Rancher Alan Lackey and the New Mexico Wildlife Federation fought side by side to save the Valle Vidal in the Carson National Forest from oil and gas drilling.

But they are on opposite sides when it comes to a land trade involving private and state trust land around Whites Peak.

Lackey thinks the trade, meant to consolidate thousands of acres of private lands and state trust lands in the popular hunting area, is a good idea. "I think it is an equitable trade for everyone," said Lackey, a hunter and guide. "If I saw a net loss to the hunters, I would speak out about it. I'm a hunter, but I also support private property rights."

The sportsmen of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation think the trade benefits primarily the private landowners to the detriment of public access and hunting. "We've looked at the trades, and they are not a fair deal. They are a bad deal," said Jeremy Vesbach, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

Moreover, Vesbach said, Lackey has a financial interest in the trade. Lackey is running his cattle on the ranch of David Stanley, whose deal to trade some of his land for state trust land around Whites Peak recently closed. It was the first of four proposed land trades. "Lackey is not a disinterested party," Vesbach said.

Many hunters have opposed the Whites Peak trades openly and passionately. Gov. Bill Richardson and several state legislators, including Santa Fe's Brian Egolf, have said they think the trades proposed by Republican State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons needs closer scrutiny.

Lackey is the first hunter to publicly say the trade might be a good deal. But he's not the only one.

Pat Romero, a Santa Fe hunter, safety instructor and Santa Fe Farmers Market board member, said he thinks the trade will improve public access, benefiting hunters and other recreationists. He said his father, uncle and cousins have long hunted at Whites Peak for years. He's hunted there three times and took his son up there last year. "It's just so inaccessible. If it weren't for the ranchers giving us access, we wouldn't be able to get in there," Romero said. "I think it would be better with more open access."

Romero said his family sometimes drives way back into the remote parts around Whites Peak. He said maps show what is private or trust land. "As we get in there, we see areas where people have taken in trailers with (all-terrain vehicles). They park on private land, camp on private land. I don't know if they have permission. We saw fences that were plowed over and gates down."

Lackey concurs with Stanley that there are lots of problems with hunters trespassing on private land.

Vesbach and other hunters say those allegations are overblown and that the number of trespassers cited in the area have gone down, according to state Department of Game and Fish reports. Vesbach said the New Mexico Wildlife Federation has pushed for stiffer trespassing penalties. "We don't want to minimize the trespass issues, but we don't think there is as big a trespass problem as Lyons and the rancher say."

Chuck Sundt, part of the family that owns the CS Ranch west of Whites Peak and is planning a trade for state trust lands, said trespass has been an ongoing issue since the 1970s. Back then, Sundt guided hunts for the ranch. Old logging roads crisscrossed the ranch, providing access for invited guests and uninvited poachers, Sundt said.

"People back then and into today do not recognize private property rights," said Sundt, who lives in Silver City. "We couldn't keep up with the poachers. We would run into them on the road and get in confrontations with them. They figured they had the right to go anywhere they want to. They don't. It was posted."

Sundt said people from the surrounding communities trespassed regularly on the ranch. "They had probably come up there for generations and were probably used to trespassing on the private land at will," he said. "What aggravates me is they don't respect private property. They wouldn't like it if we went into their house or yard."

Consolidating the holdings "would be great. It is a lot better when you have a consolidated piece of property where the boundaries are well identified. It is better for the ranchers and better for the public lands," Sundt said.

Vesbach said no one disagrees that consolidating might be a good idea. But his group and other hunters from around Whites Peak think this trade isn't the right one.

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