Sale of Public Land In Socorro County, NM

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Interior.

Notice of realty action.

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The BLM announces the following described parcels of public land have been examined and identified as suitable for disposal by sale under section 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 (90 Stat. 2750; 43 U.S.C. 1713) at no less than the appraised fair market value shown. The parcels are isolated, difficult and uneconomical to manage as part of the public land system, and are not suitable for management by another Federal department or agency. The sale is consistent with the BLM's planning efforts, and the public interest will be served by offering this land for sale.

Sale Method

Parcels 1 and 2 will be offered for sale using competitive bidding procedures (43 CFR 2711.3-1) as described below. Parcels 3, 4 and 5 will be offered to the listed parties through direct sale procedures not less than 60 days from publication of this notice (43 CFR 2711.3- 3).

Parcel Information [Legal description, NMPM] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appraised Parcel No. Serial NMNM Township Rge. Sec. Lot Acres value Method of sale -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1................................. 69950 4S 1E 18 21 5.78 $5,780 Competitive. 2................................. 69955 4S 1E 33 17 17.20 8,600 Competitive. 3................................. 66330 2S 1E 31 11 2.76 6,900 Direct to Connie Gonzales, et al. 4................................. 75579 5S 1E 4 40 16.92 1,690 Direct to Cleto Vasquez. 5................................. 75580 5S 1E 4 41 16.93 1,690 Direct to Esquipula Vigil, Jr. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Competitive Bidding Procedures

The sale of Parcels 1 and 2 will be by competitive sealed bids followed by oral bidding. Sealed bids will be accepted in the Socorro Resource Area Office, 198 Neel Avenue, NW, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, until 10 a.m. on January 15, 1997, the day of the sale. Oral bids will be accepted commencing at 10:15 a.m. following the opening of all sealed bids, at the same place on the same sale date. Sealed bids of less than the appraised fair market value will be rejected. The apparent highest qualified sealed bid will be publicly declared by the Authorized Officer. The apparent highest qualified sealed bid will then become the starting point for the oral bidding. If no apparent qualified sealed bids are received, the oral bidding will start at the appraised fair market value. In the absence of oral bids, the apparent highest qualified sealed bid will establish the sale price for that parcel. In the event that two or more sealed bids are received containing valid bids of the same amount for the same parcel, and no higher oral bid is received for that parcel, the determination of which is to be considered the highest designated bid will be by supplemental bidding. In such a case, the high bidders will be allowed to submit oral or sealed bids as designated by the Authorized Officer. After oral bids are received, the highest qualifying bid, whether sealed or oral, shall be declared by the Authorized Officer. Bidders must be 18 years of age or over and United States citizens, and corporations must be subject to the laws of any state or the United States. Apparent high bidders must submit proof of these requirements within 15 days after the sale date. Bids must be made by the principal or his duly qualified agent. Each sealed bid must be written or typed and accompanied by postal money order, bank draft, or cashier's check made payable to the Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, for not less than 10 percent or more than 30 percent of the amount of the bid. The sealed bid envelope containing the bid and the required amount must be marked in the lower left-hand corner as follows:

Public Sale Bid Parcel No.---------------------------------------------

Serial No.-------------------------------------------------------------

Sale Date--------------------------------------------------------------

Date of Bid Submission-------------------------------------------------

Each successful oral bidder will be required to pay not less than 20 percent of the amount of the bid immediately following the sale. Payment must be by cash, personal check, bank draft, money order, or any combination of these. Successful bidders, whether such bid is oral or sealed, will be required to pay the remainder of the sale price prior to expiration of 180 days from the date of the sale. Failure to submit the full sale price within the above specified time limit will result in cancellation of the sale of the specific parcel and the deposit will be forfeited and disposed as other receipts of sale. All sealed bids will be either returned, accepted, or rejected within 30 days of the sale date. In the event that the Authorized Officer rejects the highest qualified bid for any of the above parcels, or releases

the bidder from it, the Authorized Officer shall determine whether the public land shall be withdrawn from the market or reoffered.

Unsold Parcels

If parcels 1 or 2 are unsold on January 15, 1997, they will be reoffered by competitive bidding procedures in a second sale to be held February 20, 1997. If parcels 3, 4, or 5 are unsold to the listed parties by close of business February 7, 1997, they will be offered by competitive bidding on the second sale date of February 20, 1997. Competitive bidding procedures for unsold parcels will be as described above. Sealed bids for unsold parcels will be accepted until 10:00 a.m. on February 20, 1997, followed by oral bidding commencing at 10:15 a.m. after opening of all sealed bids.

Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions applicable to the sale are: 1. The patents or conveyance documents, when and if issued, will contain a reservation to the United States for ditches and canals. 2. All minerals will be reserved to the United States together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the minerals. 3. All patents or conveyance documents will be issued subject to existing access road rights-of-way and easements. 4. On parcels 3, 4, and 5, the lands lie within a 100-year floodplain and the patents or conveyance documents will contain land use restrictions as required by Executive Order 11988. 5. On parcels 4 and 5, the lands lie within a wetland area and the patent will contain wetland restrictions in accordance with Solicitor's opinion BLM SA 0057. 6. On parcel 1, the patent will be issued subject to those rights for waterline, access road and water berm purposes as have been granted to Calvin and Liz Cryer and Joe and Laura Lopez by right-of-way NMNM 83794. 7. On parcels 2, 3, 4, and 5, the purchasers of the land will acquire the property realizing that legal access to the property is lacking.

Interested parties may submit comments regarding the proposed action to the Socorro Resource Area Manager by December 2, 1996.

Comments should be sent to the BLM, Socorro Resource Area Office, 198 Neel Avenue, NW, Socorro, NM 87801.

Chella Herrera or Jon Hertz at (505) 835-0412.