On a pitch-black night near the I-25 overpass in Hatch, New Mexico, we laid in the tall desert grass bedded like mule deer, admiring a canopy of stars, getting the smell of chicken liver off our fingers, and asking ourselves if aliens really existed. We laughed as swarms of mosquitos made a meal out of us and patiently waited for the catfish to bite. We had decided it was worth it.

I was watching my captive prey—a desert box turtle that I’d convinced my dad to let me keep as a house pet—when the copper bells atop our fishing rods started to sing. In an instant, my brother and I were racing toward the rods, stumbling across the dark desert grassland and wondering who’d win our made-up fishing tournament. The prize: catch the biggest catfish, and you get to name the turtle.

A Life Shaped by Public Lands

That night spent with my dad and brother as a young boy is among my earliest memories of falling in love with the outdoors and, eventually, with conservation and public lands. It was a uniquely American experience—and in this case, fishing the dwindling Rio Grande with rods and fishing licenses from Walmart in the Chile Capital of the World. It was a uniquely southern New Mexico experience.

Today, I find myself as a Member of Congress representing that very district, and that very patch of grass, that helped shape my life. In 2025 year, I co-founded the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus with U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana. Together, we decided to put Washington politics aside and work toward an issue we both care about: Keeping Public Lands in Public Hands.

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