NEW MEXICO (AP) -- ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - The Bureau of Land Management has acquired nearly 7,500 acres of private ranch land in southeastern New Mexico to protect habitat for the lesser prairie chicken.
The land is within 58,000 acres that have been set aside as an area of critical environmental concern for the prairie chicken. The bird is a candidate for listing on the federal endangered species list.
The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit group, negotiated the land purchase. A BLM official says the property was valued at about $1.2 million.
When the sale was finalized Wednesday, the group sold it to the BLM. The agency received funding from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to complete the transaction.
BLM state director Linda Rundell says the acquisition marks a major milestone in protecting the bird.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
