Order will protect over 4,200 acres in Placitas

During a community event in Sandoval County Thursday, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7940, protecting more than 4,200 acres of Bureau of Land Management-managed public lands in the Placitas area.

The final mineral withdrawal protects, preserves and promotes the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values and wildlife habitat connectivity of the lands and the surrounding area. The lands will be closed to new mining claims, mineral sales and oil and gas leases for the next 50 years, subject to valid existing rights.

“Indigenous communities have called the Placitas area home since time immemorial, with evidence of their presence found from nearly every settlement period of the past 10,000 years,” said Haaland. “The site contains significant cultural ties to neighboring pueblos and provides outdoor recreation opportunities to the local community. I appreciate the work of so many people who came together to ensure that future generations will be able to continue to enjoy the beauty and unique values of these special lands.”

The order furthers President Joe Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative, which supports locally led and voluntary efforts to conserve, connect and restore lands and waters across the nation that sustain the health of communities, power local economies and help combat climate change.

The pueblos of San Felipe and Santa Ana have long sought protections for the Placitas area, which they consider ancestral and sacred lands. The site also provides close-to-home outdoor recreation opportunities and is popular for hiking, camping, sightseeing and hunting.

As a member of Congress, Haaland sponsored the Buffalo Tract Protection Act to protect the Placitas area. The legislation has also been reintroduced recently in the House and Senate.

The Interior Department first announced these proposed protections in September 2023, which began an initial 90-day public comment period that included a public meeting. A second 30-day comment period was held by the BLM in February 2024 to collect additional input from interested parties and affected stakeholders.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Interior announced that it would finalize a proposal to withdraw 4,000 acres of BLM lands in southern Sandoval County, including the Buffalo Tract and the Crest of Montezuma, from mineral development for 50 years:

“For over a decade, I’ve fought alongside New Mexicans to protect the Buffalo Tract from mining. Today, our hard work has paid off. The Biden Administration has listened to our calls and recognized that the Buffalo Tract is clearly the wrong place for a gravel mine,” Heinrich said. “The Buffalo Tract is a landscape that New Mexicans treasure. The environmental impact of mining it would be irreparable — to the pueblos of Santa Ana, the pueblo of San Felipe, the people of Placitas, and the Merced De Comunidad De San Antonio De Las Huertas land grant, and the wildlife that depend on the Crest of Montezuma corridor between the Sandia Mountains to the south and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the north.

“This finalized proposal by the administration will provide key protections for the Buffalo Tract for 50 years. Next, it’s time for Congress to pass my Buffalo Tract Protection Act to make these protections permanent.”

Rep. Melanie Stansbury also issued a statement after the announcement of protections for Buffalo Tract.

"Thank you President Biden and Secretary Deb Haaland for taking decisive action to protect Buffalo Tract in Sandoval County from oil and gas development for the next 50 years.

"The protection of New Mexico's land and water is integral to our cultures and ways of life, and today's announcement is another step forward in protecting our natural resources.

"I introduced the Buffalo Tract Protection Act with Sen. Heinrich to permanently protect this area,” Stansbury said. “I look forward to working with the secretary and the administration, local communities and the pueblos of San Felipe and Santa Ana to ensure the cultural, scenic, recreational and natural values of this sacred area are permanently protected from development."