The Roosevelt County board of commissioners in New Mexico has filed a resolution opposing the land protection plan and Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge expansion plan from the federal government.
Within Roosevelt County’s Resolution 2024-26 titled “Opposing the Final Land Protection Plan & Environmental Assessment for the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge”, the board claims that the creation of the Conservation Partnership Area that expands the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is a violation of Roosevelt County’s policies, and will ultimately harm private property ownership and economic security.
The resolution argues that the conservation easements “reduce the tax value of the land by an average of 40 percent” and that conservation easements “restrict or eliminate the productive uses from the land that fuel local economy”. Examples of economically or socially productive use of land included were: hospitals, schools, emergency services, roads, and “other necessary services."
The commissioners also note how the US Fish and Wildlife Service had prepared the expansion of the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge without having coordinated its plans with the county without having noticed the county or coordinating its plans with the county.
According to The Wildlife News, ecologist and political activist George Wuerthner elaborates on the land owning concerns on conservation easements on wildlife. He says that public agencies are quick to accept the many acres of land, but are “less concerned with the quality of the lands they protect (not all open space is equally valuable)...”, and critiques the lack of scrutiny on the management of these government-owned since it’s publicly donated land. He explains that, with the easements, there are significant conservation-funded subsidies, which end up in citizens’ taxes to maintain these conservation easements.
According to My High Plains, the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge Acquisition Expansion is a plan finalized for expanding the boundary of Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge by 700,000 acres to support migratory and native species (sandhill crane, pronghorn, lesser prairie chicken) within Lamb County, Texas. Muleshoe is also the oldest national wildlife refuge in Texas.
