Land swap angers hunters, governor

Hunters are ticked off and so is the governor as the State Land Office pushes a trade that would turn a chunk of pristine mountain wilderness over to private ranchers. Hunters think they'll be left out, and Gov. Bill Richardson issued a statement Friday calling the swap a "behind-the-scenes deal" that lack transparency and public input. Officials with the land office say that's just not true. It's a fight over elk, antelope and the land on which they live on around White Peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Right now the land is a checkerboard of state and private property. Henington said it's cheaper to maintain state trust acreage if it's all together and that the land it's acquiring could be more profitable. "There's nothing else that we do but generate revenue for our beneficiaries," he said. The beneficiaries are schools across the state that use the money generated by energy production, agriculture and hunting license fees...read more