The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday granted an emergency petition by the state Attorney General's Office to temporarily halt ongoing swaps of state trust land for private land around White Peak in northwestern New Mexico while the high court considers legal arguments.

The State Land Office said if the court ultimately rules in the Attorney General's favor it could throw into doubt other land swaps over the years that followed the same process.

Land Commissioner Pat Lyons and Brian Henington, assistant director of public land resources, said they adhered to a process used in land trades for decades by the State Land Office.

"We have followed every requirement that we are supposed to, just like every other commissioner who has done a land exchange in the history of the land office," Henington said.

Attorney General Gary King said in asking the Supreme Court to grant an emergency stay that the White Peak land trades violate state law and called the bidding process unconstitutional.

The area, sometimes called Whites Peak by the State Land Office and hunters, is known officially as White Peak by the Attorney General's Office and official U.S. Geological Survey maps. It has for decades been a flashpoint of controversy between private landowners, hunters, residents of the area and the State Land Office. Land ownership in the area is a checkerboard of state trust land and private land.

State trust lands offered for sale must be publicly auctioned. Bids can be sought for cash or private land in exchange for state trust lands. The State Land Office said the auction laws were followed for more than 10,600 acres of state trust land last fall in the White Peak area.

The first two auctions of White Peak state trust lands had only one bidder each — the private ranchers willing to exchange some of their private land. David Stanley's exchange of 3,330 acres of private land for 7,205 acres of trust land has closed, but the transaction could be vacated if the Supreme Court agrees with the attorney general.

The UU Bar Ranch's proposed exchange of 3,610 acres of private land for 3,431 acres of public land has not yet closed and is on hold until the Supreme Court makes a decision.

Henington said private property owners such as Stanley and the UU Bar Ranch propose land exchanges. If the State Land Office is willing, the private property owners pay for an appraisal. The State Land Office chooses the appraiser. Then the state trust land is put on the public auction block. If no one else walks in with a higher offer, then the private property owner moves forward with an exchange.

Two more land trades around White Peak are pending.

But people who have hunted and used state trust lands around White Peak for decades say the White Peak deal needed more public scrutiny and input before the auctions. They have held rallies at the state Capitol and in front of the State Land Office asking for the trades to be halted. They insist the trade will take away some of the best hunting lands.

In the petition, the Attorney General's Office says, "The undisputed facts make clear that, notwithstanding the public auction requirement, the Land Commissioner made a predetermination to exchange specific and substantial portions of State Trust Lands with two specific private parties. The Commissioner then narrowly tailored the 'public auction' process to effectively guarantee this result. In so doing, he rendered the constitutional requirement for a public auction into a meaningless formality."

Phil Sisneros, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said it is unusual for one elected agency to sue another. "This is something we did not take lightly at all," Sisneros said. "That's why we went to the Supreme Court, because of the time constraints."

Lyons has repeatedly defended the trades, saying they will consolidate trust lands around White Peak, making it easier to manage for quality game hunts, and will provide new public access roads. Stanley said his trade to the State Land Office includes new water sources such as a creek and ponds.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.