Conservation legislation likely to stall during general election

Dozens of conservation bills in Congress are likely stalled until after the November election, including two measures that would add new protections to thousands of acres in Northern New Mexico. Congress will recess for most of August. When senators and representatives return, they’ll be caught up in election fervor, and bills already stuck in committees are unlikely to move, according to congressional staffers. Three bills involving New Mexico lands — the Rio Grande del Norte Conservation Act, the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act and the Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act — are pending in the U.S. Senate. The Rio Grande National Preserve Management Act has made it out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to the Senate floor. The committee is chaired by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, who supports all three and hopes to see them through before he retires at the end of the year. “Not a whole lot will happen before the election,” predicted Bingaman aide Maria Najera. “There’s a move to put a package of bills together including those [an omnibus bill] that would hopefully pass in the lame-duck session.” The Rio Grande del Norte and Columbine-Hondo bills have broad support among Taos County residents and some ranchers, sportsmen and environmentalists...more