Source New Mexico: Federal reversal on Pecos mining protections prompts outcry from federal officials, advocates

Members of the New Mexico delegation in recent years have introduced several bills to permanently ban mining development in the Upper Pecos. The Village of Pecos, Santa Fe County and San Miguel County have all passed resolutions in support of the legislation, and New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard last year signed an executive order banning mineral mining on approximately 2,500 acres of state trust land in the Upper Pecos Watershed that will remain in place through 2045.

All five members of New Mexico's all-Democratic congressional delegation in a joint statement Tuesday decried the Forest Service and BLM announcement, saying the decision "blatantly disregards" efforts by residents and local and federal government officials to protect the sensitive watershed.

"This administration is once again choosing profit over our shared heritage," the statement said. "This decision is a direct threat to New Mexico's waters, cultural identity, and way of life, and it blatantly disregards the voices of those who depend on them."

The federal government's about-face is a "heartbreaker," Garrett VeneKlasen, northern conservation director at the nonprofit New Mexico Wild, told SourceNM.

"The will of the people was truly unanimous about protecting the Pecos," VeneKlasen said. "This administration clearly doesn't care what local communities think - that's more than tragic, it's undemocratic."

VeneKlasen said the decision opens pathways for foreign mining companies, such as Australian-owned New World Resources, to drill in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, which he said could threaten the Pecos and Santa Fe rivers.

"This decision is not the end," VeneKlasen said. "We will fight tooth and nail to defend that place. I hope that civil disobedience isn't required, but I think we're willing to do everything and anything to protect it."