Steve Polacco, president of the Terra Maria Land Grant, told the Land Grant Interim Committee that the community has worked for generations to reclaim and restore its common lands and facilities.

Polacco summarized the history of the grant and described current priorities: finalizing a deed transfer for Laguna Del Campo, repairing and re-opening a visitor center, drilling a new well after casing collapse in an older well, and funding renovations (including an elevator) so the group can use upstairs meeting space. He also told the committee the land grant recently acquired 216 acres known as La Colonia de Jose Maria Martinez and is coordinating with state and federal agencies on other parcels.

Why it matters: Polacco said completing the deed and related easements would let the land grant restore visitor facilities, improve public access to trails and fishing, and develop small-scale economic opportunities. He said the group has already invested years in litigation and negotiations and needs help to finish the administrative and construction steps.

Polacco described the deed situation for Laguna Del Campo as prolonged and technical: the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish issued an initial deed the land grant did not accept, then drafted another deed but—because federal funds had paid for a parking-lot easement—said it could not convey that easement outright. Polacco told the committee he is ready to sign the deed once lawyers verify that the property description matches the legislature’s original resolution and the temporary easement language protects the land grant’s public access needs.

He described specific infrastructure issues: copper wiring theft and delayed electrical repairs at a planned Mercedas Unidas visitor center, a collapsed well with a camera inspection showing failure at roughly 257 feet in a 450-foot well and high calcium content in the remaining water, and ongoing building deterioration that would require rehabilitation, new heaters and possibly solar power. Polacco said the land grant is exploring a new well because the existing casing is corroded and the water quality is poor.

Polacco and Melvin Apoadaca, a trustee, asked for help identifying funding for an elevator, construction and water work, and for local coordination to extend a gas line so the community can reduce expensive propane use. Apoadaca told members the land grant has applied for grants and capital outlay and is working with county officials to pursue intergovernmental transfers of additional parcels.

Committee members asked for details about the stalled deed and water rights. Senator Ant Thornton asked why the transfer has taken years; Polacco and Apoadaca traced delays to neighbor complaints, negotiations over water allocations, disagreements about survey descriptions, and the fact that the parking lot easement was purchased with federal funds, which prevents a straightforward transfer. Polacco said the parties ultimately negotiated to split a 10 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) water allocation down to 5 cfs for the land grant after several years of bargaining.

Polacco also described community projects: a proposed visitor center/RV accommodations for Continental Trail users, a thinning project with Soil and Water Conservation for wildfire prevention, a donated medical clinic building in need of hookups, and efforts to develop an RV-friendly visitor program once water and buildings are repaired. He said county equipment donations (grader, tractor, brush hog, dump trailers) are in hand but that the land grant lacks sustained staff capacity to manage larger projects.

Polacco stressed the long timeline and the land grant’s reliance on state and federal partners: "We've been in this struggle since the Mexican–American War in 1848 and the struggle continues," he said. He asked committee members to help with technical assistance, legal review of deeds and matching of property descriptions, and capital or program funding for accessibility and building repair.

Ending: Committee staff offered to help connect Polacco with statute references on nuisance-animal response and with legislative staff who can assist on deed language and capital outlay requests. Polacco said the land grant would continue negotiations with Game and Fish and flagged possible acquisition of adjacent privately held parcels to secure parking and access if the easement issue remains unresolved.