New Mexico Wild has submitted a protest on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed Final Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Rio Puerco Field Office. Once finalized, this new land use plan will replace the outdated 1986 plan and guide management of the area for at least 15-20 years.
The Rio Puerco planning area contains exceptional wilderness-quality lands, important wildlife habitat, cultural resources, and outstanding opportunities for quiet recreation. Throughout the planning process, New Mexico Wild advocated for the BLM to protect these resources and special places including the Petaca Pinta area, Cabezon Peak, and the San Juan Badlands. The proposed Final RMP acknowledges many of these resources, designates Areas of Critical Environmental Concern for unique and sensitive areas, and provides an opportunity for the BLM to protect our public lands for the enjoyment and support of future generations.
Our protest focused on the protection of wilderness-quality lands. In addition to offering opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, these intact natural landscapes protect wildlife, habitat, plant communities, cultural resources, and healthy water, soils, and air. Despite these benefits, the BLM has proposed to protect only two-thirds of the identified lands with wilderness characteristics and to open the remaining acres to other uses, including cross-country motorized travel. Key recommendations in our submitted protest include:
- Protecting all 37,514 acres of lands with wilderness characteristics identified by BLM;
- Designating lands with wilderness characteristics as closed to motorized travel and preventing illegal and unmanaged cross-country travel into these areas; and
- Continuing to inventory wilderness-quality lands to ensure that our remaining intact landscapes are not lost to development and fragmentation.
The protest highlights that lands with wilderness characteristics identified by BLM comprise just five percent of the surface acreage managed by the Rio Puerco Field Office. All of these lands should be managed to protect their wilderness characteristics.
New Mexico Wild will continue to be actively involved as the Rio Puerco Field Office finalizes and implements a new plan, working to ensure the exceptional natural and cultural values of the area are preserved for future generations. Read our full protest here.
