More Local

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
• Former Marine to serve two years in jail for killing Albuquerque robber
• Wilson-Pearce battle for U.S. Senate exemplifies party's disparity

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Albuquerque Old Town
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES — New Mexico's spaceport has leased 18,000 acres for the commercial venture and signed agreements that will ban any development that will interfere with the spaceport.

Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans, chairman of the New Mexico Space Authority, said the agreements that the authority signed Thursday with the state Land Office, Sierra County and two ranching families allow the state to proceed with planning for Spaceport America.

The agreements provide fair compensation for the ranchers and the Land Office and prohibit mineral exploration, road development or commercial development that could impede the spaceport's operation, Homans said.

The 25-year agreements include options to renew.

The spaceport is being built in Sierra County near the Upham exit off I-25 north of Las Cruces. Gov. Bill Richardson has touted the estimated $225 million spaceport as a way to develop a space industry in New Mexico.

The agreement with the Land Office calls for a $25,000-a-year lease for the land, which will be raised by 3 percent annually until the 15th year, when the rent will be negotiated. The office also will receive $1,000 annual payments to defer its right to develop minerals, build roads or grant easements that might impair the spaceport's operation.

Land Commissioner Pat Lyons said he views the lease as a partnership that puts New Mexico on the ground floor of a new industry.

The agreements with the Bar Cross and Lewis Cain ranches allow the spaceport and the ranching operations to coexist. The agreements also provide for a way for the spaceport to buy out the ranchers if it's determined the spaceport had harmed the viability of the ranches anytime after the first 12 years.

The two ranch families each will receive $637,500 to compensate for the impact on their ranches, plus $12,500 a year for ongoing impacts and an annual $75,000 fee that will compensate them for evacuating their property when necessary.

The authority also will set up a $750,000 fund to pay for any relocation of structures such as water facilities or cattle pens.

The agreement with the county makes the authority the managing lessee.

A California-based company, DMJM Aviation/AECOM, was chosen in June to design and engineer the facility. A request for proposals said the spaceport would include at least one runway, hangars, a control building, launch pads, fuel storage facilities, roads and utilities.

In September, a Connecticut company launched a rocket from the fledgling site. In addition, British tycoon Richard Branson plans for his company, Virgin Galactic, to launch tourists on suborbital flights from there.