Transfer of more than 10,000 acres of land and about 30 buildings at the Southwestern Sheep Breeding Laboratory, Fort Wingate, N. Mex., from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton.
The realty transaction is the final step in a transfer of administrative responsibilities which took place nearly three years ago. On August 1, 1953, actual operation of the Sheep Breeding laboratory, originally established in1935 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was taken over by the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Industry. However, since the land and buildings could not be transferred pending a review and authorization by the General Services Administration, they were made available to the Bureau of Animal Industry at that time merely through a revocable permit.
Authorization for actual transfer of the land and buildings to the Department of Agriculture was recently given oy the Denver, Colorado, regional office of the General Services Administration.
