Mark Kelly is right about threats to public lands. He can lead Senate on protections

As an Air Force brat, a veteran and a military spouse, I’ve enjoyed my fair share of traveling. After my husband’s retirement, we settled in our perfect spot, out West in the great Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

We fell in love with Tucson and the surrounding land immediately, but it’s during the pandemic this year that I’ve become more grateful for my chosen home than ever. I’ve found myself retreating to the open spaces near home, marveling at the hummingbirds, woodpeckers and hawks, the rain smell of creosote bushes and the bloom of wildflowers after the rain – a magical land that helps to maintain my physical and mental health.

I am thus cheered to see newly elected Sen. Mark Kelly heading to Washington, D.C., to support the public lands we Arizonans all love.

House version protected natural resources

Kelly has spoken out about the ill-advised nomination of William Perry Pendley for director of the Bureau of Land Management, a man who is on record as anti-public lands and who spearheaded efforts to reopen the area near the Grand Canyon to uranium mining. Exposed to radioactivity as an astronaut, Kelly understands the dangers of radioactive material, especially getting into our water supply.

Throughout his campaign, Kelly cited, rightfully, the threat of climate change, severe drought and ferocious wildfires to the state’s outdoor recreation industry. The public lands that can so easily become scorched not only support our mental health, but also generate $9.6 billion for the Arizona’s economy, sustaining 110,172 homegrown jobs.

Congress recently had the chance to capitalize on that momentum and pass commonsense environmental legislation that serves the American people as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The House version of the bill included natural resources provisions like the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which permanently bans uranium mining on lands outside of Grand Canyon National Park, safeguarding both the watershed and the landscape of this national treasure for generations to come.

A Senate compromise gutted the bill

Another House provision included the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act which in part creates the first National Landscape at Camp Hale in Colorado, honoring the U.S. Army’s famed 10th Mountain Division. There was also an amendment including the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act, which sets aside millions of acres of public lands and hundreds of miles of rivers in Colorado, California and Washington.

Unfortunately, in a compromise with the Senate none of these provisions were included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Despite the setback, the momentum is still with us. The bipartisan passage of the landmark Great American Outdoors Act this year – in which Congress agreed to spend a record $10 billion for forests, refuges, future land purchases and the overdue maintenance backlog at national park sites – paves the way.

Sen. Kelly can help broker a better pact

I believe that the 117th Congress has the collaboration and motivation to get the key public lands protection bills left behind enacted in 2021. And I’m looking to Sen. Kelly to lead the pack, championing public lands and environmental safeguards with the practicality and service mindset that characterizes so many military veterans. He certainly brings a unique perspective to the job.

While many of us have seen America’s great outdoor landscapes from on high, he is one of the few to witness the wonder and grandeur of our public lands from hundreds of miles in outer space.

I am excited to see what great things the new senator can do with both feet on the ground.

Jannine Mathis is a veteran of the United States Air Force and is a supporter of the Vet Voice Foundation, a nonprofit that works on public lands issues. Reach her at jcmathis8@gmail.com.