119-HR-2785 Journalist Public Summary
119 · HR 2785 New Mexico Land Grant-Mercedes Historical or Traditional Use Cooperation and Coordination Act
H.R. 2785 directs Interior and Agriculture to sign a standing agreement with New Mexico’s Land Grant Council that clarifies how heirs of historic Spanish/Mexican community land grants may carry out long‑standing, noncommercial activities on nearby federal lands—spelling out permit steps, when fees can be reduced, and how those uses are considered in land‑use plans—while leaving tribal, state, and existing rights unchanged; the House bill is in the Natural Resources Committee, and the Senate companion advanced from committee on December 17, 2025. (congress.gov)
Headline Summary
Make it easier for New Mexico’s historic land‑grant communities to keep doing traditional, noncommercial activities on nearby federal lands by formalizing cooperation with federal agencies and clarifying permits and fees. (congress.gov)
What It Does
The bill tells the Interior and Agriculture Departments to sign a memorandum of understanding with the New Mexico Land Grant Council within two years. That agreement must explain which traditional, noncommercial uses are allowed (like small‑quantity gathering, cemetery and shrine upkeep, water use under law, and grazing where it has historically occurred), what needs a permit, how vehicles/equipment can be used, and how routine maintenance or larger improvements are handled. It also allows agencies to consider fee reductions or waivers based on community socioeconomic conditions and a grant’s budget, and it asks agencies to factor these historical uses into land‑use plans. Finally, it states explicitly that it does not create new rights and does not affect tribal rights, state water and wildlife authority, or existing valid uses. (congress.gov)
Who’s For It
- Sponsor: Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D‑NM‑3); cosponsor: Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D‑NM‑1). (congress.gov)
- New Mexico senators Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich back the identical Senate bill (S.1363), which the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee ordered reported with an amendment on December 17, 2025. (congress.gov)
- The Bureau of Land Management supported a closely related 2022 bill (H.R. 5493) aiming for the same kind of guidance and consultation, while asking for technical clarifications—signaling agency support for the goal. (blm.gov)
- The New Mexico Land Grant Council has publicly supported prior iterations that strengthen consultation and clarify traditional uses. (heinrich.senate.gov)
Who’s Against It
- No prominent national opposition is on record for this narrow bill. That said, the U.S. Forest Service previously raised concerns about an earlier version (H.R. 3682, 116th Congress), warning about potential administrative burdens and the need to avoid conflicts with tribal consultation and historic boundaries—issues later versions sought to clarify. (congress.gov)
- Even supportive agencies have asked for guardrails—for example, BLM recommended clarifying that “federal land” excludes tribal trust lands and that nothing in the bill should conflict with formal tribal consultation procedures. (blm.gov)
What’s Next
As of May 13, 2026, Congress.gov shows H.R. 2785 at the “Introduced” stage and referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources (initial referral on April 9, 2025). The Senate companion (S.1363) advanced from committee on December 17, 2025. Next steps would typically be a subcommittee hearing and markup, full committee action, then House floor consideration; if both chambers pass versions, differences would be worked out before it could become law. (congress.gov)
Discussion