Four Democratic members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation on Tuesday announced they have reintroduced the Pecos Watershed Protect Act. A news release from U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, cited Source New Mexico’s reporting on Monday that the Trump administration is reversing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service’sdecisionto protect the Upper Pecos Watershed from new mining operations.
The move came several weeks after the agency canceled a Feb. 17 public hearingon the administrative process to remove that area from new mining for 20 years, which the Biden Administration had pursued in the final weeks in office. Atemporary pauseon mining had been in place since December.
A statement from Leger Fernández, U.S. Melanie Stansbury from the 1st Congressional District and U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján called the Trump administrations decision to reverse the withdrawal “disturbing and insulting, especially after they canceled the only public meeting on the proposal. This is a rural community that overwhelmingly supports protecting the Pecos River. The Trump administration just blatantly disregarded that, and the value of the Pecos River with it.”
The Pecos Watershed Protection Act would permanently withdraw all federally managed minerals in the watershed from development — preventing the leasing, patent, or sale of all publicly owned minerals. The bill has been introduced in every Congress since 2020.
The area is home to the Terrero Mining disaster from 1991, during which floodwaters breached a defunct mine and sent mining tailing sludge downriver. The spill killed tens of thousands of fish and cleanup continues to this day.
New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richardin Marchsigned anexecutive orderbanning mineral mining on approximately 2,500 acres of state trust land in the Upper Pecos Watershed that will remain in place through 2045.
On Tuesday, Garcia Richard issued a statement following the delegation’s announcement that noted, “Some landscapes are just too special to permanently scar with development, and the Upper Pecos Watershed is one of those places. The region has provided sustenance and cultural enrichment for some of New Mexico’s Indigenous and Hispanic communities for centuries. While it’s not surprising that the Trump administration is ignoring the wishes and concerns of local communities and plowing ahead with aggressive development, it is deeply disappointing.”
The Village of Pecos, Santa Fe CountyandSan Miguel County have passed resolutions in support of the federal legislation protecting the area.
“The decision to cancel the proposed mineral withdrawal in the Upper Pecos Watershed is deeply disappointing,” Telesfor Benavidez, Mayor of Pecos, said in a statement on Tuesday. “It ignores the voices of our community members, who have spoken loud and clear in support of protecting our land, water, and way of life. I want to sincerely thank Senators Heinrich and Luján, as well as Representatives Leger Fernández and Stansbury, for standing with us by reintroducing the Pecos Watershed Protection Act. We may have taken a step back, but we’re not backing down. Our fight to protect the Pecos is far from over—we will continue to defend this watershed for future generations.”
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