State, BLM move forward on national monument land swap

LAS CRUCES — Staff members from the federal Bureau of Land Management and New Mexico’s State Land Office delivered a presentation Monday night on a planned land swap that would deliver about 85,000 state-owned acres of minerals and surface area within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument to the federal agency.

Over 50 people turned out to the meeting at the Doña Ana County Government Center, but some were there to ask about a different matter altogether, as rumors have circulated locally about a possible land exchange between the state and the Mescalero Apache tribe for a parcel of land in Las Cruces that might be developed by the tribe.

The agenda focused on a “checkerboard” of state trust lands located within the OMDP, comprising up to 76,547 surface and mineral acreage, plus 40 surface-only acres and 8,566 of mineral-only estate. The exchange for lands held elsewhere by the BLM would approximate the market value although the acreage may vary: The swap contemplates 75,897 surface-and-mineral acreage and about 174 acres of surface-only land.

The meeting sought public input on the state-owned properties proposed for exchange. Although properties within Doña Ana County were rated “Tier 1” as a priority, a second tier includes tracts in Luna, Grant and Hidalgo counties that could be included in the final exchange.

On the federal side, the BLM has signed an agreement with the state moving the exchange forward, and began environmental analysis and tribal consultation pertaining to the federal properties. The transaction is likely to require several years to complete, with public comment periods focusing on environmental impacts, the agencies said.

The purpose of the exchange is to ensure that the state-owned property within the monument is not developed for purposes incongruent with the monument’s purpose and reduce parcels within the monument that are out of BLM’s jurisdiction, to benefit its management plans.

“We want those areas to be preserved,” Greg Bloom, the State Land Office’s assistant commissioner of Mineral Resources, told reporters. “We’ve asked the BLM to trade us out of those lands. We’ll get land of similar value … primarily around the Las Cruces airport and industrial park and the Santa Teresa industrial park and airport as well.”

The State Land Office could then potentially lease those properties as part of the portfolio of public lands it manages to bring in revenue for New Mexico schools, colleges and universities and other beneficiaries of the state land trust. The office has raised $12.5 billion since 2019 alone.

State and local elected officials participating in the meeting noted that the public lands commissioner, an elected position overseeing the State Land Office, has wide discretion over how those lands are managed. Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is in her second term, which concludes at the end of 2026, and is barred from seeking a third term. A future commissioner would have wide latitude to direct how lands within the national monument might be developed, staff of both agencies said.

The agencies prepared an interactive online map of the exchange including the proposed parcels, accessible via NMStateLands.org.

The Las Cruces meeting was the first of four public meetings fielding questions and taking public input about the parcels considered for the exchange. On Tuesday night, the agencies held a meeting in Lordsburg. Subsequent meetings were set for Deming on Wednesday evening and Silver City on Thursday.

Little information is currently available about a possible land exchange with the Mescalero Apache Tribe for approximately 400 acres of state land near Sonoma Ranch in an area with sweeping views of the Organ Mountains.

In August, Doña Ana County Commissioner Shannon Reynolds discussed the proposal with La Tierra Escondida Community Association, a neighborhood organization seeking information about whatever development is contemplated for in area consisting currently of open space and residences.

According to minutes from that meeting reviewed by the Journal, Reynolds indicated the tribe had contemplated developing the land for an amphitheater or, potentially, a racetrack or casino; but he said the tribe “may be re-evaluating the exchange,” according to meeting minutes, due to unusable land and a lack of commercial roadways.

Bloom said discussions about that exchange were in early stages. “When the exchange is developed a little more, there will be another public hearing on that,” he said.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe’s attorney was unavailable for comment.