ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has determined that her office will transfer to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a 212-acre parcel that could offer prime waterfowl hunting along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque.
Garcia Richard announced Thursday that she has decided to offer the state parcel to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for inclusion into the adjoining Valle del Oro National Wildlife Refuge. The state land office plans to exchange the parcel for unspecified federal lands elsewhere.
Garcia Richard drew criticism from the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and other groups when she abruptly withdrew the state parcel from public hunting during the 2019-20 waterfowl season. The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish pays the State Land Office through an easement agreement for the right of licensed hunters to hunt on state land.
Garcia Richard in 2019 ordered the closure without public notice and without consulting with an advisory group of hunters and anglers she had impaneled.
Garcia Richard wrote the USFWS in 2020 expressing interest in transferring the parcel for addition to the Valle de Oro. Her office solicited public comment this summer on what to do with the property.
Many local residents expressed opposition to allowing hunting on the state land at a public meeting in the South Valley this summer.
If the federal government acquires the land, any decision on whether to allow hunting there would be decided through a public environmental review process.
The Land Office announced that the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District will retain the right to maintain a levee on the property for flood control. The City of Albuquerque also holds a lease on the property that runs until 2030.
In a letter to federal officials that the land office released on Thursday, Garcia Richard states she understands that the USFWS will address whether to allow hunting through a public comment process. But she reiterated that her office has heard opposition to the prospect of hunting from most area residents.