SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 3

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Cliff R. Pirtle and Carlos R. Cisneros

FOR THE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO TRANSFER EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY ACRES FROM THE LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR THE USE AND BENEFIT OF THE MESCALERO APACHE TRIBE.

     WHEREAS, Sierra Blanca is one of the four sacred mountains of the Mescalero Apache Tribe and is central to the creation beliefs of the Mescalero Apache people; and

     WHEREAS, the eight hundred sixty acres contain many plants and biological materials sacred to the Mescalero Apache people; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Tribe has operated Ski Apache on eight hundred sixty acres of United States forest service land located on Sierra Blanca pursuant to a special use permit; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, since 2011, has invested more than twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) in infrastructure on the land that it currently occupies pursuant to the special use permit; and

     WHEREAS, the Mescalero Apache Tribe has been internationally recognized for its long-standing sustainable forest management practices; and

     WHEREAS, the tribe wishes to employ its sustainable forest management practices on the eight hundred sixty acres currently subject to the special use permit; and

     WHEREAS, Ski Apache employs three hundred fifty people during the ski season and contributes millions of dollars to the local economy; and

     WHEREAS, the transfer of the eight hundred sixty acres of Ski Apache land from the United States forest service to the United States department of the interior will not negatively affect the real property tax base of either Lincoln county or Otero county; and

     WHEREAS, this transfer of land from the United States forest service to the United States department of the interior would not create any additional water rights or change any water consumption on Ski Apache land; and

     WHEREAS, this transfer of land from the United States forest service to the United States department of the interior would benefit the economies of Lincoln county, Otero county and New Mexico;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the United States congress be requested to transfer eight hundred sixty acres currently used by the Mescalero Apache Tribe pursuant to a special use permit to the United States department of the interior for the benefit of the Mescalero Apache Tribe; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to members of New Mexico's congressional delegation, the United States secretary of agriculture, the United States secretary of the interior, the chief of the United States forest service, the assistant secretary-Indian affairs of the United States department of the interior and the president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

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