Land Grant and Acequia Traditional Use Recognition and Consultation Act

Land Grant and Acequia Traditional Use Recognition and Consultation Act

This bill requires coordination between the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of the Interior, and the governing bodies of certain community land grants made by Spain or Mexico to individuals, groups, and communities to promote the settlement of the southwestern United States (land grant-merceds).

Specifically, the bill directs USDA and Interior, before adopting, amending, or revising a management plan for, or before conducting an action for which an environmental impact statement is required on, federal land that contains a portion of a qualified land grant-merced, or federal land adjacent to or nearby such a land grant-merced, to:

• provide for notice and an opportunity for comment for the governing body of the land grant-merced and the relevant state agency that serves as a liaison between the land grant-merced and the federal government,
• hold at least two meetings with the governing body, and
• notify it before each public meeting.

The bill establishes a process for determining and recognizing historical-traditional use boundaries of qualified land grant-merceds.