New Mexico Land Office

09/04/2026

At a press conference today, Commissioner Garcia Richard announced an executive order banning uranium mining on state trust lands!

New Mexico has a painful history as the largest producer of uranium ore in the history of the United States and the site of the development of the nuclear bomb. And the Trump administration is aggressively pushing to increase uranium production despite the fact that there are still thousands of mining sites nationwide that haven't been cleaned up.

Today, we say NO to uranium mining on state lands!

Read more and download the executive order here: https://bit.ly/4xbLIir

08/24/2026

The State Land Office is hosting two meetings this week to gather feedback on proposals for projects on state trust lands.

Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 p.m. in Carlsbad
A public meeting to discuss a proposed 1.07-mile transmission line across state trust lands in Eddy County.

Thursday, August 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Estancia:
A public meeting to discuss construction of the proposed Bolo Transmission line across state trust lands in Torrance County.

More details available at nmstatelands.org!

08/21/2026

The updated royalty rate for oil and gas leasing on state lands pushed by Commissioner Garcia Richard has already resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue at recent lease sales for New Mexico’s public schools, universities, and hospitals.

And analysts project that the 25% royalty rate will deliver billions more to these critical institutions once the royalty payments kick in!

It's clear -- raising the rate for premium tracts of state land did not harm the oil and gas industry. Instead, it is setting the state up for future success.

New Mexico has shown that strong oil and gas production and strong taxpayer protections can go hand in hand.

08/17/2026

Chaco Canyon is sacred and should be off limits to future oil and gas development.

Commissioner Garcia Richard is working on a plan to make protections she put in place for the state lands in the Greater Chaco region more permanent and legally binding. And she is committed to getting it done at all costs, even if she has to sign the contract at 11:59 p.m. on her last day in office.

With her term as state land commissioner winding down, Stephanie Garcia Richard wants to ensure long-term protections at Chaco.

08/12/2026

It was such an honor to tour the NM Veterans Integration Centers Transitional Living Facility in Albuquerque today to learn more about how the facility helps combat veteran homelessness and to get a sneak peek of the next phase of construction.

A big thanks to CEO Brock Wolff, board member Claudia Risner (a Navy veteran), and the rest of the team for the invite and providing the tour!

The work they do makes a big difference in the lives of former servicemembers who are currently unsheltered or at risk of being unsheltered.

07/31/2026

RIO RANCHO: The State Land Office is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, August 5 to gather feedback on a proposed sale of state trust land in the Cleveland Heights master plan area. No final decisions have been made concerning the proposal at this time.

The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Governing Body Overflow Room at Rio Rancho City Hall. An online option is available for those who cannot attend in-person.

To view the public notice and more meeting details, visit: https://bit.ly/MeetingAug5

07/29/2026

The State Land Office has won a Regional Top Workplaces Award from the Albuquerque Journal for the 4th year in a row!

The agency ranked highly in several categories including Meaningful Work, indicating employees feel like the work they do truly matters.

"I often say this is the best job I’ve ever had, and that in large part is due to the great people who work at the State Land Office and genuinely strive to make New Mexico a better place to live for everyone," said Commissioner Garcia Richard.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4h5wze7

07/27/2026

As Commissioner Garcia Richard writes in this guest column, the Trump administration's proposal to remove protections for the federal lands around Chaco Culture National Historical Park is unacceptable.

She is calling on all New Mexicans to make their voices heard by submitting a comment to the Bureau of Land Management by Wednesday, July 29. In your comment, urge the administration to choose the "No Action Alternative," which will keep current protections for Chaco in place.

We have provided a link to the BLM comment portal on our website. Visit https://www.nmstatelands.org and click "Protect Chaco!" on the homepage!

https://www.nmstatelands.org/2026/07/23/opinion-trumps-attack-on-chaco-is-unacceptable/

Welcome to the New Mexico State Land Office The Land Office is open for business, and our purpose is funding public education and other public institutions. Commissioner Garcia Richard is tasked with overseeing 9 million surface acres and 13 million mineral acres. We make money by leasing state trus...

07/16/2026

“Chaco Canyon is one of the most special places on the planet, cherished by the state’s Nations, Pueblos, and Tribes, and it deserves to be protected at all costs." - New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard.

The Trump administration is once again threatening to remove protections for the federal lands in the Greater Chaco Region. Yesterday, the administration opened a 14-day public comment period, with no planned public meeting.

One of Commissioner Garcia Richard's first acts in office was to sign an executive order protecting 72,776 acres of state lands in Chaco Canyon. She is now calling on the Trump administration to stop these endless attacks on one of our most beloved landscapes.

You can submit your own public comment at the link in the comments section below.

New Mexico environmental advocates and elected officials say the federal government is rushing a plan to cut protections at Chaco Canyon.

07/15/2026

New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has once again denied an application to build a portion of Project Jupiter’s natural gas pipeline through state lands.

There are few, if any, collateral benefits that Project Jupiter and the ancillary infrastructure facilitating it offer to New Mexico state lands or the public institutions we serve. Based on available information, the project will impose environmental costs on New Mexico that will be greater than any resulting benefits to the local community or the state as a whole.

Read more and access the full letter here: https://bit.ly/4ypkiY3