New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Notes to Decisions
Generally.
U.S. Const. art. 4, § 3, which provides that Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all legal rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States, not only vests in Congress the right to sell the lands belonging to the United States, but also to lease the same; thus, a lease by the President, under regulations provided by Congress authorizing him to dispose of the lands of the United States, was held valid. State ex rel. Otto v. Field, 31 N.M. 120, 241 P. 1027, 1925 N.M. LEXIS 58, 1925 N.M. LEXIS 59 (N.M. 1925).
Construction with other law.
Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros Act, 16 U.S.C.S, §§ 1331-1340, does not establish exclusive federal jurisdiction over the public lands in New Mexico; it merely overrides the New Mexico Estray Law, former 47-14-1, 1953 Comp. (now 77-13-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.), insofar as it attempts to regulate federally protected animals. That is the necessary consequence of valid legislation under the Property Clause, U.S. Const. art IV § 3. Kleppe v. New Mexico, 426 U.S. 529, 96 S. Ct. 2285, 49 L. Ed. 2d 34, 1976 U.S. LEXIS 124 (U.S. 1976).
Research References and Practice Aids
New Mexico Law Review.
Note: Leaving Wildlife Out of National Wildlife Refuges: The Irony of Wyoming v. United States, Stanley Fields, 34 N.M. L. Rev. 217 (2004).