Sportsmen fear loss of prime BLM hunting grounds through land transfer tucked in defense bill

July 20–New Mexico hunters are furious over a one-paragraph amendment to the federal defense budget bill passed this spring by the U.S. House of Representatives that would withdraw from public access 300,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Southern New Mexico.

Sportsmen claim the area, which would be transferred to the adjacent White Sands Missile Range, contains some prime elk and deer hunting territory.

“We are not aware of any public notification or public comment opportunities on this withdrawal at any time before the amendment was added,” said Michelle Briscoe, conservation director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

Withdrawal of what is called the Northern Extension Area also could affect hunter access to nearby private and state trust lands, said Briscoe and State Land Commissioner Ray Powell.

White Sands Missile Range officials say public access won’t stop if the land is transferred but confirmed they didn’t ask for the transfer. “Public access — hunting, hiking — will continue in the Northern Extension Area consistent with existing public access rules on federal lands,” said Lisa Blevins, a public affairs staff member for White Sands.

In early May, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, added the amendment to the bill to withdraw the BLM land and transfer it to the military.

“It is our understanding that the legislative branch of our government proposed the land transfer to protect the critical military mission in the [Northern Extension Area] from future incompatible development,” Blevins said.

Staff for Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who represents the area and who voted for the defense appropriations bill that included the land transfer amendment, said hunting, trapping and fishing rights are protected under existing federal law regarding military reservations.

The code requires the secretary of defense to follow state game laws but gives the secretary authority to make some changes. “This language does not restrict hunting, fishing and trapping,” said Jill McLaughlin, communications director for Pearce. “It actually protects it, along with ranching and water rights.”

But Briscoe said that code doesn’t address public access to the land to hunt or fish. “It addresses who makes the rules if hunting and fishing are going to occur, but not if the public can access the property,” she said. “The amendment [in HR 4435] withdraws public access to the land, and that is the problem.”

She said sportsmen don’t trust that their rights will be protected if the area is transferred unless that is specified by law. “The legislation as written provides no assurances or protections that public access or hunting will continue,” Briscoe said. “Over the years, sportsmen have had less than ideal experiences as access to McGregor Range has become harder, and there is nothing in this legislation that would prevent those experiences or worse in the Northern Extension.”

The McGregor Range is 660,000 acres of BLM land on the west side of the Otero Mesa now used by the U.S. Army for training exercises.

HR 4435, the National Defense Authorization Act for 2015, passed the House on May 22 and was sent to the U.S. Senate. Sportsmen hope the Senate will at least seek public comment before determining the fate of the BLM lands.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., also voted for the defense bill. A total of 98 Democrats and Republicans opposed the bill.

Hunters wouldn’t be the only ones potentially affected if the land is transferred to the Department of Defense. The area could be withdrawn from all public access — hikers, bikers and everyone else — under the Defense Authorization Act passed by the House.

The BLM lands are interspersed with thousands of acres of state trust land, where hunting, fishing and other public recreation are allowed. State Land Commissioner Ray Powell said he wasn’t consulted by anyone about transferring land to the Department of Defense. “It would be a fundamental change from an agency that focuses on public access to one with much greater restrictions because of national security issues,” Powell said. “It doesn’t apply technically to state trust lands, but from a practical perspective, it could significantly impact people’s access to state trust lands as well.”

He said it also could impact the state’s ability to develop renewable energy projects in the area.

It’s not clear how the land withdrawal amendment might affect a proposed high-voltage power line called SunZia Southwest Transmission. The proposed 515-mile transmission line will distribute power generated in central and southwestern New Mexico to Arizona and California. It is considered a critical part of launching renewable energy projects in New Mexico.

But the privately owned project ran into trouble with the Department of Defense due to its proximity to White Sands Missile Range testing areas. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently hashed out mitigations with SunZia owners such as burying a portion of the power line so the project can move forward, but the bill could change that now.

“The SunZia Southwest Transmission project is very concerned about the proposal to arbitrarily withdraw lands located in the Northern Extension Area because it creates additional permitting uncertainty for us,” said Ian Calkins, SunZia spokesman. “It also sets a dangerous precedent and could impact the private, state and federal lands located there in many unintended ways.”

Calkins said SunZia is in the final stages of federal permitting, and the partners don’t yet know how the land transfer, if approved by the Senate, would affect the project.

Donna Hummel, a spokeswoman for the BLM New Mexico Office, said the agency hasn’t commented on the bill. The Obama administration issued a statement earlier in the year that said while the current method for withdrawing and transferring land to military installations isn’t “particularly efficient … the Administration is not prepared to support transfers of such lands without careful consideration of the supporting legislative provisions.”

Jennifer Talhelm, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said the senator supports Whites Sands Missile Range and its mission, “but believes any major public lands transaction, especially one this large, should be done only after careful deliberation and after thoroughly seeking the advice and input of constituents in New Mexico.”

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @stacimatlock.