[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 105 (Thursday, June 15, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute to Kent Salazar

  Mr. HEINRICH. 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. Then, after President Obama appointed Kent 
to lead the Valles Caldera Board of Trustees, he quickly became a 
champion for transitioning the Valles Caldera to a National Park 
Service managed preserve.
  This change has expanded public access and made it possible for many 
more New Mexicans--and for visitors from around the world--to 
experience this incredible landscape. It also protected the public's 
fair access to both hunting and fishing, and none of this would have 
been possible without the determination, leadership, and vision of my 
friend, Kent Salazar.
  A lifelong New Mexican, Kent has dedicated himself to the idea that 
the outdoors are for everyone, not just for those with wealth or family 
connections. And from an early age, Kent found that time spent outdoors 
brought him a sense of renewal. And ever since, he has worked to make 
sure that all New Mexicans and all Americans can build a connection 
with nature.
  For 20 years as a public administrator, Kent worked to make our land 
and air and water safer and healthier at the city of Albuquerque's 
Environmental Health Department.
  An avid hunter, angler, and outdoorsman, Kent also breathed new life 
into the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

  The legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold founded the organization 
that became the New Mexico Wildlife Federation more than a century ago. 
But when Kent took the reins, the organization had no staff and no real 
driving mission. Even so, Kent saw the incredible potential if he could 
reinvigorate the organization; and, that, he did.
  Under Kent's leadership, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation grew its 
membership dramatically and hired professional staff. Today, the New 
Mexico Wildlife Federation is one of the most influential grassroots 
organizations in our State. The organization has become much more 
active and much more effective in protecting iconic New Mexico 
landscapes, including the Valle Vidal, the Sabinoso Wilderness, and the 
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
  The impact of Kent's leadership has also grown nationally. Three 
years ago, Kent was elected unanimously to serve as the chairman of the 
National Wildlife Federation's Board of Directors. With the National 
Wildlife Federation, Kent helped to lead the charge to secure permanent 
and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and pass 
historic investments in landscape restoration as part of the Inflation 
Reduction Act.
  And he is still helping us today as we work to pass the bipartisan 
Recovering America's Wildlife Act.
  Kent also helped to found the Green Leadership Trust and Hispanics 
Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors, or HECHO. Through all of 
this, I have especially appreciated Kent's kindness and passion, his 
pragmatism and knowledge, his devoted focus on making the conservation 
movement more inclusive and mentoring the next generation of 
conservation leaders, the way he keeps an open mind, listens to others, 
and always seems to drive the whole room in a more productive 
direction.
  Kent's name might not make it to the newspaper that often, but it 
should. He is one of the most effective conservation leaders of our 
time. Kent once said:

       [I]f we get the right people involved, we can accomplish a 
     lot, and help our communities and our future, our children.

  He is absolutely right. We are all better off because Kent is 
involved, serving our communities, our future, and our children.
  I am extraordinarily grateful to have worked with and learned from 
Kent for all these years, and I am honored to call him a friend.
  Kent, we cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done to 
inspire New Mexicans and to care for our Land of Enchantment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.