The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/04/03
Contact: Tanna Chattin, 505 438-7514
For Immediate Release: August 26, 1998
Two Pueblos, State of New Mexico, BIA, and BLM Sign Pact Over Placitas Lands
Leaders from Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblos, the New Mexico State Land Office, and Bureau of Indian Affairs signed an informal agreement with the BLM confirming their intent to work on a three-way land exchange near Placitas, New Mexico. On August 26, the parties signed the Agreement to Initiate an Exchange for about 18,000 acres of BLM administered pubic land popularly known as the Ball Ranch, northeast of Albuquerque.
Prior to the signing ceremony, Victor Reano, Acting Governor of Santo Domingo Pueblo, graciously performed a traditional Pueblo blessing. Then BLM State Director Michelle Chávez signed the agreement with San Felipe Pueblo Governor Robert Velasquez and Lt. Governor Sam Candelaria, Santo Domingo Pueblo Acting Governor Victor Reano and Acting Lt. Governer Regorio Calabaza, State Land Commissioner Ray Powell, and BIA Area Director Rob Baracker.
"This is a very complicated and sensitive transaction," Chávez said. "We¹ve had some real challenges along the way, so I¹m very excited about this agreement which captures the willingness of all the partners to make the exchange work." Commissioner Powell said that agreement will avoid further complications. "It¹s an effort to really do something positive," he said. "It reaffirms everyone¹s desire to do the right thing for all parties involved."
The intent of the agreement is for the Pueblos to acquire about 18,000 acres of private lands to turn over to the State Land Office, and the BLM then transfer the land in the Ball Ranch area to the Pueblos, retaining the Ball Ranch ACEC, a portion deemed environmentally sensitive. BLM will subsequently acquire state inholdings as part of the agreement but the initial actions will resolve BLM¹s current "land debt" to the State.
"I know Santo Domingo and San Felipe have worked so long together on this," San Felipe Governor Velasquez said following the signing. "We¹re very happy that this finally took place."
This exchange was initiated in 1996 when the State Land Office, on a mandate from Congress, gave the BLM 15,000 acres surrounded by Santa Ana Pueblo, which the BLM transferred to Santa Ana. The exchange of the lands near Placitas will compensate the State for the lands transferred to Santa Ana.
The three-way exchange exemplifies the kind of collaboration the BLM strives for with Tribal and State governments. In this case, the Pueblos will be able to administer Indian cultural and sacred sites, the New Mexico State Land Office will acquire lands to meet their state trust obligations, and the BLM will be able to bring critical state land inholdings under federal protection.
A separate Memorandum of Understanding was signed by leaders from Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblos, and the BLM to cooperate on the management of the Ball Ranch Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), a parcel that will be retained by the BLM in the land exchange.
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Leaders from Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblos, the New Mexico State
Land Office, and Bureau of Indian Affairs sign an informal agreement with the BLM
confirming their intent to work on a three-way land exchange near Placitas, New Mexico.
From left: BIA Area Director Rob Baracker, San Felipe Pueblo Governor Robert Velasquez,
BLM State Director Michelle Chávez, Santo Domingo Pueblo Acting Governor Victor Reano and
Spokesman Benny Atencio, and State Land Commissioner Ray Powell.
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Tribal, State, and Federal officials witness the signing of the agreement to work on
the three-way land exchange near Placitas, New Mexico. |
| BLM State Director Michelle Chávez visits with Victor Reano, Acting Governor of the Santo Domingo Pueblo prior to signing the land exchange agreements. Before the signing ceremony, Reano graciously performed a traditional Santo Domingo Pueblo blessing. |  |
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Leaders from Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblos sign the MOU with the BLM to cooperate on the management of the Ball Ranch ACEC. Sitting from left: State Director Michelle Chávez, Santo Domingo Pueblo Acting Governor Victor Reano and Spokesman Benny Atencio. Standing facing the table is San Felipe Pueblo Governor Robert Velasquez. |
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