NM counties urge high court to hear Utah lawsuit over control of BLM land

A coalition that includes 11 New Mexico counties is urging the nation’s highest court to hear a Utah lawsuit challenging U.S. government control over federal lands in that state.

The coalition filed a brief on Oct. 18 asking the U.S. Supreme Court to create a model that would offer states a “roadmap” for taking control of U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands within their borders.

The 21-page brief contains a list of grievances ranging from loss of property tax revenue to what they argue are inefficiencies in response to wildfires on federal lands.

“Right now there is no roadmap” for states to seek control over federal lands, said Karen Budd-Falen, a Wyoming attorney who filed the brief on behalf of the 11 counties and other groups in New Mexico.

“I’m not saying that this would be a good idea for New Mexico, or that New Mexico would even want all” BLM lands, Budd-Falen said in a phone interview. “I think these are state decisions, not county decisions, but it’s a decision that’s really going to impact the counties.”

Budd-Falen filed the brief on behalf of the Coalition of Arizona-New Mexico Counties for Stable Economic Growth, which includes Chaves, Eddy, Lea, Luna, Roosevelt, Hidalgo, Otero, Socorro, Sierra, McKinley and Catron counties. The coalition also includes several industry group and five Arizona counties.

Utah’s Republican leaders launched a legal challenge in August aimed at gaining control of BLM lands that make up about one-third of Utah.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is asking the Supreme Court to address whether the federal government can hold lands indefinitely that are “unappropriated” for uses such as national parks, wilderness areas, tribal lands or military bases.

Utah argues that federal control deprives state and local governments of needed tax revenue and restricts economic development projects.

The lawsuit is the latest round in an ongoing feud between states and the U.S. government over who should control vast tracts in the West and the valuable resources they contain, including oil and gas, timber and minerals.

Conservation groups have called the lawsuit a political stunt with little chance of success.

BLM manages 244 million acres in the U.S., including 13.5 million acres in New Mexico, or about 17% of the state. But that percentage is much larger in some rural New Mexico counties.

Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Brian Hires said in an email that the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

The U.S. Department of Justice responded in a Nov. 21 filing that only Congress has authority over federal lands and that the courts cannot “order Congress to enact legislation disposing of federal lands.”

Coalition member Socorro County contains about 1.5 million acres of BLM land, making up about 37% of the county, according to the brief. Counties can’t assess property taxes on BLM land, depriving them of badly needed revenue, the brief contends.

Congress pays counties a per-acre payment, called payment in lieu of taxes, or PILT, to compensate them for loss of property tax revenue. But PILT falls short of adequately compensating counties, the brief contends.

Andrew Lotrich, Socorro County manager, said the federal government pays Socorro County about $1.8 million a year in PILT payments, which amounts to $1.13 a year per acre.

But Socorro County receives property taxes of at least $18.20 per acre for “the most desolate land in the county,” he said.

If Socorro County had the ability to tax BLM land directly, property tax revenue would increase by $2 million a year, from $3.3 million to $5.3 million a year, Lotrich estimates.

In addition, PILT payments must be approved by Congress, which often results in late payments, or none at all, he said.

“Being late happens more often that not,” he said. “If the federal government is late with a payment, or withholds a payment for whatever reason, that has a negative impact on the county’s budget itself and the services we have to provide to our constituents.”

Socorro County is also required to maintain about 150 miles of roads on BLM land, he said.

The New Mexico coalition is one of 12 groups that have filed briefs asking the high court to hear the case. Those groups include attorneys general, legislatures and Congressional delegations in a dozen largely Western states.

Utah’s legal challenge came two months after Utah and Wyoming sued President Joe Biden’s administration over a new policy that allows BLM to lease acreage for conservation in much the same way it offers land for drilling and mining.

Utah is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case directly rather than starting at the district court level, where most federal lawsuits originate.

The Constitution allows some cases to begin at the U.S. Supreme Court when states are involved, but justices can also decline to hear any case.