Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, there is a stunning 13-mile-wide crater that was created by a collapsed supervolcano. What is now known as the Valles Caldera National Preserve is home to a deep grassy valley, volcanic cinder cones, crystal-clear trout streams, and some of the best elk habitat in North America. The Valles Caldera National Preserve is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, but for many, many decades most New Mexicans could only peer into its edge from the side of a road. The entire Caldera was privately owned. That has since changed. In 2000, we used the Land and Water Conservation Fund to purchase the Valles Caldera, but it took nearly a decade and a half after that to see truly meaningful public access. One New Mexican deserves an enormous amount of credit for unlocking the Valles Caldera and its scenic hiking trails, elk hunting, and its trout fishing. That New Mexican is Kent Salazar. As a member of the New Mexico Game Commission, Kent sought to undo a system that allowed wealthy and out-of-state hunters to purchase greater access to elk hunting than everyday New Mexicans or Americans. In the face of big money opposition, Kent pushed to establish a fair and equal lottery system that honored the principle of ``one person, one chance,'' and he succeeded. I have personally harvested two elk in the Caldera thanks in part to the changes that Kent made.…”