S. 1363 — New Mexico Land Grant-Mercedes Historical or Traditional Use Cooperation and Coordination Act

This section defines key terms used in the Act, including "qualified land grant-merced" (i.e., a community land grant issued under Spanish or Mexican law, recognized under New Mexico Statutes Chapter 49, Articles 1 and 4, with historical or traditional use on or adjacent to federal land); "historical or traditional use" (e.g., gathering herbs or wood products in small quantities, grazing, subsistence hunting or fishing under state law, and maintenance of cemeteries or shrines); "Federal land" (excluding land within Indian reservations, land held in trust or restricted status for Indian tribes or individuals, and certain fee land subject to alienation restrictions); and "Indian Tribe" (i.e., any federally recognized tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or similar entity per the most recent list published under 25 U.S.C. 5131(a)).

This section directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, acting through appropriate officials in New Mexico and in consultation with Indian Tribes, to enter into an initial memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New Mexico Land Grant Council not later than two years after the date of enactment, and to enter into successor MOUs or extend/renew them thereafter with any appropriate revisions. (Qualified land grant-mercedes are historic Spanish colonial community land grants in New Mexico that involve traditional noncommercial uses on adjacent federal lands administered by the two departments.) The MOU must (1) provide for enhanced cooperation and coordination, including subsidiary agreements for specific projects consistent with applicable federal laws, land use plans, and valid existing rights; (2) describe permit and authorization requirements for historical or traditional uses by community users or governing bodies of qualified land grant-mercedes, including administrative procedures, associated fees (e.g., cost recovery and land use fees) and processes to request fee reductions or waivers, permissible motorized/nonmotorized/mechanized vehicle and equipment use, nonnative material use, applicable restrictions/prohibitions, and tribal consultation processes; (3) address authorization of routine maintenance and minor improvements (e.g., cleaning/repair/replacement of infrastructure, trail/road/fence maintenance, monument/shrine/cemetery/livestock well maintenance); (4) optionally describe processes for authorizing major improvements (e.g., community water/wastewater systems, livestock wells/tanks, cattle guards, trails/roads/fences, cemeteries); and (5) outline notice-and-comment policies and procedures for land management decisions and major federal actions affecting such uses, including online notice methods.

This section directs the Secretary concerned, in developing, maintaining, and revising land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA; i.e., Bureau of Land Management resource management plans) and National Forest Management Act (NFMA; i.e., National Forest System land and resource management plans), to include—as determined appropriate by the Secretary and in accordance with applicable law—a section evaluating the impact of other uses in the plan on historical or traditional uses by qualified land grant-mercedes (i.e., historical Spanish colonial community land grants primarily in New Mexico).

This section states that nothing in the Act—(1) modifies, limits, expands, or otherwise affects any treaty-reserved right or other right or obligation of any Indian Tribe; (2) affects state authority to regulate water use; (3) affects state authority to regulate game and fish management; (4) affects any valid existing rights or permitted uses of federal land; or (5) creates any right to use federal land.