LAS CRUCES, N.M.: Today, the Bureau of Land Management successfully auctioned three grazing units within the McGregor Range in southern New Mexico. The bids ranged from $35.50 to $62 per Animal Unit Month (AUM), yielding $295,251.50 for the McGregor Range management and improvements.
Held at the BLM Las Cruces District Office, 21 local area ranchers attended the auction. Prior to the auction, BLM range staff described the unit locations, characteristics and grazing timeframes, before opening up the auction to the 11 registered bidders.
The three units include 6,933 AUMs of forage to graze livestock. One unit was auctioned for nine months of grazing, while two units were auctioned for 11 months. An AUM is the amount of forage to feed one cow and calf.
The McGregor Range includes over 606,000 acres of withdrawn lands on the west side of Otero Mesa, between Alamogordo, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. The Range is jointly managed by the BLM and the U.S. Army, in accordance with the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1999, and subsequent with the 2006 McGregor Range Resource Management Plan.
BLM Las Cruces District is responsible for managing the grazing units, including coordinating with the military on trainings and ranchers on livestock operations. The BLM rangeland management specialists also provide the necessary range maintenance and improvements for the offered units.
In addition, a military representative attended the auction to explain the scope of the military training and schedules, which will affect a few of the units directly.
A major part of its multiple-use mission, the BLM strives to sustain healthy rangelands for the benefit of the American public.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
