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Published: 11 September 2022 11 September 2022

[Editor's Note: This is part 2 of the meeting, as the declaration of an emergency in Grant County was covered at this link: https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/73763-emergency-declaration-that-was-approved-by-grant-county-commissioner-082322 This article starts with the beginning of the special meeting on Aug. 23, 2022.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

At the beginning of the Grant County Commission special meeting on Aug. 23, 2022, a public hearing was scheduled on the proposed abandonment of Bald Knoll Road. However, several people from the Cliff area, who were marooned by the damage to the US 180 Bridge, requested the hearing be changed so they could give testimony.

However, the District Manager for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Bill Childress was on the phone to address the proposed abandonment of a portion of Bald Knoll Road. "We would like to express that we are opposed to the abandonment of the road because it provides access to public lands. It includes about 5,000 acres of put land. We try to gain public access wherever we can and to retain that access. We have issued a Title V right-of-way. If the county chooses to abandon the road, they we will be required to put the land back to its original state. The public road provides access to residents, and state and federal managers of the land. The road has provided public access for a very long time."

District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards said she has dug "pretty deeply into this issue. I was wondering if BLM would entertain a land exchange. I see both sides."

Childress said a land exchange is a complex issue and could be a 3-to-4-year journey. "We would be open to a conversation to dispose of land and gain land. You possess legal access. You can apply for funding, if it is abandoned. But there is no guarantee the property owners would be willing to sell."

Edwards said the road goes through two quarters. The first quarter you come to does not access the other three quarters.

Childress confirmed that.

District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne said one point of confusion for him is that there is access through state land. "Is there a difference between going through state land and federal land? You and the county own the easement for access. There are existing roads and there are motorized trails. But hiking and equestrian can go cross country. Would I need a permit to access federal land through state land. It seems to me that it is not a huge issue to access unless I'll need a state access permit."

Childress said: "It's not just the hikers and equestrians, but also for those who may be disabled, but want to enjoy public lands. I want the road open for everyone who wants to enjoy the lands."

Edwards said: "There is abundant evidence of OHV use in the area where there are no roads. I hear you saying the whole 5,000 acres wouldn't be accessible unless you drive on that itty bitty piece of road that crosses public land. Most of the road is on private land. OHVs are going on private and public land. What I think I hear you saying is that if there are not roads or trails that it is only accessible on roads or trails."

"Yes," Childress replied. "There were no motorized trails approved in 1992."

"Clearly in 1992," Edwards said, "OHV use was not as big as now. Today if you make a trail, it is illegal, but it's being done."

Childress said: "That is correct unless it is approved for range improvements, for example."

Edwards said: "There is a plethora of OHV trails on private land. If someone drives on the road, they cannot create their own road."

District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce said: "It was like the meeting that (District 4) Commissioner (Billy) Billings had with the Forest Service when they were closing roads. It seemed like they were closing roads and trails, but really they were closing unauthorized trails and roads."

Browne said that only about 1/8th of a mile or 1/6th of a mile would be returned to normal. "I recognize that concern, but also we could enhance public access if a land swap was arranged and we could close the road where the residents requested. I understand it's a complicated process to exchange. My preference at the Sept. 8 meeting is that we encourage the county to work with the agencies and owners to maybe start the process. I have an inholding in the forest, so I am sympathetic to the owners."

District 2 Commissioner Javier "Harvey" Salas asked whose responsibility it was to police and stop the offroad use.

Childress said the BLM has five law enforcement officers patrolling 5.2 million acres in six counties. "We ask the public to report intrusions. Also, Game and Fish does some patrolling."

"Needless to say, there is no enforcement," Salas said. "If we were to abandon the road, could we get funding to restore it?"

Childress said the Land and Water Conservation Fund could help and "yes, we could purchase the easement."

Salas said his understanding was once there is an established road, the county could abandon maintenance on the road, but the public could still use it.

County-contracted Attorney Ben Young of Mynatt, Martinez and Springer PC, said that option had nuances because the easement would be from the county to BLM. It would trigger reclamation of the BLM properties. The owners don't just want the county to abandon the road, they want to fence off access. It might trigger reclamation and suits between the users and the federal government. We have to do the correct process, or we can be brought into the lawsuits."

Salas said BLM could only enforce on BLM land. "I see it as a complex issue."

Billings said he still had questions about the abandonment of the road. "I ask Mr. Childress to leave his contact information for future questions."

Edwards noted that because water tanks are on the first quarter, most of it is unusable. It is also extremely steep on the south side of the east quarter. Most of the west quarter is also steep. On the east quarter, there is no parking. On the west quarter, the parking is on the BLM loop but also on private land. "How accessible is it really? Could we make it more approachable?"

Childress said that no one is allowed to camp near the water tanks and there's an offset on hunting, too. A second person on the call [whose name this author did not get] said one is not allowed to shoot an animal within 300 yards of water.

Edwards also noted there is a house south of the east quarter. "My point is that it is not usable for recreation. Could we benefit both parties with a land exchange?

Billings said he wanted to thank Commissioner Edwards for spending time out in the area scouting out the situation. "Both of the 40-acre parcels are really unaccessible if there is no discharge of firearms within 150 yards of livestock, so that quarter is unusable. State statute says no hunting within 2.5 miles of a residence. I do respect the property owners for wanting the portion of road abandoned. There is less recreational access and the nefarious activities going on are possibly illegal, so it has put the property owners in situations to become more and more uneasy."

Ty Bays, who serves on the Road Abandonment Committee, said all road abandonment requests come through the committee. "I worked for a state land agency. It is a very tough road to be maintained. This closure does not close off access to the 5,000 acres. The 40-acre parcel is not a good recreation area. The house adjacent to that parcel precludes hunting without the owner's permission. It is not high-quality deer or quail habitat. As the committee, we don't close off access to public lands. I talked to the landowners They do maintenance on the roads, so they can live there and operate. I don't blame them. I live off a county road that we cleared a tree from yesterday that had fallen over it. The road needs to be bladed four to 6 times a year, but it has been bladed only once or twice. A past administration took a lot of the Department of Transportation funding for the RailRunner. My point is that all our county roads are suffering, because they don't have the funding for enough manpower or equipment. To maintain this road, they have to drive an hour or more to do five hours of work during an 8-hour shift. By closing it, yes, you need a permit to go across state land. If you have a hunting license it gives you the permit to use the road. By shutting off Bald Knoll Road, it doesn't limit access. Norris Road has access. With three game wardens and five BLM officers, it's tough to enforce anything. The Bradberrys live at the end of the road. The road doesn't impede anyone from access to their property. It's a real safety issue, with criminal activities increasing. Mr. Childress talked about the land exchange. It is a very expensive and complex process. Those pieces of property should have been dealt with many years ago. The federal land management needs to dispose of or exchange those isolated pieces of property. A comment on reclamation. I suspect that road was established prior to statehood. I seriously doubt it was a county road. It was private property prior to the county taking over maintenance. Sometimes, there is no documentation on older roads. There may not even be a dedicated right-of-way of that road. I think the landowners are concerned about their privacy and safety. They are not trying to block people off public lands They are willing to maintain the road. The Road Department is doing its best. Bill Evans Road is only one lane in places. We have to look closely at roads so that the staff gets to roads that need maintenance. They have only so much funding."

Ray Trejo said he works for New Mexico Wildlife Federation. "I'm here for the sportsmen. I want to reiterate we, as sportsmen, oppose the abandonment of the road. We are against any closing of public access. I believe you received a letter from the Game and Fish Department and the State Land Office opposing the closure of the road. I'm also a business owner in Grant County, so I understand the landowners' concern. We sportsmen should decide whether the land is accessible. Reclaiming the land and a potential exchange would take years, maybe 10 years."

Browne said it seems the process is relatively negative. "Here is an opportunity for an exchange to benefit the owners and the sportsmen. As we work through the exchange, we can in the interim keep the road maintained to allow access. It could be a win-win."

Trejo said if the road were closed it cuts access to other land to the south.

Browne said he believed that "we can rearrange pieces of land to increase access."

Edwards said she talked to Mr. Trejo in the hallway prior to the meeting. "I think we have a rare opportunity to help the landowners and the public to increase access to public lands. I think it's worth having a conversation."

Jay Brandon, a county resident representing himself and other public land users, said closing the road would basically allow the 40-acre parcel to be private land. "That 40-acre parcel does not belong to the landowner, it belongs to everyone in the country. Please note I would be happy to be part of a land exchange. It's a great idea, and I'm willing to learn about it."

Ponce made a motion to continue the hearing at the Sept. 8 regular meeting. "I totally understand the owners' viewpoint. I'm not here to close access to public land. While we can start talking about a land exchange, we should be continuing to maintain the road. It is public land and people should have access. I would want studies on wildlife habitat before the exchange. I don't want to be closing roads."

Browne said he largely agreed but thinks there are some sections they could switch. "I don't support using public funds to maintain roads only for residents only. Norris Road is roughly half to private landowners. I would support that all roads leading only to private landowners, we should consider abandoning. I would support an exchange."

Edwards reiterated that she didn't want to close off access, but that her intent is to exchange private land for public land. "They already do their own road maintenance."

She showed some photos she took when she visited the site. "There is OHV use on private land. The gate to the private property gets knocked down so people can go on private land. It's mind-boggling. This is a county maintenance issue. The road is very clayish."

Salas said he understands the Bradberrys' issue but abandoning the road may not decrease their issue. "I would discourage them from maintaining the road because of liability. I like the land exchange, but it will involve money."

Billings thanked the commissioners for continuing the hearing on Sept. 8, so others "can be here to testify."

The commissioners moved to continue the hearing on Sept. 8 and tabled the ordinance.

The next article will get into the discussion on the general obligation bond and ballot question for the 2022 election.