For conservationists and so many other reform-minded Americans, the importance of Washington's lame-duck session is matched only by the crush of priorities our lawmaking branch faces as the 111th Congress nears its end: The 112th, with its Republican House and bare majority of Democrats in the Senate, has all the looks of an environmental disaster as the industrial despoilers of our land, air and water collect on their investments in like-minded legislators.

One far-reaching measure, however, has the good fortune of already being passed by the House of Representatives: Long-term support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund was approved in July. Now it needs Senate approval.

Sponsored by New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman and co-sponsored by a score of senators including Tom Udall, this bill should draw plenty of bipartisan support — especially from Western-state Republicans who recognize the importance of preserving our region's resources from ever-encroaching industrial and commercial development. And the fund has proven invaluable to the already-crowded and increasingly ravaged Gulf Coast states, among many others belatedly realizing what's been lost to population and economic pressures.

The conservation fund came into being in the mid-1960s, urged on by our junior senator's father, the late Santa Fean Stewart Udall, interior secretary to presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Among its many beneficiaries nationwide are the Valles Caldera preserve, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, and the Malpais and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks national monuments.

The fund has been built, but only in fits and starts, from small fractions of drilling fees — thus negating at least some of the damage done in meeting America's still-insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. But Congress being Congress, its leaders have short-changed the fund during the course of 45 years; typically, it is lucky to land 3 percent of drilling fees. Last year, that amounted to $180 million or so — a fifth of what was intended to take on conservation tasks.

Bingaman's bill would correct that imbalance — and give threatened land and waterways at least a fighting chance against the assault that could be coming when resurgent Republicans run the House a couple of months from now.

Most environmental and conservation groups are calling for a prompt vote on this long-discussed bill — and while Sens. Bingaman and Udall don't need any persuading, they do need demonstrations of support. Call or e-mail Bingaman's office, 800-443-8658; senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov., and Udall's, at 202-224-6621 in Washington, or 505-988-6811 in Santa Fe; http://tomudall.senate.gov/contact.

Beyond the feel-good aspects of this bill are the economic ones: Our state's economy gains nearly $4 billion a year from outdoor recreation — a nice, low-impact bunch of earnings. The conservation fund is crucial to sparing and keeping New Mexico's precious lands and waterways protected. That's especially important considering that our country is losing millions of acres a year to land-development alone.

As our wide-open spaces become less so, they need an act of Congress to help preserve what are left.