Washington, DC – Today, House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) spoke at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing to advocate for H.R.839, legislation he introduced to prohibit a Biden-era proposal to expand the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge from 6,400 acres to 700,000 acres, saying “the federal government needs more public land like I need another hole in my head.”
In 2024, Biden’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a Land Protection Plan that would allow the agency to purchase private lands or acquire conservation easements from willing sellers on up to 700,000 acres in Texas and New Mexico in an effort to expand the effective conservation footprint of the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge.
On July 1, 2024, Chairman Arrington sent a letter to the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demanding answers on its efforts to expand the refuge through the acquisition of private land.
“I have tremendous cause for concern” – on July 16, 2024, Chairman Arrington interviewed with Lubbock’s KAMC to discuss his opposition of the Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge Expansion.
On September 17, 2024, Chairman Arrington authored an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News entitled, “Congressman Arrington: Why I Oppose the Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge Expansion.”
