Summary
S. 1363 would direct the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to create a memorandum of understanding with the New Mexico Land Grant Council. This agreement would establish processes allowing land grant-mercedes communities to obtain authorization for historical, traditional, or other uses of federal lands. Land grant-mercedes are properties originally granted by Spain and Mexico to communities or individuals; most of these lands became federal property when the United States acquired the territory. Today, New Mexico recognizes 27 community land grants-mercedes as political subdivisions.
Under the bill, the federal agencies would need to consult with Indian tribes when developing the agreement. The memorandum would require enhanced cooperation between the agencies and qualified land grant communities, including procedures for notice and comments on land management decisions. Additionally, the agencies would need to include in their land use plans an evaluation of how other uses might affect the historical or traditional uses by land grant-mercedes communities.
The bill has been approved by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and is eligible for a floor vote. If enacted, it would create a more formal coordination process between federal land managers and New Mexico's historic land grant communities regarding their access to and use of federal lands for traditional purposes.
AI-generated summary
Lifecycle of the Bill
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
Dec 2, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 2, 2025 · 20:00
Hearings to examine S.90, to prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to finalize and implement certain travel management plans in the State of Utah, S.91, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, S.140, to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, S.451, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to eliminate an administrative fee, S.764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, S.790, to redesignate the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, as the "Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center", S.888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, S.902, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a standard for the response time to wildfire incidents, S.945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, S.1005, to provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, S.1175, to amend section 6903 of title 31, United States Code, to provide for additional population tiers, S.1195, to promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, S.1228, to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to modify the cost-sharing requirement for conservation projects carried out by a qualified youth or conservation corps, S.1319, to withdraw certain Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1321, to amend the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to provide for the transfer of the Moab site to Grand County, Utah, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1468, to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Incorporated, is recognized as a Village Corporation under that Act, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2042, to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, and S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes.
Summary
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a legislative hearing on December 2, 2025, to examine 19 bills addressing public lands management, conservation, and resource development. The bills covered diverse topics including wildfire mitigation and response standards, forest health initiatives, wilderness and wild scenic river designations in multiple western states, mineral leasing reforms, and land transfers and exchanges. Specific bills examined included measures to address forest health crises, establish wildfire response time standards, designate wilderness areas in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, protect roadless areas in national forests, and facilitate land exchanges in Alaska and Utah. The Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies provided testimony on the legislation. The bills reflected a range of policy priorities, from conservation and wilderness protection to resource development and land management efficiency. Some bills focused on specific state needs, such as travel management plans in Utah, economic development in Nevada, and land conveyances in Colorado and Utah, while others addressed broader national forest and public lands issues. The hearing represented a legislative review process where committee members and federal agencies examined pending bills before the subcommittee decided whether to advance them. A hearing does not guarantee that bills will move forward; further committee action and votes are required for legislation to advance to the full Senate.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
Dec 17, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 17, 2025 · 14:30
Business meeting to consider S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.858, to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1470, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, S.1787, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
Summary
On December 17, 2025, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting to consider 15 bills covering a range of public lands and conservation issues. The bills addressed topics including establishing an interest-bearing account for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, authorizing a National Medal of Honor Museum on the National Mall, amending the Colorado Wilderness Act to add land to Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and promoting cooperation on New Mexico land grant-mercedes. Additional bills addressed wild horse maintenance in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, establishment of the Dolores River National Conservation Area in Colorado, land conveyance to Brian Head Town in Utah, and expansion of prescribed fire use on federal lands with acknowledgment of Indigenous cultural burning practices. The committee also considered bills on wildfire mitigation studies, federal land policy clarification, public land disposal in Wyoming, extension of authority for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation, and transfer of federal land administrative jurisdiction in California. As a business meeting rather than a hearing, no witness testimony was taken. Business meetings are where committees vote on whether to advance bills to the full Senate. The consideration of these bills does not guarantee they will advance; the committee must vote to report them before they can proceed to the Senate floor for further consideration.
Video
Watch videoCommittee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
Dec 2, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 2, 2025 · 20:00
Hearings to examine S.90, to prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to finalize and implement certain travel management plans in the State of Utah, S.91, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, S.140, to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, S.451, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to eliminate an administrative fee, S.764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, S.790, to redesignate the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, as the "Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center", S.888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, S.902, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a standard for the response time to wildfire incidents, S.945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, S.1005, to provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, S.1175, to amend section 6903 of title 31, United States Code, to provide for additional population tiers, S.1195, to promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, S.1228, to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to modify the cost-sharing requirement for conservation projects carried out by a qualified youth or conservation corps, S.1319, to withdraw certain Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1321, to amend the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to provide for the transfer of the Moab site to Grand County, Utah, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1468, to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Incorporated, is recognized as a Village Corporation under that Act, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2042, to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, and S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes.
Summary
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a legislative hearing on December 2, 2025, to examine 19 bills addressing public lands management, conservation, and resource development. The bills covered diverse topics including wildfire mitigation and response standards, forest health initiatives, wilderness and wild scenic river designations in multiple western states, mineral leasing reforms, and land transfers and exchanges. Specific bills examined included measures to address forest health crises, establish wildfire response time standards, designate wilderness areas in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, protect roadless areas in national forests, and facilitate land exchanges in Alaska and Utah. The Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies provided testimony on the legislation. The bills reflected a range of policy priorities, from conservation and wilderness protection to resource development and land management efficiency. Some bills focused on specific state needs, such as travel management plans in Utah, economic development in Nevada, and land conveyances in Colorado and Utah, while others addressed broader national forest and public lands issues. The hearing represented a legislative review process where committee members and federal agencies examined pending bills before the subcommittee decided whether to advance them. A hearing does not guarantee that bills will move forward; further committee action and votes are required for legislation to advance to the full Senate.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
Dec 17, 2025
HearingSenateMeeting
Dec 17, 2025 · 14:30
Business meeting to consider S.291, to establish an interest-bearing account for the non-Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, S.858, to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1470, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to prioritize the completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, S.1787, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, S.1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land, S.2015, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, S.2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, S.2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land, S.2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public investment for purposes of certain rulemaking, S.2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2881, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California.
Summary
On December 17, 2025, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting to consider 15 bills covering a range of public lands and conservation issues. The bills addressed topics including establishing an interest-bearing account for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, authorizing a National Medal of Honor Museum on the National Mall, amending the Colorado Wilderness Act to add land to Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and promoting cooperation on New Mexico land grant-mercedes. Additional bills addressed wild horse maintenance in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, establishment of the Dolores River National Conservation Area in Colorado, land conveyance to Brian Head Town in Utah, and expansion of prescribed fire use on federal lands with acknowledgment of Indigenous cultural burning practices. The committee also considered bills on wildfire mitigation studies, federal land policy clarification, public land disposal in Wyoming, extension of authority for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation, and transfer of federal land administrative jurisdiction in California. As a business meeting rather than a hearing, no witness testimony was taken. Business meetings are where committees vote on whether to advance bills to the full Senate. The consideration of these bills does not guarantee they will advance; the committee must vote to report them before they can proceed to the Senate floor for further consideration.
Video
Watch videoCongress
119th Congress
Introduced
Apr 9, 2025
