Act, recently reintroduced by Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall. The bill would designate wilderness within the Río Grande del Norte National Monument and would ensure that grazing can continue where it does today.

I would never support anything that took away our rights to our water and our land. Our cattle and crops depend on clean water and healthy land. And we have always relied on it being there.

But things are changing. Big corporations are impacting local ranch operations, and special interests and some elected officials want to sell off our public lands for development. It is critical that we preserve our lands and waters as they are today.

Thankfully, designated wilderness safeguards clean water that our livestock and crops depend upon. It also conserves the areas where our ancestors walked, and I am reminded of them whenever I am on the land.

The Cerros del Norte Conservation Act is supported by sportsmen, local elected officials, veterans, community members and ranchers like me. The proposal has been decades in the making — long before President Obama designated Río Grande del Norte a national monument, in fact. However, only Congress can designate wilderness, so these incredible areas remain in limbo.

I want to thank Senators Heinrich and Udall for working to make the original vision for the Rio Grande del Norte area a reality. This includes taking into account our way of life when writing the Cerros del Norte Conservation Act. I look forward to Congress finally preserving these special areas for future generations.

FLOYD ARCHULETA El Prado