The New Mexico State Land Office has announced a public meeting to discuss a proposed land swap with the Mescalero Apache Tribe as a different plot of land is put up for the swap.
The Wednesday meeting to discuss the land swap will take place at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. However, the swap has moved on from the originally proposed parcel of land south of "A" Mountain.
The land swap will now see the Mescalero Apache Tribe possibly receiving land near the Doña Ana County Fairgrounds along I-10 measuring in at 320 acres.
According to the state land office’s website, the tribe will “apply for an agreement to gain access to the parcel for traditional cultural uses.”
Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard said that the combined feedback from previous meetings and possible issues with using the parcel made the swap less appealing.
“We understood that the tribe wanted to have a parcel they could develop. The particular parcel that they had originally selected did not lend itself to development,” Richard said.
No final decision on whether the land swap will go through has been made, however, plans for what to build there if accepted are being discussed.
“I think the tribe has not said but I think what they are leaning towards and chatting with other partners in the area about is actually an amphitheater," Richard said.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 25th at 6:30pm at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum on University. The meeting is expected to last one and a half hours.
