Op-ed: BLM 's new public lands rule is a win-win for NM

This piece originally appeared as an op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal on April 28, 2024.

By San Miguel County Commissioner Max Trujillo and Grant County Commissioner Alicia Edwards.

You needn’t look further than our kitchens to know that: In San Miguel County, we smother our eggs with green chile, while in Grant County, we really love our red chile.

But one thing we all have in common is our love for New Mexico’s public lands; especially our Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands. In New Mexico alone, the BLM manages over 13.5 million acres of lands across the state, including 13.4% of GrantCounty’s lands. These areas are vitally important to the conservation of water, wildlife, cultural resources, and our growing demand for access to the outdoors. However, these places have become threatened or degraded by drought, wildfire, invasive species, and other impacts from our changing climate.

Which is why we both are so pleased to welcome the BLM’s Public Lands Rule. This long-overdue Rule will place cultural lands protection, conservation, outdoor recreation, wildlife, and climate change mitigation on equal footing with industrial development across the West, including New Mexico.

Read the full op-ed here.