NMWF at work
Land Commissioner still missing point on Whites Peak trade
Hundreds of New Mexico sportsmen have written to State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons opposing a proposed land trade that the State Land Office has spent the last 2-1/2 years working up behind closed doors with four landowners in the Whites Peak area. Commissioner Lyons wrote back to many of them (see his letter below) and castigated the New Mexico Wildlife Federation for publicizing the details of the trade that he would likely prefer to maintain behind closed doors. But he still has not offered sufficient explanation for this trade and how it benefits the people of New Mexico.
The commissioner states flatly that NMWF sent its members information that was “misleading and inflammatory,” but failed to explain why or how.
First, he objects to our reference to the Whites Peak area as “hunting land,” then goes on to say that “State trust lands are NOT open to the public.” Of course not all State Trust Lands are open to the public, but in the Whites Peak area, the State Game Commission leases more than 40,000 acres of state trust land specifically for licensed hunters. To us and thousands of hunters, that qualifies as hunting land.
His second complaint is our portrayal of the land trades being conducted behind closed doors. Commissioner Lyons notes that legal advertisements ran in several New Mexico newspapers for 10 weeks last fall. What he doesn’t say is that the legal ads never mention “Whites Peak.” They consist almost entirely of land parcel and tract numbers. If the Land Office had wanted the public to take notice, it could have done so by simply labeling the advertisement as a “Proposed Whites Peak area land trade.” The public would have come out in droves.
Commissioner Lyons also notes that all 24 grazing lessees affected by the trade were contacted. Although the July 9 letter to one lessee does mention a proposed land trade in the Whites Peak area, it is basically a notice of revocation of the grazing lease. “The Commissioner has preliminarily approved the land exchange,” the letter says, “and the SLO is requesting that you complete the attached relinquishment form and return to the SLO as soon as you can.” No public meetings were conducted in the Whites Peak area.
The commissioner says the Department of Game and Fish was contacted. Not so, said department Legal Counsel Jim Karp. Nor were members of the State Game Commission or the Attorney General’s Office. In the past, the State Land Office has reached out to groups including the New Mexico Wildlife Federation regarding proposed trades; there was no such outreach this time.
Commissioner Lyons’ statement that the trade was conducted in public also belies the fact that the Whites Peak deal encompasses four separate trades, only two of which have been advertised. Details of the other two, as best NMWF can determine from the limited information available, will be revealed sometime in the future.
And third, in response to the NMWF allegation that the State Land Office loses acreage in the deal, Commissioner Lyons wrote that “the private acreage involved in the exchange may be fewer in number, but they have a higher appraised value and a higher earning potential than the current trust land.” Only two of the four proposed trades have been made public, and simple mathematics shows that the State Land Office shows a net loss of acreage in the two trades of some 3,700 acres. The commissioner has not yet explained the financial benefit of this trade to the people of New Mexico.
If the State Land Office had truly wanted a public and open process, it could gotten it simply and cheaply. One call to a newspaper reporter would have done it. Certainly one call to the New Mexico Wildlife Federation would have, too.
Commissioner Lyons has made several statements that do not hold water:
* That State Trust Lands are not public lands. Any dictionary defines public lands as lands owned by a government, and ultimately by the people of that government. State Trust Lands in New Mexico are administered by the Commissioner of Public Lands, who is elected by the people. It is ludicrous to assert that trust lands are not public lands. State Trust Lands are set up to benefit our public schools and are not open to all the public at all times, but the lands do ultimately belong to all of us and we have a right to have a voice in their future. Some 9 million acres of trust lands in New Mexico are currently open to responsible hunters and anglers with a valid hunting license or to any member of the public who purchases a recreational pass to use them. The public deserves a voice in the future of our State Trust Lands.
* That hunters will benefit in ways that have not been spelled out. Unfortunately, the Department of Game and Fish has not been consulted on the proposed trades, officials have told NMWF. There has been no analysis of how losing nearly 4,000 acres and trading lands of high mountain beauty for treeless hunting lands along the highway will benefit hunters. Just saying that “hunters will benefit” is not good enough. How will licenses be affected? It is clear there will be a shift of high-quality hunting opportunity away from the public.
* That the trade is good for the Stanley and UU-Bar Ranches. This is true. We would expect any private individual to try to maximize their personal benefit, but the State Land Commissioner should also watch out for our interests.
* That the trade is good for public schools, despite any analysis of income potential from the lands. State Rep. Brian Egolf recently asked Commissioner Lyons at a Legislative Finance Committee hearing if he had any analysis of how the trade would affect annual revenue to the schools. The commissioner answered that, “All you can do is make the trade and hope for the best.”
Thousands of individuals and families depend on the Whites Peak area for hunting and outdoor opportunity, as they have for generations. The state lands at stake are important to many people. Please keep up the pressure by asking Commissioner Lyons to reverse course and do the right thing before these lands are lost forever to the public.