Governor signs land grant assistance fund into law

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 8 March 2 at the Tierra Amarilla County Complex in Rio Arriba County.

The bill creates a land grant assistance fund that is registered with the state and provides funds to land grants proportionally to how much revenue they generate. Funding will help the land grants maintain and manage historic communal lands throughout the state. In House Bill 2, $2 million was approved for the fund.

Steve Polaco, president of Merced de los Pueblos de Tierra Amarilla, said the bill guaranteed revenue for land grants that are registered with the state under Chapter 49 and the money will go to infrastructure for running the land grant. Chapter 49 is the New Mexico law that defines legally recognized land grants.

The funding includes things such as travel costs to represent the land grants in Congress and cover legal fees, which now comes from membership dues, fundraisers and raffles.

Polaco said with the fund he hoped to be able to expand what a land grant is able to do.

“We plan to do a lot more elk permits,” he said. “Education and camps for children to come learn to live off the land and learn about wildlife. Kids from the city can come look at the environment and learn how to put a worm on a hook.”

Currently, 25 land grants are recognized by the state.