New tool to report inaccessible public lands

Dear Friend,

I hope that sportsmen and other public lands users in New Mexico will utilize a new internet-based portal created by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to more easily and efficiently nominate public lands that are currently inaccessible but could provide valuable opportunities for hunting, fishing and other recreational activities.

This new online portal is a result of the HUNT Act, legislation that I championed and that was signed into law in 2019 as part of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. The law requires federal agencies to ask for the public’s input on identifying lands where there is no legal public access or where access is significantly restricted, in order to help create a list of parcels where access could be improved. In 2020, BLM received more than 6,000 responses.

The BLM web-based geospatial portal opened for nominations on May 23, 2022 and will remain open to the public until June 30, 2022. If you would like to nominate a parcel in New Mexico, you can read the directions on the site itself or watch a three-minute instructional video.

I encourage New Mexicans to use this new tool to flag public lands that are inaccessible so improvements can be made. Improving access to our public lands plays a key role in growing our outdoor recreation economy and passing on traditions like hunting and fishing to our children and grandchildren.

Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator