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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Campos

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1-24-2008

HB

SHORT TITLE White Peak-Area Land Purchase

SB 339

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$15,000.0

Non-Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

State Land Office (SLO)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill:

Senate Bill 339 seeks to appropriate $15,000,000 from the general fund to the state land office

for expenditure in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 for the purchase of approximately twelve thousand

acres of the Stanley ranch in the White Peak area in Mora and Colfax counties, contingent on the

purchase agreement between the state land office and the owner of the land. Any unexpended or

unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2010 shall revert to the general fund.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

SLO indicates that, if acquired as state trust land, the land office would realize increased

revenues resulting from the net increase in acreage, thus increasing distributions to designated

beneficiaries. Consolidated ownership could provide opportunities to enhanced revenues through

marketing and selling select land uses. Further that the SLO and other agencies will need to

expend budget, primarily in the form of salaries, benefits and travel for the purchase and

subsequent joint resource planning and management should the purchase succeed. Projected

costs are undetermined at this point. The purchase and certain transaction efforts will be

supported by the appropriation.

Senate Bill 339 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

SLO advises that the White Peak area near the Mora/Colfax County line in Northern New

Mexico has been a site of competing interests over land use between private landowners and

hunters, primarily over access to and use of state trust land. Complex land ownership patterns

characterize the area; roughly half of which is private land, the other half is state trust land.

Access to much of the state trust land requires traveling through or across private property. There

is disagreement regarding the status of roads used to access trust land throughout the area.

Consequently, the area has been the subject of land use conflict, continuing law enforcement

challenges and resource management concerns.

EMNRD indicates that this project would protect important watershed, critical wildlife habitat,

and productive timber resources from subdivision and conversion to recreational homes and

other development. These acres collectively make a large block of undeveloped land that could

be maintained for forest values that could benefit the land and those that enjoy its use. Further,

that large-scale recreational and residential development could erode local resource availability

to this small, traditional community. This region of the state is experiencing rapid subdivision

and development of private forests for residential and recreational development.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

SLO notes that it would necessarily engage in negotiations and related efforts to purchase the fee

simple interest in the properties. Those efforts would include appraisal, due diligence, purchase

contract development, title work and other related document preparation and filing. The Land

Office has expertise for conducting such transactions, but certain elements would be best

performed by a contractor. It is expected that the bill would permit the use of the appropriation

for contract support and transaction costs.

EMNRD advises that acquisition of this property would have beneficial performance

implications if the purchase prevents development of this property for residential or other high-

density use. State and federal fire protection agencies are experiencing increasingly complex fire

suppression actions in forests that are developed throughout the state. Wildfire suppression

tactics must first address public and property safety. Evacuation of residences and businesses is

increasingly common. Protecting structures requires dedication of more expensive resources.

Undeveloped forests offer greater opportunities for prescribed fires, burning out, and other

tactics and do not increase fire suppression costs unlike areas converted to residential use.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

SLO suggests that acquisition of the property may reduce the level of effort expended by state

agencies dealing with access conflict, resource allocation and use, and enforcement. Further that

it will incur administrative responsibilities related to purchase negotiations, appraisal, due

diligence, contract preparation and title work.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

SLO states, “The complex land ownership and associated issues will remain."

BFW/nt