Residents press Doña Ana County for transparency as Mescalero MOU advances toward March

Doña Ana County commissioners heard nearly an hour of public comment Feb. 10 from residents who said they had been left out of discussions about a proposed land exchange involving the Mescalero Apache Tribe and the New Mexico State Land Office.

Residents raised specific concerns about lack of public notice, environmental risks and infrastructure limits for the parcel originally reported near A Mountain. “It feels disingenuous…dishonest,” Naomi Locklear said, urging the board to act openly and provide the missing MOU. Several speakers said they had to obtain state records through IPRA to learn about meetings and described a pattern of frustration and distrust.

County Manager Andrews and Assistant County Manager Stephen Lopez sought to calm residents’ concerns in their responses. Lopez said the county has been in conversations with the Mescalero Tribe and that the MOU staff are drafting for the county pertains to land near the county fairgrounds, not the neighborhoods cited by speakers. He also said the tribe will hold a tribal-member input meeting Feb. 17 and a governance meeting Feb. 27; the county anticipates bringing an MOU to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration on March 10.

Lopez added that the county has no decision-making authority over a state land office land exchange; that process is managed by the state. If the land becomes trust land in the future, county permitting authority would be limited, he said. Commissioners reiterated these jurisdictional limits and encouraged residents without a District 3 commissioner to contact the other commissioners in the meantime.

Speakers raised technical concerns about the parcel near A Mountain: the area contains substantial portions of the Filmore Arroyo, steep slopes, and the nearest city sewer is about three miles away, which would require on-site septic and major earthwork for development, one resident said. Several public commenters mentioned potential uses discussed previously, including an amphitheater or commercial development, and warned of light, noise and traffic impacts on adjacent, largely dark-sky neighborhoods.

The county also noted parallel staff work with the Bureau of Land Management on other ICIP projects that may affect BLM lands; Lopez said BLM may ask the county for about $250,000 to hire project managers to support environmental and cultural studies related to that program.

Next steps: county staff said they will publish information about the Mescalero meetings on Doña Ana County social channels and that the March 10 meeting is the next opportunity for the board to consider any MOU. Residents who want more information were encouraged to sign in and follow county updates.