New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 1 - NATURAL RESOURCES GENERAL PROVISIONS
Part 3 - ADMINISTRATION OF THE NATURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION ACT
Section 19.1.3.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Agricultural easement" means a less than fee simple interest in land that is granted in perpetuity, which creates a legally enforceable land protection or preservation agreement and restricts or prohibits the future development, including subdivision, or alteration of the land or the permanent severance of any appurtenant water rights for a purpose other than agricultural production or the natural values of the land. The fee simple ownership remains with the landowner and the landowner continues uses of the land that are consistent with the provisions of the easement with no requirement for public access although the landowner may allow such access.

B. "Agricultural production" means the production for commercial purposes of crops, livestock or livestock products, including the processing or retail marketing of crops, livestock or livestock products that are primarily produced on site by an operator of a working farm, ranch or other agricultural land. The term includes use of land that is devoted to and meets requirements and qualifications for soil conservation programs under an agreement with an agency of the federal government and may include periodic fallowing and practices that promote conservation of land and water on and near the property.

C. "Applicant" means a qualified entity.

D. "Committee" means the natural lands protection committee established pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 75-5-4(A).

E. "Conservation easement" means a less than fee simple interest in land granted in perpetuity, which creates a legally enforceable land protection or preservation agreement that restricts or prohibits further subdivision and may restrict or prohibit development, commercial and industrial uses or other activities, or alteration of the land or any appurtenant water rights necessary to maintain or preserve certain conservation values (e.g., natural resource, wildlife habitat, scenic, open space, cultural, historic or recreational and educational) on the subject property. The fee simple ownership remains with the landowner and the landowner continues uses of the land that are consistent with the provisions of the easement with no requirement for public access although the landowner may allow such access.

F. "Conservation entity" means a private nonprofit charitable corporation or trust authorized to do business in New Mexico that has tax-exempt status as a public charity pursuant to the internal revenue code of 1986 and that has the power to acquire, hold or maintain land or interests in land.

G. "Conservation project" means the acquisition of conservation or agricultural easements from a willing seller or a land restoration project that protects the state's natural heritage, customs and culture through action that preserves and conserves water quality and quantity to conserve and restore natural ecosystem function and processes; protects agricultural production on working farms, ranches and other agricultural lands; protects and restores New Mexico's forests and watersheds; conserves and restores wildlife habitat; maintains natural areas; provides outdoor recreation opportunities, including hunting and fishing and trails; or preserves cultural and historic sites with natural resources heritage value.

H. "Department" means the energy, minerals and natural resources department.

I. "Fund" means the natural heritage conservation fund.

J. "In-kind" means property or services that benefit a grant-supported conservation project that are contributed without charge or at less than fair market value. In-kind contributions for purposes of land restoration projects may consist of the cost of operating equipment or equipment rental, goods or services, including labor, directly benefitting the land restoration project and specifically identifiable to the land restoration project. Labor costs included as in-kind shall be documented as reasonable and reference rates applicable to the local area and type of service. In-kind contributions for purposes of agricultural or conservation easements means the donation of interests in real property or the payment of transactional costs such as appraisals, environmental assessments, title insurance or surveys.

K. "Land restoration project" means actions intended to renew a degraded, damaged or destroyed natural land area and associated vegetation or water features through active intervention, where the action is founded upon science-based technical information and prediction of the intervention's outcome such that it stimulates or accelerates natural system health, integrity and sustainability toward a specified outcome. Restoration includes an array of actions including erosion control, reforestation, forest thinning, re-vegetation of disturbed sites, repair of aquatic systems, removal of non-native species of animals and plants and the related sustainable re-establishment of native species, re-establishment of extirpated native species, measures taken to restrict disturbance to areas of crucial habitat or to develop and restore more suitable habitat and improved outdoor recreation opportunities and overall habitat and range improvements for native species benefit. A project includes related assessment and monitoring to judge long-term effectiveness and determine and implement periodic corrective or additional actions needed to achieve objectives.

L. "Natural resource heritage value" means a vegetation community component, animal species assemblage or combination thereof; other naturally occurring representation of biological diversity; or esthetically appealing vistas of natural landscape that are significant or important.

M. "Partner" means a conservation entity or other individual or entity cooperating or assisting a qualified entity with planning, applying for and executing a conservation project, which is specifically identified in an application, and will be a participant in a public-private conservation project.

N. "Qualified entity" means a state agency, a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico, a political subdivision of the state; or, for conservation projects wholly within New Mexico, an Indian tribe or pueblo.

O. "Working farm, ranch or other agricultural land" means land that has been primarily devoted to active agricultural production for at least two of the five years immediately prior to consideration for an agricultural easement or other conservation project.