LAS CRUCES, N.M. - On Oct. 6, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Cruces District will auction (through an oral competitive bid) up to five grazing units, ranging in use from nine to 23 months, on the McGregor Range on the west side of Otero Mesa. On Sept. 29, the BLM will conduct a pre-bid, bidder’s tour of the grazing units. Cattle numbers and periods of grazing may be adjusted up to the bid tour and auction date, based on late summer rains.
Start time is 8 a.m., and the tour will kick-off at the junction of U.S. Highway 54 at the entrance to State Road 506, approximately 24 miles south of Alamogordo, N.M., just north of the new Border Patrol Check Station and south of the Department of Transportation Check Station. It is recommended that tour participants take a lunch and water for the tour.
The auction takes place Oct. 6, at the La Cueva Picnic Area on Dripping Springs Road at 10 a.m. All successful bidders are required to pay a 10 percent deposit at the conclusion of the auction.
The McGregor Range is comprised of 606,000 acres of public land between Alamogordo, N.M. and El Paso, Texas. It was set aside for the U.S. Army under the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1999. Used by Fort Bliss Army Base and Holloman Air Force Base for training purposes, the Range is jointly managed with the BLM for the resources outlined in the 2006 McGregor Range Resource Management Plan and a Memorandum of Understanding. The military has primary use, while BLM has secondary use of the range resources, such as the management of grazing.
For more tour and auction information, contact BLM Rangeland Management Specialist James Christensen at (575) 644-8635, or Range Clerk Andrea Pacheco at (575) 525-4328.
For bid information, go to http://www.blm.gov/new-mexico.
Source: Bureau of Land Management