By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Sandoval County commissioners will decide Wednesday whether to formally object to the Pueblo of Cochiti’s bid to place more than 9,200 acres of the Cañada de Cochiti back into federal trust — reviving a jurisdictional standoff that’s included a canceled easement, a locked gate and county road crews getting arrested.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs notified the county Aug. 19 that Cochiti applied to have the “Cañada de Cochiti” tract — roughly 9,234.57 acres the Pueblo bought back from state trust lands in a 2016 exchange — accepted into federal trust for hunting, gathering and ceremonial use. Federal rules require the BIA to weigh the tax and jurisdictional fallout on local governments, and that’s exactly the case county attorneys are building in draft Resolution 9-9-26.11B.
The Roads Nobody Can Reach
The county’s opposition leans hard on access. After 2011 floods wrecked roads crossing the parcel, the state granted the county an easement to rebuild them. The Pueblo canceled that easement in 2019, put up concrete barriers and a locked gate, and — according to a 2022 Court of Appeals opinion in Martin v. Sandoval County — had county road workers arrested when they kept working anyway. The draft resolution says the county won’t drop its objection unless Cochiti restores the easement, waives sovereign immunity for related disputes and pays up on delinquent taxes tied to the parcel.
By the Numbers
- 9,234.57 — acres proposed for trust status
- $2,822.70 — unpaid taxes owed on the Pueblo’s fee land as of Sept. 2, spanning 2017-2025
- 30 — days the county has to comment on the BIA application (with a possible 30-day extension)
Commissioners also plan to approve the county’s 2026 property tax rate order, required within five days of a state directive. The state’s letter accompanying that order flagged unspecified statewide “deficiencies” in property assessment accuracy and urged commissioners to double-check figures with the county assessor before signing off.
Also on the agenda:
- A resolution authorizing public notice of a draft ordinance banning unpermitted automated license plate readers on county rights-of-way, sponsored by Vice Chair Jon Herr. It would require a county permit, treat unauthorized installation or data access as a petty misdemeanor, and route appeals through the Planning and Zoning Commission.
- A proclamation, also sponsored by Herr, marking September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
- A vote to appoint Dale Olsen to the county’s new Salary Commission for the District 3 seat.
Get involved
Sandoval County Board of Commissioners
Regular Meeting — Wednesday, Sept. 9, 6 p.m.
Administrative Building, 1500 Idalia Road, Building D, Bernalillo
Watch online: sandovalcountynm.gov
Public comment: in person or at sandovalcountynm.gov/commission/public-comment/