Advocacy groups schedule gathering on Pecos mining ban

An undated photo of angler fishing in the Pecos River. The federal government issued a temporary ban of all new mining claims and leases on 165,000 acres of Upper Pecos watershed, but recently canceled a public hearing. (Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)

Community members plan to meet on Wednesday to discuss a proposal to exempt 165,000 acres of the Pecos headwaters from mining, following the cancellation last week of a federal hearing on the proposal.

In December, U.S. Department of Interior officials announced a temporary pause on new mining claims and leases on 164,000 acres of federal lands and started the administrative process to remove that area from new mining for 20 years, which requires a 90-day public hearing period, including meetings.

Now, under the new Trump administration, it’s unclear what will happen to the Upper Pecos’ proposed mining ban, but the president has said he wants to promote mining and oil and gas development on public lands.

In a Feb. 19 press release, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management neither gave a specific reason for postponing the hearing, nor said when the agency would announce a new meeting. Darren Scott, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management, acknowledged Source NM’s emailed request, but did not provide comment by press time.

The agency is still accepting written comments on the matter until March 17, 2025.

Members of the Stop Terrero Mine Coalition, which includes agriculture, local and tribal governments, conservation and hunting groups opposing further development in the Upper Pecos, plan to host a meeting nonetheless. This one with enchiladas.

The meeting will offer residents a chance to learn about the process, and submit written comments, said Ralph Vigil, a parciante of the Acequia del Molino and local farmer living in Pecos who joined the Stop Terrero Mine effort in 2020.

“We are working to protect the watershed so that our youth can continue to carry on in our future generations as stewards of that water and land,” Vigil said. “If we’re removed from that, then Pecos will be nothing more than just another mining town.”

Vigil cited the impact of the 1991 Terrero Mine spill from a defunct mine that killed fish along 11 miles in the Pecos River, when he was in middle school.

“We understand mining is necessary because of  how we live, but there’s certain places that are too sensitive, too critical that the domino-effect will be too devastating if it happens again,” Vigil said.

Cleaning up the spill has cost tens of millions of dollars and remains ongoing. The New Mexico Environment Department requested $5.7 million from the Legislature for cleanup costs just this year.

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, whose 3rd Congressional District includes Pecos, called for an immediate response from the agency.

“The Bureau of Land Management must reschedule this public meeting immediately,” Leger Fernández said in a written statement. “New Mexicans have a right to make their voices heard about the future of the Upper Pecos Watershed.”

She said the Trump Administration’s executive order directing a review of mining exemptions is partially to blame.

“Trump’s executive order directing a review of all withdrawals has created confusion and delays that threaten critical protections like this one,” Leger Fernández said. “We cannot allow his administration to undermine the will of New Mexicans who have fought for years to safeguard the Upper Pecos from mining pollution.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) urged residents to submit written public comments.

“The Trump Administration pulling down a previously scheduled meeting to discuss this proposal without any explanation is disturbing and insulting,” Heinrich said in a written statement. “I’m calling on the BLM and Forest Service to immediately reschedule this meeting, and I encourage New Mexicans to keep speaking up by submitting written comments online while the public comment period remains open.”

Administrative protections for mining development can last decades, but are not permanent.

A permanent ban on mining development requires full congressional approval. A bill to do just that in the Upper Pecos was introduced by members of the New Mexico delegation last year; the legislation passed out of a Senate committee but failed to advance any further.

The pause doesn’t impact already existing mining claims, but it adds another step for mining companies with rights to get approval – called a validity exam. An Australian mining company, New World Resources, has proposed exploratory drilling in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, including at the old Terrero mine and nearby deposits.

Vigil said the public hearing’s cancellation is disheartening.

“Seems like it’s going to be a lot more difficult, for the next four years at least, to get any permanent or administrative protections,” Vigil said. “But we’re going to continue to voice our concerns and our support for protecting the Pecos and hopefully show D.C. that this isn’t the place to be mining.”