Last weekend, as our deadline for the Signpost was upon us, we scheduled a community meeting to occur prior to the BLM’s community meeting regarding the proposed administrative withdrawal to protect the Buffalo Tract, the Crest of Montezuma and two small parcels in Placitas. Several calls later and believing that support for this administrative action runs all the way from Washington DC to the local level, we decided it is preferable to hold such a meeting after the BLM’s November 14 meeting when we know what opposition there is to the proposal. The end result is that there will be no October 17th meeting at the library. The need for such a meeting will be reassessed following the BLM meeting on November 14.
What can you do?
1. Read the congressional testimony presented to the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on behalf of the community of Placitas, the Land Use Protection Trust, Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ES-CA) and Las Placitas Association (LPA) —which can be found under Projects-Gravel and/or News at lasplacitas.org. There are other documents of interest on the website, but this is an excellent summary of the impacts of expanded gravel mining on public health and the environment, our economy and important wildlife corridors.
2. Attend the BLM’s meeting at the Placitas Community Library on November 14, 5:30 -6:30 p.m. armed with the information you need to ask the right questions.
3. Submit your comments before December 19, 2023. Only written comments will be accepted during the 90-day comment period. Mail your comments to the attention of “Placitas Withdrawal” at the BLM Rio Puerco Field Office, 100 Sun Avenue, Suite 300, Albuquerque, NM 87109. Your comments can be brief and should be in your own words. A single, well-supported comment may carry more weight than a thousand form letters. It should include at least:
a. Your name, address, phone number and email.
b. The title of the action you are commenting on (Placitas Withdrawal).
c. Your interest in the action and who you represent
d. What you want/don’t want the agency to do (one or two sentences)
e. Cite specifics if possible, found in the testimony documents to state your opinion why or why not this withdrawal is important to you
f. Be polite and sincere