A road into White Peak
Sealing a deal can be difficult. Consider the just-opened White Peak Regional Access Road, a two-and-a-halfmile dirt road that will connect the White Peak region to the outside world. One small road. Years in the making. Better access to reach Halls Peak, Cooks Peak and Gallinas Mesa, home to deer, elk, turkey, bear, cougar and other wild creatures.
Finally, through the efforts of State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, with cooperation from private land owners and the New Mexico Game and Fish Department, 12,000 acres within the White Peak region will be easier to reach. (That’s a relief because the area borders Mora and Colfax counties, a bit remote in and of itself. Just to drive to an official ribbon cutting, folks are meeting at 9 a.m. at the Ocate-Ojo Feliz Volunteer Fire Department on N.M. 120 before traveling to the dedication at 9:30 a.m. Ocate is about two hours from Santa Fe. This is remote.)
On Wednesday, Dunn and others will open the road. Even without the celebration, the folks who like to traverse the backcountry are rejoicing that an area that largely had been sealed off is now open. Access to the 12,000 acres had been in dispute among sportsmen and the several owners of private land in the area. To the hunters and other users, old logging roads and the like should have been kept open, allowing a way in to the state lands on the other side of private ranches. To private landowners, the hunters and others were trespassing.
The dispute has been litigated, fought in newspaper columns and generally kept brewing. Solutions were suggested and failed, for one reason or another. It seemed as though the conflict would continue on in court, with the claims on the ground remaining unsettled.
Former Land Commissioner Pat Lyons tried to do a land trade with local ranchers, but it was criticized as a boondoggle and then shelved by the New Mexico Supreme Court. Dunn tried his own sort of swap back in 2015, but the deal remained just out of reach. This time, the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation stepped up to help, contracting to blade the road, paying $20,000 for the costs. A new campsite has been built, too, but be prepared, folks — it is primitive. There’s no running water, electricity, picnic tables or restrooms. This area is for serious-minded sportsmen and women, with the campground open during hunting season to those who have a valid license.
Located in Game Management Unit 48, the road is accessible off Mora County Road 10. To keep access alive into the future, Commission Dunn granted a 35-year right of way to the New Mexico Department Game of Fish (for which the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is paying). Inside the region, Dunn has announced that his office will spend around $100,000 in forest and watershed restoration projects, removing trees and shrubs and creating a better habitat for wildlife and livestock grazing.
Improving access to this prime hunting area was no simple task. That Dunn has persevered is testament to his stick-to-it mindset and ability to attack a problem from different perspectives. Because of those efforts, better access to the White Peak region exists, settling a dispute that had lingered for decades.
What will Dunn tackle next? The GOP commissioner, still in his first term, changed his mind about running for Congress from the 2nd Congressional District in Southern New Mexico. He has a year to go as land commissioner, and there’s no word on whether he will run for re-election. (Current Public Regulation Commission member Lyons already has announced he is running for the GOP nomination, and three Democrats are seeking their own party’s nomination: state Sen. George Muñoz, former Land Commissioner Ray Powell and wilderness advocate Garrett VeneKlasen.)
Focus on the State Land Office this primary and election season is going to be sharper than ever. If Dunn decides to jump in, expect bruising primaries in both the GOP and Democratic races. That’s as it should be, considering the office oversees trust lands designed to support schools, universities, water conservation projects, three hospitals and other beneficiaries. Managing the lands well is essential, with $546 million collected in fiscal year 2017 from lease payments, oil and gas sales earnings, rights of way, mineral royalties and other sources.
Helping build a better road into the White Peak region is a feather in Dunn’s cap, whether he runs for re-election or not. Ensuring access was the right thing to do.