Dear Friend,

Happy National Parks and Recreation Week! I wanted to make sure you knew to celebrate National Parks and Rec Week with us this week—as if we ever needed an excuse to go outdoors here in our beautiful New Mexico. This week is also a call to action to protect and expand our incredible national parks so we can protect these vital space and resources for generations to come.

In Congress, I am working to prepare our parks to be resilient in the face of climate change while expanding access to nature for our youth and communities who have faced barriers to experiencing nature for far too long.

I want you to know about a few pieces of legislation I am working to pass in Congress to protect our public lands and expand access to the outdoors for all of our communities, including:

• The Outdoors for All Act (H.R.5413) - legislation I cosponsor to create a dedicated source of funding for projects that expand outdoor recreational opportunities in urban and low-income communities across the nation.
• The Reducing Waste in National Parks Act (H.R.5533) - legislation I cosponsor to reduce the impact of plastic pollution in our beautiful parks by banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles in national park facilities where possible.
• The Buffalo Tract Protection Act (H.R. 5805) - legislation I introduced to protect the local communities in Sandoval County by withdrawing four parcels of Bureau of Land Management land from all forms of mineral development.
• The Climate Emergency Act (H.R. 794) - legislation I cosponsor to declare a national emergency due to climate change. This legislation would direct our government to invest in large-scale projects that mitigate carbon pollution and prepare our communities for resilience to boost and diversify our economy.

This week, as we enjoy the beautiful trails of the Sandia Mountains, the shade of the cottonwoods in the Bosque, the Valle de Oro, or learn from the messages inscribed at Petroglyph National Monument, we must remember the important work ahead to secure the protection of the outdoor spaces that provide so much to our communities.

As always, if I can be of any assistance to you or your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or my staff at (505) 346-6781. If you’d like to keep up to date on what I am working on in Washington on behalf of New Mexico’s First Congressional District and our communities, you can subscribe to our newsletter here, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Sincerely,



Melanie A. Stansbury
Member of Congress