PRESS STATEMENT: New Mexico Wild Responds to White House Budget Proposal Threatening Conservation Programs and Public Lands
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2025
Contact: Mark Allison, mark@nmwild.org, 505-239-0906
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The White House has released its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal that would significantly reduce funding for conservation programs and public lands management. According to the budget document, the proposal would cut approximately $5.1 billion from the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service.
New Mexico Wild Executive Director Mark Allison issued the following statement:
“The Administration’s budget proposal would severely undermine conservation and public lands protection across New Mexico and the nation. The document outlines devastating cuts that would affect the natural places New Mexicans treasure.
The proposal includes a $900 million reduction to National Park Service operations, including a troubling plan to transfer ‘certain properties to states’ which lack the resources to properly manage these lands.
We are deeply concerned about the $198 million cut from Bureau of Land Management conservation programs, which explicitly targets ‘deep reductions to undo national monument designations made under Presidents Biden and Obama.’ This directly threatens the protected status of important landscapes that New Mexicans have worked for years to conserve.
The $170 million reduction to species conservation programs managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would hinder wildlife protection efforts throughout our state, where many species already face significant challenges.
Water resources would be affected by the $564 million cut to U.S. Geological Survey’s research, investigations, and surveys—critical scientific work that informs sound management decisions.
The Forest Service would see $783 million in reductions to ‘forest system management and operations,’ with the document suggesting a concerning approach to ‘rightsize their real property footprint’ by potentially disposing of public lands.
Additionally, the $754 million cut to private land conservation under the Natural Resource Conservation Service would eliminate essential tools that help maintain open spaces and protect watersheds throughout New Mexico.
While we acknowledge that the budget proposal and reconciliation language don’t call for an outright mass disposal of public lands—a testament to the collective work of conservationists across the nation—there remain numerous concerning provisions that could achieve similar harmful outcomes through different means.
The House’s reconciliation language is particularly troubling as it positions our public lands primarily as a profit center for extractive industries, mandates coal leasing, promotes large-scale logging, undermines environmental protections in sensitive areas, and allows development to sidestep crucial environmental reviews.
These cuts and policy changes represent a significant retreat from responsible conservation at a time when our public lands, wildlife, and water resources need more protection, not less. New Mexico Wild calls on our congressional delegation to oppose these reductions and defend the natural heritage that is so vital to our state.”
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