By BEN NEARY
NMWF Conservation Director
ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has written to federal authorities saying she’s willing to consider transferring a 212-acre parcel that could offer prime waterfowl hunting along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque.
Garcia Richard drew criticism from the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and other groups last fall when she abruptly withdrew the parcel — adjoining the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge — from hunting during the waterfowl season.
Garcia Richard last year ordered the closure without public notice and without consulting with an advisory group of hunters and anglers she had impaneled.
Garcia Richard on Monday wrote to Robert Wallace. assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the U.S. Department of the Interior, expressing interest in transferring the parcel for addition to the Valle de Oro.
In the letter, Garcia Richard stated she was pleased to see the recent passage of the federal Great American Outdoors Act, which ensures full funding of $900 million a year for public land acquisitions nationwide through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
“The Great American Outdoors Act requires agencies to send Congress LWCF project allocations within 90 days of enactment, and it is my understanding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is interested in expanding the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge,” Garcia Richard wrote. “With this in mind, I would like to express my support for including a 212-acre parcel of state trust land that adjoins the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge as an addition to the national wildlife refuge system.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have to determine whether to include the parcel on its priority list of properties it wants to acquire. If the parcel makes that cut and is included in the president’s budget recommendations, Congress would decide whether to approve money for the acquisition. The entire process could take a year or longer.
If the federal government acquires the land, any decision on whether to allow hunting there would be decided through a public environmental review process.
Under President Donald Trump, the federal government has pushed to expand hunting and fishing opportunities on millions of acres of federal refuge properties nationwide.
Hunters support the national refuge system, and migratory birds in general, through the purchase of duck stamps as well as through excise taxes on the sale of arms and ammunition.
Federal laws including the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 allow hunting on national wildlife refuges when it is compatible with the purposes for which the refuge was established and acquired.
Michael Sloane, director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, last year protested that Garcia Richard’s closure of the area during hunting season was improper. The state game department leases state trust lands around the state for hunting and fishing.
The game department didn’t get notice of the parcel’s closure in advance last year. The land office said at the time it had received complaints from neighbors who feared waterfowl hunting was unsafe.
In her letter this week, Garcia Richard wrote that the parcel offers access to the Rio Grande and bosque habitat, which would provide enhanced educational opportunities, especially for young people, and improve public access at the Valle del Oro — the first urban wildlife refuge in the Southwest.
“The State Land Office’s mandate is to generate revenue through the leasing of trust lands, and this particular parcel is better positioned for educational and conservation uses that fall within the mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” Garcia Richard wrote. “Any land transfer would need to be carried out in accordance with both federal and state legal requirements, and I look forward to discussing the feasibility of this effort.”
Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said he welcomes Garcia Richard’s move to explore possible federal acquisition.
“Despite the unfortunate closure of hunting on this 212-acre tract during the last waterfowl season, our state land commissioner has helped develop a creative solution that will allow fantastic hunting opportunity and benefit our inner-city youth, while ensuring the conservation values of this land remain a top priority,” Deubel said.