By BEN NEARY
NMWF Conservation Director
The New Mexico State Land Office has scheduled a public meeting on its proposal to grant an easement over state trust lands in Hidalgo County’s Bootheel region to access landlocked portions of the Coronado National Forest.
Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico commissioner of public lands, in April briefed the Hidalgo County Commission on the proposal to reach currently landlocked U.S. Forest Service lands in the southwestern corner of the state.
Garcia Richard this week announced that her office will hold a public meeting on the proposal on July 15 in Lordsburg.
Rancher Seth Hadley, whose family owns the sprawling Diamond A Ranch, has agreed to construct a road on the northern side of the ranch to the national forest boundary. He proposes to construct a parking lot at the boundary to allow public access for people to enter the forest on foot or horseback in the Deer Creek area of the Peloncillo Mountain range.
The new road segment would tie into Horse Camp Road, and would cross about four-tenths of a mile of state trust land to reach the Diamond A Ranch.
The New Mexico Wildlife Federation has been working to gain access to the Coronado National Forest in the area for years. The federation strongly supports the Diamond A proposal.
The Diamond A in recent years has floated the idea of allowing public access to the forest in exchange for county road closures elsewhere on the ranch. However, Garcia Richard said there are no such stipulations on the ranch’s current offer to build the road.
Explaining the project to county commissioners in April, Garcia Richard said, “It is to provide access into the Peloncillo Mountains, and Coronado area, for sportsperson access.”
Garcia Richard said he office would make a final decision on the Diamond A proposal after the public meeting.
“We do have multi-use in this area, folks that do lease this area for grazing,” Garcia Richard said at the April meeting. “So we would like to look at these uses and see whether they are compatible.”
Several area ranchers whose properties border National Forest lands in the area expressed concern about the new road at the April meeting.
Ray Trejo, southern New Mexico outreach coordinator for the NMWF, told commissioners in April that the federation strongly supports the new Forest Service access.
“We think that this is a monumental step in the right direction for equitable access, including all hunters, and hikers and bikers and birders,” Trejo said. “I think it’s going to be an economic driver for your county. And again, I’m just hoping that this is the beginning of something that’s really going to snowball, in a positive way obviously. I would just like to thank the State Land Office, Madam commissioner, her staff, her team, as well as the Diamond A.”
The meeting is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Thurs., July 15, at the Lordsburg Civic Center, 313 E 4th Street, Lordsburg.
The public also may participate in the meeting by Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82888923687?pwd=Ymk4MDMzUHJFODA3dEhGM0RocmtqUT09
Meeting ID: 828 8892 3687
Passcode: 816522