I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3682 

To provide for greater consultation between the Federal Government and 

the governing bodies of land grant-mercedes and acequias in New Mexico 

and to provide for a process for recognition of the historic-traditional 

boundaries of land grant-mercedes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2019 

Mr. LUJA ́N introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for greater consultation between the Federal Government and the governing bodies of land grant-mercedes 

and acequias in New Mexico and to provide for a process 

for recognition of the historic-traditional boundaries of 

land grant-mercedes, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Land Grant and Acequia Traditional Use Recognition 

6 and Consultation Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Notice and comment. 

Sec. 5. Guidance on permit requirements for qualified land grant-mercedes. 

Sec. 6. Special use permits not required for routine maintenance and minor improvements of acequias. 

Sec. 7. Notification to permit applicants; compliance with NEPA. 

Sec. 8. Assistance to governing bodies. 

Sec. 9. Spiritual and cultural sites. 

Sec. 10. Process for recognition of historical-traditional use boundaries of qualified land grant-mercedes. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) From the 17th to the mid-19th centuries, 

4 the Governments of Spain and Mexico made grants 

5 of land to individuals, groups, and communities 

6 throughout the Southwest United States to promote 

7 settlement in frontier lands. 

8 (2) The key land ownership feature for a land 

9 grants-merced was common lands, meaning lands 

10 that were not individually owned but were considered 

11 ‘‘commons’’ for use by all local residents to provide 

12 the necessary resources to sustain the entire commu13 nity. 

14 (3) On February 2, 1848, the United States 

15 and Mexico ended the Mexican-American war by 

16 signing the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and 

17 Settlement (commonly known as the Treaty of Gua18 dalupe Hidalgo), in which Mexico formally relin19 quished to the United States claims to over 790,000 

20 square miles of land now constituting all or part of 


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1 Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, 

2 Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. 

3 (4) The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo included 

4 provisions under article VIII for the protection of es5 tablished property rights, including community land 

6 grants located in the new territories, and the United 

7 States and Mexico further affirmed these protections 

8 in the Protocol of Queretaro. 

9 (5) Although the Senate struck article X of the 

10 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as negotiated, the 

11 United States clarified in the subsequent Protocol of 

12 Queretaro that ‘‘these grants . . . preserve the legal 

13 value which they may possess’’ and the grantees in 

14 the new territories retained their property rights. 

15 (6) As noted by the Government Accountability 

16 Office in the 2001 report GAO–01–951, ‘‘The Pro17 tocol specified the United States’ position that land 

18 grant titles would be protected under the treaty and 

19 that grantees could have their ownership of land ac20 knowledged before American tribunals.’’. 

21 (7) In the second half of the 19th century, the 

22 United States enacted various laws establishing 

23 processes to review property claims in the new terri24 tories, such as the Act of July 22, 1854 (10 Stat. 

25 308; ch. 103), that created the office of Surveyor 


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1 General of New Mexico and the Act of March 3, 

2 1891 (26 Stat. 854; ch. 539), that created the Court 

3 of Private Land Claims. 

4 (8) The established processes differed from 

5 State to State, and a history of problematic surveys 

6 and corruption may explain why there was so much 

7 acreage lost by community land grants and why so 

8 few survived into modern times as self-governing en9 tities administering intact common lands. 

10 (9) Studies have concluded that for land grant 

11 communities and community members to survive in 

12 the non-cash economies prior to the mid-20th cen13 tury, it was essential that they have access to the 

14 common land resources of their own private 

15 inholdings, which provided a complete resource base 

16 for successful small-scale family farming and stock17 raising activities, upon which the local economy was 

18 based. 

19 (10) New Mexico’s community land grants, now 

20 known as land grant-mercedes, are an important 

21 part of the State’s culture and history and have been 

22 recognized under the Kearny Code of 1846 and sub23 sequent territorial laws of New Mexico and New 

24 Mexico State law. 


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1 (11) Article 2, section 5 of the constitution of 

2 New Mexico states, ‘‘The rights, privileges and im3 munities, civil, political and religious guaranteed to 

4 the people of New Mexico by the Treaty of Guada5 lupe Hidalgo shall be preserved inviolate’’, providing 

6 powerful constitutional protection for the rights of 

7 the State’s land grant communities. 

8 (12) Water delivery systems known as acequias, 

9 or community ditches, are a centuries-old system 

10 used for water distribution, introduced to New Mex11 ico by the Spanish in the 16th century, to allow for 

12 farming to sustain the needs of the community, cre13 ating a cultural landscape and way of life centered 

14 around local agriculture. 

15 (13) In New Mexico, acequias are governed by 

16 a centuries-old form of water governance, known as 

17 acequias, that are political subdivisions of the State 

18 and are composed of a board of private land owners 

19 that are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance 

20 of the acequias and for monitoring and admin21 istering surface water rights along the acequia. 

22 (14) In New Mexico, acequias have created a 

23 cultural landscape and way of life centered around 

24 local agriculture, water governance, and a custom of 

25 sharing scarce water. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COMMUNITY USERS.—The term ‘‘commu4 nity user’’ means— 

5 (A) with respect to a qualified acequia, an 

6 individual who is the legal owner of a water 

7 right on a qualified acequia; and 

8 (B) with respect to a qualified land grant9 merced, an heir as defined by N.M. Stat. § 49– 

10 1–1.1. 

11 (2) GOVERNING BODY.—The term ‘‘governing 

12 body’’— 

13 (A) with respect to a qualified acequia, 

14 means the board composed of private land own15 ers (known as commissioners) for such qualified 

16 acequia, as provided in N.M. Stat. § 73–2–12 

17 and recognized as a political subdivision of the 

18 State under N.M. Stat. § 73–2–28; and 

19 (B) with respect to a qualified land grant20 merced, means the board of trustees charged 

21 under State law with the control, care, and 

22 management of the qualified land grant-merced. 

23 (3) HISTORICAL-TRADITIONAL USE BOUND24 ARY.—The term ‘‘historical-traditional use bound25 ary’’, with respect to a land grant-merced, means 


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1 the boundary recognized under the process described 

2 in section 10. 

3 (4) PATENT BOUNDARY.—The term ‘‘patent 

4 boundary’’, with respect to a land grant-merced, 

5 means the boundary in the official survey that ac6 companied the land patent issued by the United 

7 States for a land grant-merced claim at the conclu8 sion of the adjudication process required by the 

9 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 

10 (5) QUALIFIED ACEQUIA.—The term ‘‘qualified 

11 acequia’’ means a waterway in the State recognized 

12 as an acequia or a community ditch under State or 

13 Federal law, including the diversions, storage facili14 ties, and easements of such waterway. 

15 (6) QUALIFIED LAND GRANT-MERCED.—The 

16 term ‘‘qualified land grant-merced’’— 

17 (A) means a community land grant issued 

18 under the laws or customs of Spain or Mexico 

19 that received a patent from the United States 

20 or has been recognized under State law; and 

21 (B) includes land— 

22 (i) with respect to a land grant23 merced that has not completed the process 

24 under section 10, within the patent bound25 ary of such land grant-merced; and 


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1 (ii) with respect to a land grant2 merced that has completed the process 

3 under section 10, the historical-traditional 

4 use boundary of such land grant-merced. 

5 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

6 of New Mexico. 

7 (8) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec8 retary concerned’’ means— 

9 (A) if the qualified acequia or qualified 

10 land grant-merced concerned is located on land 

11 under the administration of the Secretary of 

12 Agriculture, or adjacent to such land, the Sec13 retary of Agriculture; or 

14 (B) if the qualified acequia or qualified 

15 land grant-merced concerned is located on land 

16 under the administration of the Secretary of the 

17 Interior, or adjacent to such land, the Secretary 

18 of the Interior. 

19 SEC. 4. NOTICE AND COMMENT. 

20 (a) NOTICE AND COMMENT PROCESS.—Not less than 

21 90 days before the Secretary adopts, amends, or revises 

22 a management plan for, or before the Secretary conducts 

23 an action for which a detailed statement is required under 

24 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 

25 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to be conducted on, 


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1 any Federal land that contains any portion of a qualified 

2 land grant-merced, or any Federal land that is adjacent 

3 to or nearby a qualified land grant-merced, the Secretary 

4 concerned shall— 

5 (1) provide written notice and an opportunity 

6 for comment to— 

7 (A) the governing body of the qualified 

8 land grant-merced using the mailing address 

9 and electronic address on file in the database 

10 established under subsection (c); and 

11 (B) the relevant State agency thats pur12 pose is to serve as a liaison between land 

13 grants-mercedes and the Federal Government; 

14 (2) hold not less than 2 meetings with the gov15 erning body of the qualified land grant-merced on 

16 the proposed adoption, amendment, or revision of 

17 the management plan, or the proposed action, within 

18 the immediate vicinity of the qualified land grant19 merced; and 

20 (3) not less than 30 days before each public 

21 meeting, notify the governing body of the qualified 

22 land grant-merced of the date, time, location, and 

23 subject matter of such public meeting. 

24 (b) NOTIFICATION OF FINAL PLAN.—Not less than 

25 10 days after the Secretary adopts, amends, or revises a 


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1 management plan for any Federal land that contains any 

2 portion of a qualified land grant-merced, or any Federal 

3 land that is adjacent to any land grant-merced, the Sec4 retary concerned shall— 

5 (1) provide written notice to the governing body 

6 of the qualified land grant-merced using the mailing 

7 address and electronic address on file in the data8 base established under subsection (c); and 

9 (2) publish notice of availability of the final 

10 plan in a local newspaper. 

11 (c) DATABASE OF GOVERNING BODIES.—The Sec12 retary concerned shall maintain and periodically update 

13 a database of the mailing address and, if available, elec14 tronic address of each governing body of a qualified land 

15 grant-merced. The Secretary concerned shall be respon16 sible for verifying the information in the database is cor17 rect before providing any notice required by this section. 

18 (d) EVALUATION.—Before the Secretary adopts, 

19 amends, or revises a management plan for, or before the 

20 Secretary conducts an action for which a detailed state21 ment is required under section 102(2)(C) of the National 

22 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

23 seq.) to be conducted on any Federal land that contains 

24 any portion of a qualified land grant-merced, or any Fed25 eral land that is adjacent to or nearby a qualified land 


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1 grant-merced, the Secretary concerned shall, in consulta2 tion with the governing body of the qualified land grant3 merced, evaluate the potential impact of the adoption, 

4 amendment, or revision, or the proposed action, on the 

5 ability of the relevant community users and governing 

6 body of the qualified land grant-merced to carry out the 

7 historical-traditional uses described in section 5. 

8 (e) MITIGATION.—If the Secretary determines that a 

9 the adoption, amendment, or revision of a management 

10 plan, or the proposed action, may result in an adverse im11 pact to a historical-traditional use described in section 5 

12 of relevant community users or governing body of the 

13 qualified land grant-merced, the Secretary shall, to the 

14 maximum extent practical and consistent with the pur15 poses, policies, and programs of Federal laws and regula16 tions applicable, mitigate such adverse impact. 

17 SEC. 5. GUIDANCE ON PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALI18 FIED LAND GRANT-MERCEDES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned, 

21 in consultation with the governing bodies of a qualified 

22 land grant-merced, shall issue written guidance for each 

23 of the uses described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of sub24 section (c) on— 


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1 (1) what activities conducted by a community 

2 user or governing body of a qualified land grant3 merced, or a contractor of such a governing body, on 

4 such qualified land grant-merced require the commu5 nity user or governing body of the qualified land 

6 grant-merced to obtain a permit from the Secretary 

7 concerned; 

8 (2) what administrative procedures must be fol9 lowed to obtain such permit; 

10 (3) what fees are required to obtain such per11 mit; 

12 (4) the permissible use of motorized and non13 motorized vehicles by community users or the gov14 erning body of a qualified land grant-merced on such 

15 qualified land grant-merced to carry out each of the 

16 uses described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of sub17 section (c) on such qualified land grant-merced; 

18 (5) permissible use of mechanized equipment by 

19 community users or the governing body of a quali20 fied land grant-merced on such qualified land grant21 merced to carry out each of the uses described in 

22 paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (c) on such 

23 qualified land grant-merced; and 

24 (6) permissible use of non-native materials by 

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1 fied land grant-merced to carry out each of the uses 

2 described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of sub3 section (c) on such qualified land grant-merced. 

4 (b) FEES FOR QUALIFIED LAND GRANT-MER5 CEDES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—When determining the fees 

7 referred to in subsection (a)(3), the Secretary con8 cerned shall consider the socio-economic conditions 

9 of community users and the annual operating budg10 ets of governing bodies of qualified land grant-mer11 cedes. 

12 (2) FEES FOR HISTORICAL-TRADITIONAL

13 USES.—The Secretary concerned shall waive any fee 

14 to obtain a permit for a historical-traditional use to 

15 be conducted by a community user or governing 

16 body of a qualified land grant-merced on such quali17 fied land grant-merced, except that the Secretary is 

18 not required under this paragraph to waive a fee to 

19 obtain a permit for grazing. 

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

21 (1) HISTORICAL-TRADITIONAL USES.—Histor22 ical-traditional uses on a qualified land grant-merced 

23 on Federal land are— 

24 (A) use of water; 

25 (B) religious and cultural use; 


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1 (C) gathering herbs; 

2 (D) gathering wood products; 

3 (E) gathering flora and botanical products; 

4 (F) grazing, to the extent that grazing has 

5 traditionally been carried out on such land; 

6 (G) recreation; 

7 (H) hunting and fishing; 

8 (I) soil and rock gathering; and 

9 (J) any other traditional activity that has 

10 sustainable beneficial community uses that sup11 port the long-term cultural and socio-economic 

12 integrity of the community and that is agreed 

13 to in writing by the Secretary concerned and 

14 the governing body of the relevant qualified 

15 land grant-merced. 

16 (2) ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND MINOR IM17 PROVEMENTS.—Routine maintenance and minor im18 provements on a qualified land grant-merced on 

19 Federal land are— 

20 (A) cleaning, repair, or replacement in 

21 kind of infrastructure; 

22 (B) maintenance and upkeep of a trail, 

23 road, or fence; 

24 (C) maintenance and upkeep of a monu25 ment or shrine; 


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1 (D) maintenance and upkeep of a commu2 nity cemetery; 

3 (E) maintenance and upkeep of a livestock 

4 well or water tank; and 

5 (F) any other traditional activity that pre6 serves the state of the qualified land grant7 merced, as agreed to in writing by the Sec8 retary concerned and the governing body of the 

9 qualified land grant-merced. 

10 (3) MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS.—Major improve11 ments on a qualified land grant-merced on Federal 

12 land are— 

13 (A) construction or expansion of a commu14 nity water or wastewater system; 

15 (B) construction or major repair of a live16 stock well or water tank; 

17 (C) construction or major repair of a 

18 monument or shrine; 

19 (D) installation of a cattle guard; 

20 (E) construction of a trail, road, or fence; 

21 and 

22 (F) construction or expansion of a ceme23 tery. 


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1 SEC. 6. SPECIAL USE PERMITS NOT REQUIRED FOR ROU2 TINE MAINTENANCE AND MINOR IMPROVE3 MENTS OF ACEQUIAS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Special use permits shall not be 

5 required for the presence of or use of water from a quali6 fied acequia on Federal land or for routine maintenance 

7 and minor improvements conducted by a community user, 

8 governing body or employee of a qualified acequia on a 

9 qualified acequia on Federal land. 

10 (b) ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND MINOR IMPROVE11 MENTS.—For purposes of this section, routine mainte12 nance and minor improvements on a qualified acequia on 

13 Federal land are— 

14 (1) cleaning, maintenance, repair, or replace15 ment in kind of infrastructure; 

16 (2) annual ditch cleaning, including removal of 

17 silt; and 

18 (3) any other traditional activity that preserves 

19 the state of the qualified acequia, as agreed to in 

20 writing by the Secretary concerned and the gov21 erning body of the qualified acequia. 

22 SEC. 7. NOTIFICATION TO PERMIT APPLICANTS; COMPLI23 ANCE WITH NEPA. 

24 (a) NOTIFICATION TO PERMIT APPLICANTS.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after 

26 receiving a request for a permit from a governing 


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1 body, the Secretary concerned shall provide a written 

2 response to the governing body notifying the gov3 erning body that— 

4 (A) the permit has been approved; 

5 (B) the permit has been denied, including 

6 a description of why the permit was denied; or 

7 (C) such activity requires an environmental 

8 assessment or environmental impact statement, 

9 as applicable, before a permit may be issued for 

10 the activity. 

11 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA.—In any case in 

12 which an environmental assessment or environmental im13 pact statement is required under the National Environ14 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for 

15 an activity for which a governing body has requested a 

16 permit from the Secretary concerned to conduct such ac17 tivity on a qualified acequia or qualified land grant-merced 

18 on Federal land, and for which the Secretary has not de19 nied the permit under subsection (a)(3), the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 (1) estimate the time necessary to complete 

22 such environmental assessment or environmental im23 pact statement; 


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1 (2) not later than 30 days after receiving the 

2 request for a permit from a governing body, notify 

3 the governing body of such estimation; and 

4 (3) not later than 30 days after completing all 

5 action required under such Act for such activity— 

6 (A) issue such permit to the community 

7 user or governing body; or 

8 (B) notify the community user or gov9 erning body that the request for a permit has 

10 been denied. 

11 (c) FAILURE TO TIME ESTIMATE.—If the Secretary 

12 concerned fails to prepare an environmental assessment 

13 or environmental impact statement within the respective 

14 time period estimated under subsection (b)(1), then the 

15 Secretary shall— 

16 (1) notify the governing body in writing of the 

17 delay; 

18 (2) notify Congress in writing of the delay; 

19 (3) make a new estimate of the time necessary 

20 to complete such environmental assessment or envi21 ronmental impact statement; and 

22 (4) not later than 30 days after the end of the 

23 respective time period estimated under subsection 

24 (b)(1) notify the governing body of such new esti25 mation. 


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1 (d) COST OF NEPA COMPLIANCE.—In consideration 

2 of the socio-economic conditions of community users and 

3 the annual operating budgets of governing bodies of quali4 fied acequias and qualified land grant-mercedes, the Sec5 retary concerned may waive any cost-share requirement 

6 on the community user or the governing body of a quali7 fied acequia or qualified land grant-merced with respect 

8 to the cost of compliance with the National Environmental 

9 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for an activity 

10 to be conducted on a qualified acequia or qualified land 

11 grant-merced on Federal land by a community user or 

12 governing body of a qualified acequia or qualified land 

13 grant-merced for which the Secretary has required such 

14 community user or governing body of a qualified acequia 

15 or qualified land grant-merced to obtain a permit from 

16 the Secretary. 

17 SEC. 8. ASSISTANCE TO GOVERNING BODIES. 

18 Not later than 60 days after a governing body re19 quests in writing assistance from the Secretary concerned 

20 to explain or clarify a process of the agency relating to 

21 the agency’s interaction with the governing body, the Sec22 retary shall provide such assistance in writing to the gov23 erning body. 


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1 SEC. 9. SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL SITES. 

2 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL

3 SITES.— 

4 (1) IDENTIFICATION BEFORE A MANAGEMENT

5 PLAN IS ADOPTED, AMENDED, OR REVISED.—Not 

6 less than 1 year before a management plan is adopt7 ed, or the first time a management plan is amended 

8 or revised after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act, for any Federal land that contains any portion 

10 of a qualified land grant-merced, the Secretary con11 cerned shall, in consultation with governing body of 

12 such qualified land grant-merced, identify all spir13 itual and cultural sites located on such Federal land. 

14 (2) IDENTIFICATION BEFORE DISPOSAL.—Not 

15 less than 180 days before any Federal land that con16 tains any portion of a qualified land grant-merced is 

17 disposed of pursuant to section 202 of the Federal 

18 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

19 U.S.C. 1712), the Secretary concerned shall, in con20 sultation with governing body of such qualified land 

21 grant-merced, identify all spiritual and cultural sites 

22 located on such Federal land. 

23 (b) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Before disposing of 

24 Federal land that contains any portion of a qualified land 

25 grant-merced upon which a spiritual and cultural site is 

26 located, and before acquiring any non-Federal land upon 


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1 which a spiritual and cultural site is located, the Secretary 

2 concerned shall notify the governing body of such qualified 

3 land grant-merced. 

4 (c) REVISION OF GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall 

5 revise any guidance applicable to the disposal of such land 

6 to encourage conveyances, leases, exchanges, modified 

7 competitive sales, or direct sales to the governing body of 

8 such qualified land grant-merced, as appropriate and con9 sistent with the purposes, policies, and programs of Fed10 eral laws and regulations applicable to these lands. 

11 (d) DEFINITION OF SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL

12 SITE.—In this section, the term ‘‘spiritual and cultural 

13 site’’ means a cemetery, pilgrimage site, shrine, or similar 

14 site that has a spiritual or cultural significance for the 

15 community users of a land grant-merced, as determined 

16 by the Secretary, of the relevant land grant-merced. 

17 SEC. 10. PROCESS FOR RECOGNITION OF HISTORICAL-TRA18 DITIONAL USE BOUNDARIES OF QUALIFIED 

19 LAND GRANT-MERCEDES. 

20 (a) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED BOUNDARIES.—Dur21 ing the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, a governing body of a qualified land 

23 grant-merced may submit to the Forest Supervisor or 

24 Field Manager, as appropriate, of the Secretary concerned 

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1 tional use boundaries using geographical and historical 

2 evidence supported by maps and documentation. 

3 (b) ACCEPTABLE SOURCES OF RECORDS.—Accept4 able documentation for the purposes of subsection (a) in5 cludes records from the following sources: 

6 (1) The National Archives and Records Admin7 istration in Washington, DC, Regional Archives and 

8 Presidential Libraries. 

9 (2) Archivo General de la Nacio ́n (Mexico City), 

10 Archivo de la Real Audiencia de La Nueva Galicia 

11 (Guadalajara), Archivos Generales de Indias, 

12 Simancas y de la Corona de Arago ́n (Seville), 

13 Archivo General de Simancas (Valladolid), Biblioteca 

14 Nacional (Madrid), and the national archives of 

15 other countries. 

16 (3) The New Mexico State Records Center and 

17 Archives, California State Library, and archives and 

18 libraries of other States. 

19 (4) The Department of the Interior, the De20 partment of Agriculture, and other Federal agencies. 

21 (5) The University of New Mexico, including 

22 the Center for Southwest Research, the Zimmerman 

23 Library, the Special Collections at the University of 

24 New Mexico Law Library, the Spanish Colonial Re25 search Center, the University of New Mexico Land 


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1 Grant Studies Program, Bancroft Library at the 

2 University of California, Berkley, and other univer3 sity archives and special collections. 

4 (6) The primary sources cited in: the Master of 

5 Laws (L.L.M.) thesis by J.J. Bowden at Southern 

6 Methodist University Law School entitled ‘‘Private 

7 land Claims in The Southwest’’, the Government Ac8 countability Office Reports GAO–01–951 and GAO– 

9 04–59, and the Benavides and Golten Study in the 

10 Natural Resources Journal, Vol. 48, Fall 2008. 

11 (7) Office of the Attorney General of the State 

12 of New Mexico, the New Mexico Land Grant Coun13 cil, and other agencies of the State. 

14 (8) State Legislative Records. 

15 (9) Records of courts, counties, and municipali16 ties. 

17 (10) Records of members of Congress not in18 cluded in the National Archives. 

19 (11) Authenticated records of land grant-mer20 cedes, pueblos, tribes, and private entities. 

21 (c) NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF MATERIALS.—Not later 

22 than 60 days after receipt of a submission pursuant to 

23 subsection (a), the Forest Supervisor, Field Manager, or 

24 other similarly situated authority, as appropriate, of the 


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1 Secretary concerned shall notify the governing body that 

2 the submission was received. 

3 (d) PROCESS FOR DETERMINATION OF HISTORICAL4 TRADITIONAL USE BOUNDARIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 months 

6 after receipt of a submission pursuant to subsection 

7 (a), the Forest Supervisor or Field Manager, or 

8 other similarly situated authority, as appropriate, of 

9 the Secretary concerned shall— 

10 (A) approve of the historical-traditional 

11 use boundaries as proposed by the qualified 

12 land grant-merced governing body; or 

13 (B) offer an alternative historical-tradi14 tional use boundary using geographical and his15 torical evidence supported by maps and docu16 mentation. 

17 (2) ALTERNATIVE HISTORICAL-TRADITIONAL

18 USE BOUNDARY.—If an alternative historical-tradi19 tional use boundary is offered by the Forest Super20 visor or Field Manager, or other similarly situated 

21 authority, as appropriate, of the Secretary concerned 

22 under paragraph (1)(B), then the governing body of 

23 the qualified land grant-merced shall have 180 days 

24 to accept the alternative historical-traditional use 

25 boundary. 


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•HR 3682 IH

1 (3) STEP-BY-STEP NEGOTIATION PROCESS TO

2 DETERMINE HISTORIC-TRADITIONAL USE BOUND3 ARIES OF A LAND GRANT-MERCED.—If an alter4 native historical-traditional use boundary is offered 

5 by the Forest Supervisor or Field Manager, or other 

6 similarly situated authority, as appropriate, of the 

7 Secretary concerned under paragraph (1)(B) and the 

8 governing body of the qualified land grant-merced 

9 does not accept the boundary within the 180-day pe10 riod described in paragraph (2), then a negotiation 

11 process shall take place as follows: 

12 (A) REGIONAL LEVEL.—The governing 

13 body of the qualified land grant-merced and the 

14 Regional Forester or State Director, or other 

15 similarly situated authority, as appropriate, 

16 shall— 

17 (i) jointly notify the relevant Forest 

18 Supervisor or Field Manager, or other 

19 similarly situated authority, as appro20 priate, of the Secretary concerned that ne21 gotiations have been elevated to the re22 gional level; and 

23 (ii) have one year from the date of the 

24 expiration of the 180-day period described 

25 in paragraph (2) to negotiate an agreeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3682.IH H3682

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•HR 3682 IH

1 ment on the historical-traditional use 

2 boundary. 

3 (B) DIRECTOR LEVEL.—If an agreement is 

4 not reached under subparagraph (A), then the 

5 governing body of the qualified land grant6 merced and the Chief of the Forest Service or 

7 the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage8 ment, or other similarly situated authority, as 

9 appropriate, shall have one additional year to 

10 negotiate an agreement on the historical-tradi11 tional use boundary. 

12 (C) DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL.—If an agree13 ment is not reached under subparagraph (B), 

14 then the governing body of the qualified land 

15 grant-merced and the Secretary concerned shall 

16 have one additional year to negotiate an agree17 ment on the historical-traditional use boundary. 

18 (4) FAILURE OF NEGOTIATION PROCESS.—If 

19 the negotiation process described in paragraph (3) 

20 does not result in an agreement between the gov21 erning body of the qualified land grant-merced and 

22 the Secretary concerned, or, if requested by the gov23 erning body of the qualified land grant-merced at 

24 any time during the negotiation process described in 

25 paragraph (3), then the Secretary concerned shall, 


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•HR 3682 IH

1 not later than 90 days after the expiration of the 

2 time period described in paragraph (3)(C), issue a 

3 final decision on the historical-traditional use bound4 ary of the land grant-merced. 

5 (5) FEDERAL COURT.—Any decision made 

6 under paragraph (4) shall be appealable to Federal 

7 court, and the court shall hear the case de novo. 

8 Both parties shall submit to the court evidence sup9 porting such party’s interpretation of the historical10 traditional use boundaries. The court shall deter11 mine the historic-traditional boundary of the land 

12 grant-merced that most accurately represents the 

13 area of historical and traditional use. 

14 (6) MANAGEMENT OF QUALIFIED LAND GRANT15 MERCED.—Management of lands located within the 

16 patent boundary of a qualified land grant-merced 

17 shall not be affected during the negotiation process 

18 under paragraphs (3) or (4) or the appeal process 

19 under paragraph (5). 

20 (e) AMENDMENT OF MANAGEMENT PLAN TO RE21 FLECT HISTORICAL-TRADITIONAL USE BOUNDARIES.— 

22 Not later than two years after the determination of the 

23 historical-traditional use boundaries of a qualified land 

24 grant-merced under this section, the Secretary concerned 

25 shall— 


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•HR 3682 IH

1 (1) conduct a land survey of the historical-tra2 ditional use boundary of a land grant-merced; 

3 (2) create a map that depicts such historical4 traditional use boundary; and 

5 (3) amend the management plans for appro6 priate lands in accordance with section 4. 

7 (f) TREATMENT OF NEWLY RECONSTITUTED QUALI8 FIED LAND GRANT-MERCEDES.—If a qualified land 

9 grant-merced is established after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, then the 5-year period described in sub11 paragraph (a) shall begin on the date of such establish12 ment. 

Æ 


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