Submit a public comment to the BLM by June 20th through our allies at Act Now for Public Lands. Consider using these talking points when you submit your comment.
- 82 percent of voters in the Rocky Mountain West support a national goal of conserving America’s lands and waters in the next decade, including over 2/3 of conservative GOP voters. (2023 Colorado Rockies State of the West Poll) Now is the time to get this done
- The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 245 million acres of public lands, including 13.5 million acres in New Mexico
- New Mexicans value our public lands, which provide clean drinking water and fresh air, support healthy natural areas for wildlife, provide public access to nature, encompass iconic landscapes that drive our tourism and outdoor recreation economy, and safeguard innumerable cultural landscapes and sites valued by Indigenous and other communities
- Protecting and restoring healthy BLM lands will become even more important in the future, as communities across New Mexico continue to experience climate-related impacts such as drought, wildfire, and the loss of nature
- The BLM’s focus on resource extraction above other uses is inconsistent with federal law, which requires the BLM to manage public lands in manner that will protect the quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and water, archeological, fish and wildlife, and recreation values for current and future generations
- The oil company lobbyists, ranchers and others who oppose the BLM Conservation Rule agree that balance is the initiative’s purpose – they just don’t want to have to compete on that basis, even though that’s the law
- BLM should strengthen the proposed rule to help ensure a sustainable future for New Mexico’s water supplies, wildlife, and the way of life that makes our state unique
- The draft rule emphasizes the importance of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs). The BLM needs to strengthen the Rule’s ACEC provisions. In particular, the rule should clarify that the BLM must designate as an ACEC and provide special management attention to any area that possesses relevant and important values or resources
- The final rule should require the BLM to consult with Pueblos and Tribes to solicit priority areas for conservation and to seek opportunities for co-stewardship