Governance Resources

Spanish and Mexican community land grants-mercedes that are recognized as units of government under, the General Provisions found in §49-1-1 through §49-1-23, NMSA 1978, or in their own specific statute must comply with all relevant state laws. The New Mexico Land Grant Council is tasked with providing a program of support for community land grants-mercedes that includes supplying resources for governance capacity building. In fulfilling this mission the Land Grant Council has updated and printed the Land Grant Governance Guidebook  that can be found in its entirety under the guidebook tab on the right. In addition the Land Grant Council has dedicated this portion of its website to materials related to building the governance capacity of community land grants-mercedes. The tabs on the left correspond with the various sections in the Guidebook and each covers different aspects of land grant-merced governance and compliance with applicable laws. The tabs may be used to navigate between sections and each section contains information, sample documents, and links to other state government websites that are important for community land grants-mercedes.