Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Federal land policy in New Mexico
 in New Mexico |
This article does not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
| Public Policy |
|---|
 |
| State environmental policy |
 |
Federal land policy involves the ownership and management of land owned by the federal government. As of 2012, the federal government owned between 635 million to 640 million acres, or 28 percent, of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Federal land is managed for many purposes, such as the conservation and development of natural resources, grazing and recreation. As of 2012, the federal government owned 34.72 percent of New Mexico's total land, 27,001,583 acres out of 77,766,400 total acres.
Land ownership
- See also: Federal land policy and Federal land ownership by state
The federal government owned between 635 million and 640 million acres of land in 2012 (about 28 percent) of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Around 52 percent of federally owned acres were in 12 Western states—including Alaska, 61 percent of which was federally owned. In contrast, the federal government owned 4 percent of land in the other 38 states. Federal land policy is designed to manage minerals, oil and gas resources, timber, wildlife and fish, and other natural resources found on federal land. Land management policies are highly debated for their economic, environmental and social impacts. Additionally, the size of the federal estate and the acquisition of more federal land are major issues.[1][2]
According to the Congressional Research Service, New Mexico spans 77.76 million acres. Of that total, 34.72 percent, or 27 million acres, belonged to the federal government as of 2012. More than 50.7 million acres in New Mexico are not owned by the federal government, or 24.34 non-federal acres per capita. From 1990 to 2010, the federal government's land ownership in New Mexico increased by 2.25 million acres.[1]
The table below shows federal land ownership in New Mexico compared to its neighbor, Texas, and a northeastern state, Massachusetts. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management owned nearly half of all federal land in New Mexico (13.4 million acres) compared to 11,833 acres in Texas and zero acres in Massachusetts.
| Federal land ownership in New Mexico and other states by agency | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | |||||||||||
| Agency | New Mexico | Texas | Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Acres owned | Percentage owned | Acres owned | Percentage owned | Acres owned | Percentage owned | ||||||
| U.S. Forest Service | 9,417,975 | 34.88% | 755,365 | 25.37% | 0 | 0.00% | |||||
| U.S. National Park Service | 376,849 | 1.40% | 1,201,670 | 40.35% | 32,946 | 40.33% | |||||
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 327,264 | 1.21% | 527,418 | 17.71% | 21,850 | 26.75% | |||||
| U.S. Bureau of Land Management | 13,484,405 | 49.94% | 11,833 | 0.40% | 0 | 0.00% | |||||
| U.S. Department of Defense | 3,395,090 | 12.57% | 481,664 | 16.17% | 26,896 | 32.92% | |||||
| Total federal land | 27,001,583 | 100% | 2,977,950 | 100% | 81,692 | 100.00% | |||||
| Source: Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data" | |||||||||||
Land usage
Recreation
National parks in New Mexico
New Mexico has 13 National Park Service units, 10 national monuments, eight national forests, 25 wilderness areas, three national historic trails and two national conservation areas. A study by the U.S. National Park Service found that 1.51 million visitors attended New Mexico's national parks and monuments and generated $83.2 million in visitor spending in 2013.[3]
State recreation areas
The table below contains a list of all state parks in New Mexico.[4]
| State parks in New Mexico | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State park name | Bluewater Lake State Park | |||||
| Bottomless Lakes State Park | ||||||
| Brantley Lake State Park | ||||||
| Caballo Lake State Park | ||||||
| Cerrillos Hills State Park | ||||||
| Cimarron Canyon State Park | ||||||
| City of Rocks State Park | ||||||
| Clayton Lake State Park | ||||||
| Conchas Lake State Park | ||||||
| Coyote Creek State Park | ||||||
| Eagle Nest Lake State Park | ||||||
| Elephant Butte Lake State Park | ||||||
| El Vado Lake State Park | ||||||
| Fenton Lake State Park | ||||||
| Heron Lake State Park | ||||||
| Hyde Memorial State Park | ||||||
| Leasburg Dam State Park | ||||||
| Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park | ||||||
| Manzano Mountains State Park | ||||||
| Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park | ||||||
| Morphy Lake State Park | ||||||
| Navajo Lake State Park | ||||||
| Oasis State Park | ||||||
| Oliver Lee Memorial State Park | ||||||
| Pancho Villa State Park | ||||||
| Percha Dam State Park | ||||||
| Rio Grande Nature Center State Park | ||||||
| Rockhound State Park | ||||||
| Santa Rosa Lake State Park | ||||||
| Storrie Lake State Park | ||||||
| Sugarite Canyon | ||||||
| Sumner Lake State Park | ||||||
| Ute Lake State Park | ||||||
| Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park | ||||||
| Villanueva State Park | ||||||
Economic activity on federal lands
Oil and gas activity
- See also: BLM oil and gas leases by state
Private mining companies, including oil and natural gas companies, can apply for leases from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to explore and produce energy on federal land. The company seeking a lease must nominate the land for oil and gas exploration to the BLM, which evaluates and approves the lease. The BLM state offices make leasing decisions based on their land use plans, which contain information on the land's resources and the potential environmental impact of oil or gas exploration. If federal lands are approved for leasing, the BLM requires an application from the company containing information on how the exploration, drilling and production will be conducted. Afterward, the BLM will produce an environmental analysis and a list of requirements before work on the land can begin. The agency also inspects the companies' drilling and producing on the leased lands.[5]
In 2013, there were 47,427 active leases covering 36.09 million acres of federal land nationwide. Of that total, 8,348 leases (17.6 percent of all leases), covering 4.81 million acres (13.35 percent of all leased land in 2013), were in New Mexico. In 2013, out of 3,770 new drilling leases approved nationwide by the BLM for oil and gas exploration, 925 leases (24.5 percent) were in New Mexico.[6][7][8][9][10]
The table below shows how New Mexico compared to neighboring states in oil and gas permits on BLM-managed lands in 2013. New Mexico had the most active leases and acres under lease compared to neighboring states.
| Oil and gas leasing on BLM lands by state | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Active permits on BLM lands (FY 2013) | Total acres under lease (FY 2013) | State percentage of total permits | State percentage of total acres |
| New Mexico | 8,348 | 4,819,205 | 17.60% | 13.35% |
| Arizona | 27 | 39,562 | 0.06% | 0.11% |
| Colorado | 4,963 | 3,915,506 | 10.46% | 10.85% |
| Utah | 3,574 | 3,821,792 | 7.54% | 10.59% |
| Total United States | 47,427 permits | 36,092,482 acres | - | - |
| Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Oil and Gas Statistics" | ||||
Payments in lieu of taxes
- See also: Payments in lieu of taxes
Since local governments cannot collect taxes on federally owned property, the U.S. Department of the Interior issues payments to local governments to replace lost property tax revenue from federal land. The payments, known as "Payments in Lieu of Taxes" (PILTs), are typically used for funding services such as fire departments, police protection, school construction and roads.[11]
The table below shows PILTs for New Mexico compared to neighboring states between 2011 and 2013. New Mexico received more PILTs in 2013 than Arizona and Colorado but fewer than Utah.
| Total PILTs for New Mexico and neighboring states | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | State's percentage of 2013 total | ||
| New Mexico | $32,916,396 | $34,805,383 | $34,692,967 | 8.64% | ||
| Arizona | $31,546,890 | $32,886,575 | $32,203,852 | 8.02% | ||
| Colorado | $27,022,334 | $27,724,576 | $31,986,266 | 7.96% | ||
| Utah | $34,659,277 | $36,038,626 | $35,391,052 | 8.81% | ||
| Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, "PILT" | ||||||
Environmental policy in the 50 states
Click on a state below to read more about that state's energy policy.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Congressional Research Service, "Federal Lands and Natural Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 113th Congress," December 8, 2014
- ↑ U.S. National Park Service, "2013 National Park Visitor Spending Effects Report," accessed October 14, 2014
- ↑ New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, "Find Parks," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Oil and Gas Lease Sales," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Number of Acres Leased During the Fiscal Year," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Total Number of Leases in Effect," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Summary of Onshore Oil and Gas Statistics," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Number of Drilling Permits Approved by Fiscal Year on Federal Lands," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Total Number of Acres Under Lease As of the Last Day of the Fiscal Year," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, "PILT," accessed October 4, 2014
