This week on Report from Santa Fe, Lorene talks with Ray Powell, the Commissioner of Public Lands. They discuss the record amount of revenue generated by the Land Office in fiscal year 2012, totaling more than $650 Million for beneficiaries, and about some of the exciting projects being conducted on public lands in the State of New Mexico.

     They also talk about the Conservation Medicine program, an international initiative focusing on the health of the land, watershed, wildlife and disease reduction, which is currently being implemented. Powell describes some of the problems facing our public lands, from feral pigs to historical non-transparent land sales. Lastly, they delve into the exciting and innovative business parks on state lands attracting thousands of new jobs, and insuring that the money from those business parks goes back to our tax base and continues to support New Mexico.

QUOTES: “We set a record year $653 million dollars, about $130 million dollars more than we have earned before on these working trust lands. There are 13 million acres of land that we hold in trust for 22 beneficiaries. And that amounts to about $1200 per family of four that our families don't have to pay in additional taxes to support our public schools, our universities, our hospitals, our institutions like the Schools for the Visually Impaired and the School for the Deaf, Carrie Tingley hospital and our military institute. These are institutions that really make up the fabric of our state -- $653 million dollars from these working lands this year.”

“In Texas they have no public lands. You have to be rich in order to go out and enjoy the public, to go outside! In New Mexico, we have made sure that if you are a hunter or a fisher you can go out and use these lands. You don't have to be rich in order to love New Mexico and walk on New Mexico and I am absolutely determined that we are not going to have any more land thefts in New Mexico.”