Sponsor
Ben Ray Luján
Senator · D-NM
Senator · D-NM
Requires Interior and Agriculture to negotiate MOUs with the New Mexico Land Grant Council to coordinate noncommercial historical/traditional uses of Federal lands and to reflect those uses in land management plans.
Official title: Provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 9, 2025 by Ben Ray Luján · Last progress September 24, 2026
The bill gives New Mexico land grant communities clearer recognition and formal pathways (MOUs) to preserve traditional noncommercial uses and infrastructure access on nearby federal lands while preserving existing tribal and state authorities — but much depends on agency discretion, permits, and administrative processes that could cause delays, costs, and limits on federal conservation flexibility.
Qualified New Mexico land grant communities (heirs and community users) gain a clear, codified path to recognition of long‑established noncommercial uses (subsistence water access, small‑scale gathering, grazing, hunting/fishing, monument maintenance) on adjacent Federal lands.
Qualified communities can pursue memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with USDA and DOI that formalize government-to-government coordination and required consultation with Indian Tribes, improving clarity and intergovernmental collaboration over historical/traditional uses.
MOUs may authorize routine maintenance and major local infrastructure projects (e.g., water systems, wells, cemetery repairs) on federal land, enabling communities to maintain essential services and cultural sites.
Qualified communities still face agency discretion and procedural hurdles because the Secretary and agencies make key determinations and MOUs cannot themselves authorize uses, creating potential delays, inconsistent outcomes, and continued permitting requirements.
Negotiating, implementing, and renewing MOUs will impose administrative costs and staff burdens on federal agencies and taxpayers, potentially diverting resources from other land management priorities.
Detailed fee and permit procedures could still result in fees or cost‑recovery charges that burden low‑income community members, even with fee‑waiver provisions.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates a formal process for the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to sign memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the New Mexico Land Grant Council and local community land grant (merced) governing bodies to coordinate noncommercial historical or traditional uses of Federal lands. It requires MOUs to describe permitting procedures, fees, vehicle and material use rules, consultation with Tribes, and options for subsidiary agreements for specific projects. Directs federal land managers to consider impacts on land-grant historical or traditional uses when preparing or revising land use and resource management plans, while preserving existing tribal treaty rights, state authorities over water and wildlife, and other valid existing rights or authorized uses of Federal land.