Letter to the Editor by Larry McDaniel, Silver City
Silver City Daily Press | December 12, 2022
Dear editor,
The M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was reintroduced by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján in 2021. This community-driven proposal would secure the future of segments of the Gila River located primarily in the Gila Wilderness – America’s first wilderness – by designating nearly 450 miles of the Gila and San Francisco rivers as Wild and Scenic, ensuring traditional and current use of the waterways, while protecting critical wildlife habitat. Importantly, protecting these rivers will ensure New Mexico’s outdoor recreation economy continues to grow contributing to a diversified and durable economic recovery for local communities.
This legislation has local support from more than 150 small businesses in Grant County, the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, the All Pueblo Council of Governors, the Grant County Commission, town of Silver City, landowners, faith leaders, civic organizations such as LULAC and the NAACP, sportsmen and women and numerous conservation groups. As an avid hunter and fisherman myself, I can attest to the community collaboration that took place in the lead-up to this important legislation being introduced, and witnessed firsthand the public input the Senate offices received and actively gathered through a monthslong comment period, roundtable discussions with stakeholders from all sides of the issue and collaboration and communication with industry partners in the region.
Our local support did not go unnoticed during a mark-up in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier this year, where it was sent to the Senate floor with bipartisan support.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Conservation has always enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 1968, with all U.S. senators at the time voting in favor. In recent years, we have seen other conservation bills pass through Congress with bipartisan support, such as the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, which was passed by the U.S. Senate in 2019 with 92 senators voting in favor, and signed into law shortly thereafter by former President Donald Trump. For all the rhetoric about how divided our country is, it is clear that public lands conservation efforts continue to maintain near universal appeal and support from Republicans, Democrats and independents.
My hope is that our U.S. senators will continue to work with the local communities and other members of Congress to advance this important legislation to the president’s desk this year, and that our community will finally see the greater Gila River watershed permanently protected as Wild and Scenic.
(s)Larry McDaniel, Silver City
This letter originally appeared in the Silver City Daily Press.
