New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

One of the realities of any geologic exploration or exploitation prospect is arranging for the rights to explore and exploit. Since the State of New Mexico's public institutions own just under 9 million acres of the surface estate in New Mexico, and just over 13 million acres of the
subsurface estate, chances are that any given prospect in New Mexico or access to it will include state lands.

The New Mexico State Land Office was created at the turn of the twentieth century to manage the lands given upon statehood to state public institutions, or beneficiaries, and to manage natural resource assets associated with those lands. New Mexico's beneficiaries were given ownership of approximately four square miles, originally sections 2, 16, 32 and 36, of each township.

Through a number of negotiations and land swaps with the federal government, the State Land Office now manages a sizeable amount of acreage in oil and natural gas productive areas of the state, along with significant minerals and aggregate acreage. This Office does so with
leasing that requires logical, responsible oil, natural gas, and minerals extraction on state lands that protects the integrity of these lands for generations of New Mexicans to come.