Vasquez introduces bipartisan legislation aimed at helping ranchers

Nov. 19—For New Mexico ranchers who use federal land for grazing, it can take years to get the approvals for seemingly the most basic of improvements — from mending fence lines to dealing with water tanks. But a bipartisan piece of congressional legislation aims to make life easier for them.

New Mexico's Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., introduced the Ranching Without Red Tape Act Wednesday, with two Republican co-sponsors, Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is sponsoring the legislation in the Senate.

The act attempts to make it easier for ranchers with grazing permits to make improvements to existing fences and fence lines, wells, water pipelines and stock tanks. The legislation would apply to ranchers with U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management grazing permits.

"One out of every two acres in the West is owned by the federal government. Livestock production in the West relies heavily upon federal grazing permits," said Larry Reagan, District 2 President for the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau. Implementing minor improvements can often require ranchers to renegotiate their lease, Reagan said.

"This is a small step in trying to ensure the livelihood of some of our rural communities, because we've seen both from the funding, the implementation, the construction, the fixing, and the permitting, if you're waiting years to make improvements to your rangelands or your federal lease, while you have conditions like drought and wildfire and unstable range conditions, it can become devastating to ranchers," Vasquez said.

The act would require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to respond to minor improvement requests within 30 days of the request being submitted. The rancher would be allowed to go ahead with the improvements upon approval or if there was no response to the request within 30 days.

"With the backlog of everything that's going on within BLM, our ranch in southern Luna County right along the U.S., Mexico border, we're about 85% controlled by BLM, and often with fence work or anything from pipelines to stock tank replacements, it can take several years before you get any type of approval," said Russell Johnson, president of the New Mexico Young Farmers and Ranchers Program.

Funding for projects through the USDA can also take a long time, according to Acoma Pueblo rancher Gilbert Louis III, and getting materials to build something may add another six months. Then after a fence is built, it still has to be inspected before any reimbursements, he said.

"I think we could do better, but we do have an understaffed Bureau of Land Management Office in Las Cruces, which handles and oversees the permitting process for places in Luna County, but also across the state and across the West," Vasquez said. "We need to make sure we have a well-staffed and well-resourced BLM office and Forest Service offices as well as those district offices that can help support this bill."

According to Vasquez, addressing levels of staffing will require serious negotiations in Congress; it will consider appropriations bills that propose cutting the Department of the Interior, which includes the BLM, by 15 to 20%, Vasquez said. Vasquez said that he is in favor of cutting out inefficiencies but thinks that permitting is a key place where land management agencies need more staff.

Vasquez will be running for reelection next year in Congressional District 2. The district's boundaries are under dispute in a lawsuit that accuses the state's Democrats of gerrymandering the district to favor their party. A judge ruled in October that the congressional boundaries do not violate the state constitution. The state GOP has appealed the decision, and the New Mexico Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Monday.

Vasquez likely will be facing former Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell, whom he beat narrowly in 2022. Herrell held the District 2 seat for one term prior to Vasquez's tenure, beating out her Democratic predecessor Xochitl Torres Small. The seat had been held by former Republican Rep. Steve Pearce for four terms prior.