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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Gov. Joins Outcry on Swap
By Jessica Dyer
Journal Staff Writer
Gov. Bill Richardson on Friday joined a chorus of critics against a proposed state land swap in northeast New Mexico.
The governor questioned whether there's been enough public notice of the State Land Office's plans to swap 10,963 acres of state trust land for 9,656 acres of privately owned property northeast of Las Vegas.
"I'm particularly concerned about the process by which this swap apparently has been arranged — namely, a public behind-the-scenes deal with virtually no public input or notification, sealed bids, and inadequate opportunity for examination," Richardson said in a statement released by his office.
"This should not be acceptable for any major transaction involving public trust lands, much less lands that for centuries have been used for traditional purposes such as hunting, trapping and recreation."
Sportsmen have complained about what they say have been secretive negotiations by the Land Office and loss of public access to some of the area's best hunting, but Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons said the deal is important because it will give the state two large, contiguous parcels.
Current ownership in the area is like a "checkerboard" split between private parties and the state, and Lyons said trespassing has been a contentious issue for decades.
Lyons, in an interview, maintained that the process has been public. He cited more than two months' worth of legal advertisements for bids on the state trust land that ran in the Journal and newspapers in Angel Fire and Raton, with bids due Tuesday for the first 7,000 acres.
He said more specific information was offered through his office.
"It's available for anybody who wanted to ask for it anytime," Lyons said.
But opponents who held a news conference outside the Land Office in Santa Fe on Friday said they had to dig for information.
Jeremy Vesbach, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said the organization had to file Freedom of Information Act requests for details about the trade and to see a map of the proposed swaps.
Ranchers' money
During a meeting of the Legislative Finance Committee earlier Friday, Lyons told committee members the State Land Office didn't pay for the appraisal of the land involved. Instead, Lyons said two ranches that could be involved in the exchange — the Stanley and UU Bar Ranches — footed the bill. A summary of the swap provided by the Land Office shows a net value gain for the state of nearly $13 million.
Lyons said once the bid deadlines pass, the Land Office will consider all offers for the lands they're advertising, including cash offers, but said he hopes the proposed land swap with the area ranches emerges as the best offer.
"We hope we get what we want," Lyons said. "We think this would be the best way to consolidate a problem area."
State Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, questioned Lyons repeatedly during the meeting about the land exchange and expressed concern about a lack of public hearings. "It seems looking at the map that the transaction has already been determined," Egolf said.
Later in the meeting, Egolf voiced more displeasure, saying, "What we're doing is trading prime timber and hunting land for 80 percent barren scrubland along a highway."
Trespassing problem
At the news conference outside Lyons' offices, critics argued that New Mexicans will lose prime hunting grounds — areas that families have used for generations — and gain land without as much value for their recreational pursuits.
Attendees said the private owners will likely turn around and resell state elk permits for thousands of dollars for hunting on what is now state trust land.
"By holding private hunts, this becomes big money," Las Vegas resident Eddie Trujillo said.
Land Office spokeswoman Kristin Haase showed up with a large map showing the proposed trades. After the news conference ended she tried to explain the Land Office's position, but her comments were often cut short by opponents of the trade. At one point during the heated exchange, she said, "From a land management perspective, it's very difficult for us to manage this area." One critic snapped back: "Then stay out of it."
David Stanley, one of the private landowners involved in the proposed trade, said his father bought property in the White Peak area 30 years ago. He said hunters have constantly trespassed, sometimes belligerently. He said one of his father's employees was once threatened at gunpoint by a hunter.
He said he posted 200 "no trespassing" signs last year and 75 percent were gone within two weeks. If he locates them later, "some are thrown in campfires, some are crumpled or shot up to hell."
If the deal doesn't go through, Stanley said he would consider selling the property because "there's no way to manage the resources" as it stands now.
"I think everyone is tired of this," Stanley said.
Stanley said the most he's ever charged for a private hunt on his land is $2,850, which included a week's food and lodging. He doesn't rule out charging more for his permits in the future but doesn't think he's getting a sweet deal at the state's expense.
"The Land Office is not giving anything away. This is in their best interest, and they are tough negotiators," he said.
Lyons, who is a hunter, said the state is getting land with at least 100 antelope on it right now. "We're picking up quality areas with a lot of water," he said.
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