10/02/2026
Before New Mexicans choose their next Commissioner of Public Lands, take a close look at the experience each candidate would bring to the job.
Michael Perry has already worked inside the New Mexico State Land Office.
As Assistant Commissioner for Field Operations, Michael worked on the responsibilities at the heart of the office,including state trust lands, watershed remediation, forest and range conservation, wildlife habitat, environmental issues, and agricultural leasing. Prior to that he had 20+years at the New Mexico Department of Game&Fish. He is a current Chaves County Commissioner who sit on the Public Lands Committee and owns Wildlife&Habitat Prescriptions, where he has physically worked on habitat and watershed management projects for 12 years for private land owners.
Juan Sanchez brings a very political background with a bachelors in political science, and multiple political positions with both the Democratic Party of New Mexico and Senator Martin Heinrich, and he briefly worked for the army corps of engineers as a natural resource specialist.
That is a meaningful difference between these two resumes.
Michael isn’t asking New Mexicans to trust that he can learn how the State Land Office works after taking office. He has already served there.
