Public lands issues in SW New Mexico

[Chama Grande]

Good article on public land issues from a New Mexico angle. Interviews with David Willms, county officials, and some other legal eagles. It also gives a background on a particular SW New Mexican, Howard Hutchinson, that was a little surprising to me. He advocates for State control of lands yet he clearly hates the State.

https://sourcenm.com/2025/04/14/the-battle-against-federal-ownership-of-new-mexicos-public-lands/

 

[hank4elk]

Good article on public land issues from a New Mexico angle. Interviews with David Willms, county officials, and some other legal eagles. It also gives a background on a particular SW New Mexican, Howard Hutchinson, that was a little surprising to me. He advocates for State control of lands yet he clearly hates the State.

https://sourcenm.com/2025/04/14/the-battle-against-federal-ownership-of-new-mexicos-public-lands/

Some real nutcases about.
The ones who sent the Emergency Request for Relief from wolves must know she instantly roundfiled it after making a copy.
I have talked to Hutchingson, or tried. Nonsense. That's what I heard.

 

[MTGunner]

There have been meeting after meeting about this in the past years. Local landowners, people who live in Luna county and seasonal tourist have attended these meetings to oppose national monument status. This has fallen on deaf ears. There is a movement afoot to close these public lands to all. Luna county citizens must have a say in this matter. There is a small group of outsiders attempting to close these public lands to most if not all. For what reason is not clear. I suspect to sell to the highest bidder.
PUBLIC LANDS BELONG TO THE PUBLIC. PERIOD! MTG

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

So what I took from this is that Hutchinson used to engage in an anarchist-type rebellion of government control over land because he did not see the benefit in timber sales or other conservation through controlled use. He still has that opinion though now advocating private control over everything; conceding State control is better than Federal. This evolution of opinion follows what we know from history: States sell off land quickly for short-term gains. I don’t agree with any of this, but I think I see how he got there.