New Mexico Land Grant-Mercedes Historical or Traditional Use Cooperation and Coordination Act

What it does

• •Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New Mexico Land Grant Council within 2 years to facilitate historical or traditional uses of qualified land grants on federal land, including water use, gathering, grazing, hunting, fishing, and cemetery maintenance.
• •Establishes procedures for permits and land use authorizations for these activities, including provisions for reducing or waiving certain fees associated with permits.
• •Addresses routine and minor maintenance of infrastructure used in connection with historical or traditional uses (trails, water systems, monuments, cemeteries) and creates a process for authorizing major improvements.
• •Requires consultation with Indian Tribes in decisions affecting their interests and mandates notice and comment procedures for land management actions affecting these uses.

Why it matters

• •Formalizes federal recognition and support for long-established community uses of federal land by New Mexico land grant heirs, balancing federal land management with traditional practices.
• •Provides a standardized framework reducing bureaucratic barriers for noncommercial historical uses while maintaining environmental and legal protections.

Who is affected

• •Heirs and governing bodies of qualified land grant-mercedes (community land grants recognized under New Mexico law) in New Mexico.
• •The federal government (Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior) and their land management agencies.
• •Federally recognized Indian Tribes whose interests may be affected by land grant uses on federal land.

What happens next

The text is currently enacted as law; the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior are required to negotiate and execute the initial memorandum of understanding with the New Mexico Land Grant Council within 2 years of enactment.