Grant County commissioners on Sept. 25 voted to adopt Resolution R-25-57, expressing support for continued federal management and stewardship of public lands within Grant County and opposing efforts to broadly sell or transfer federal lands in the county. Commissioner Stevens moved to approve version 2 of the draft resolution and Commissioner Shelley seconded the motion; the motion passed on a voice vote. The resolution directs county staff to send copies to New Mexico’s congressional delegation, the governor and relevant federal land-management agencies.

The resolution matters locally because Grant County contains large tracts of federal land: the text of version 2 included figures that the Bureau of Land Management oversees about 339,816 acres and the U.S. Forest Service manages about 866,039 acres, for a combined total of roughly 1,205,855 acres. The resolution also acknowledges existing narrow authorities such as small-parcel conveyances (referred to in the text as the "Small Tracts Act") where preexisting rules permit transfers in limited circumstances.

During the public-comment period, Luke Koenig, a Grant County resident and the local representative for conservation group New Mexico Wild, urged the commission to adopt version 2. Koenig said version 2 “keeps it simple and responds directly to the real and scribe threat facing public lands” and criticized version 3 for adding language he called confusing and partly outside the resolution’s scope. Koenig also noted a typo in version 3’s reference to the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act and recommended the commission adopt version 2 instead.

Commissioner Stevens, who introduced the resolution at the meeting, described the intent as “a show of support from Grant County saying that we have a lot of federal lands here through BLM and forest service. We treasure those, and we'd like to keep them that way.” Commissioner Shelley said the edits he proposed were intended to broaden appeal but indicated he could support either version; Shelley seconded the motion to adopt version 2.

The adopted version affirms opposition to efforts to "sell, transfer, or dispose of these public lands within Grant County" except where existing narrow statutes permit isolated conveyances. The resolution, as adopted, will be distributed to federal and state officials as set out in its text.

No formal amendments were offered on the floor during the vote, and the record shows the motion to adopt version 2 passed by voice vote. The commission’s action is a policy statement from the county; it does not, by itself, change federal land-management law or authority.

The commission took the resolution during its regular meeting following a public-comment period. County staff will carry out the distribution of the signed resolution as directed in the adopted text.