§ 77-15-5 — [State rodent inspector; salary; destruction of prairie dogs;

cost; interfering with inspector; penalty.] A state rodent inspector shall be appointed by the president of the New Mexico college of agriculture and mechanic arts [New Mexico state university], such appointment to be made from a list of names furnished by the bureau of biological survey; said state rodent inspector shall be at all times subject to and under the direction of the bureau of biological survey. He shall be paid a salary not exceeding one hundred fifty dollars [($150)] per month and actual and necessary traveling expenses while performing the duties of his office; such salary and expenses to be paid out of said rodent pest fund in the manner provided in Section 3 [77-15-3 NMSA 1978] of this act. In case any owner of land infested by prairie dogs shall fail, after written notice from the state rodent inspector served upon such owner in person or mailed to his last known post-office address, to destroy the prairie dogs in such infested areas or to enter into a cooperative agreement as provided by the preceding section to have the same destroyed, or in case the owner is unknown to the county assessor, it shall be the duty of the state rodent inspector, or some member of the cooperative force designated by him, and such inspector or member of said force is hereby authorized, to enter upon said lands and to destroy the prairie dogs therein at the expense of the owner of said lands; which expense shall be a lien upon said lands; provided, that such expense chargeable to the owner or against land of unknown owners shall not exceed ten cents [($.10)] per acre for the infested areas; provided further, that in case any tract of land not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres actually owned and occupied as a home by a citizen of this state is infested with prairie dogs and such owner can show to the satisfaction of the state rodent inspector or assistant in charge of the work that he or she is financially unable to pay the cost of destroying the prairie dogs therein, such cost shall be borne by the state and paid out of the rodent pest repression fund. The state rodent inspector, or the person so designated by him, shall keep an itemized account of the actual expense of materials and labor and necessary traveling or other expense in connection with destroying the rodent pests upon any such lands under such cooperative agreement, or of destroying such prairie dogs in the absence of such agreement, and if the owner shall fail to pay the same within thirty days after notice to him in person or by mail to his last known post-office address, the amount of such costs and expenses, not exceeding ten cents [($.10)] per acre, shall be certified to the county assessor of the county in which such lands are situate, together with an accurate description of the land by government subdivisions or other descriptions sufficient to identify the same, and a statement of the number of acres of said land so infested and treated. It shall be the duty of the county commissioners of said county at the time and in the manner for levying other taxes, to make a special levy upon the lands so described sufficient to pay the amount of such costs and expenses, not exceeding ten cents [($.10)] per acre, of such infested land, together with a penalty of five percent and interest at the rate of one per centum per month from the date of such certificate, which tax shall be entered upon the assessment roll assessed against the owner of said lands, or assessed to unknown owners, as the case may be, and shall be collected at the time and in the manner provided for the collection of other taxes upon said tax roll, and transmitted to the state treasurer without the deduction of any percentage thereof and credited to the state rodent pest fund. Should there be any land infested with prairie dogs in any county, the owner of which land is unknown, and such land is assessed in such county against unknown owners upon the tax roll for the then current year, it shall be the duty of the state rodent inspector to cause the prairie dogs therein to be destroyed, and the expense thereof, not exceeding ten cents [($.10)] per acre of infested areas, shall be certified to the county commissioners, levied upon said land and assessed, collected and paid into the state treasury to the credit of the rodent fund as hereinbefore provided. Any person who shall interfere with the said rodent inspector in the discharge of his duties as herein provided shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred [($100)] nor more than five hundred dollars [($500)] for each offense; provided, that in case of any small tract of land not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in extent, actually occupied as a home by any resident of the state of New Mexico, who is able to show to the satisfaction of the state rodent inspector or assistant of the biological survey, in charge of said work, that he or she is not financially able to pay the costs of clearing said land of the prairie dogs therein, such cost shall be borne by the state and paid out of said rodent pest repression fund.

Legislative History

Laws 1919, ch. 119, § 5; C.S. 1929, § 4-1305; 1941 Comp., § 49-1705; 1953