The Biden administration’s decision this week to withdraw thousands of acres of federal public lands from development came as a welcome surprise to residents of Placitas, Bernalillo and local communities who have advocated White House or congressional action to protect the historic Buffalo Tract area from mining.
The administration’s announcement was important enough to earn a press event in Placitas from US Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo member and former New Mexico congresswoman. But administrative rules can be changed by future presidents and secretaries unless Congress acts to make those protections permanent.
US Senator Martin Heinrich (D) is one of Congress’ strongest voices for public lands preservation. Alongside numerous local pueblos and local members of Congress including Ben Ray Luján (now a US Senator), Melanie Stansbury and Haaland, has pushed for permanent protections for the Buffalo Tract through legislation.
“For over a decade, I’ve fought alongside New Mexicans to protect the Buffalo Tract from mining,” Heinrich said this week. “Today, our hard work has paid off. The Biden administration has listened to our calls and recognized that the Buffalo Tract is clearly the wrong place for a gravel mine.
“The Buffalo Tract is a landscape that New Mexicans treasure. The environmental impact of mining it would be irreparable — to the Pueblos of Santa Ana, the Pueblo of San Felipe, the people of Placitas, and the Merced De Comunidad De San Antonio De Las Huertas land grant, and the wildlife that depend on the Crest of Montezuma corridor between the Sandia Mountains to the south and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the north.
“This finalized proposal by the administration will provide key protections for the Buffalo Tract for 50 years. Next, it’s time for Congress to pass my Buffalo Tract Protection Act to make these protections permanent.”
This week’s announcement follows years of advocacy by Heinrich to protect the Buffalo Tract permanently from mineral development, dating back to the introduction of his Buffalo Tract Protection Act in 2016, his office says. A timeline of Heinrich’s work can be found below:
- September 2023: Heinrich issues statement welcoming the Biden administration’s proposal that comes after his efforts with Pueblos and local community efforts to protect the Buffalo Tract.
- March 2023: Heinrich, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) call on Interior Department to withdraw Buffalo Tract from mineral development during community event.
- February 2023: Heinrich reintroduces the Buffalo Tract Protection Act, legislation to permanently withdraw four parcels of BLM lands in southern Sandoval County, including the Buffalo Tract and the Crest of Montezuma, from any mineral development, including gravel mining.
- This legislation advanced out of Committee in May 17th, 2023.
- May 2022: Heinrich, Stansbury lead a letter requesting that the U.S. Department of Interior administratively withdraw over 4,200 acres of BLM land near Placitas, New Mexico from mineral development.
- November 2021: Heinrich’s Buffalo Tract Protection Act passes out of committee.
- October 2021: Heinrich’s Buffalo Tract Protection Act gains support of BLM in key hearing.
- February 2021: Heinrich, Senator Ben Ray Luján reintroduce Buffalo Tract Protection Act.
- February 2019: Heinrich, Senator Tom Udall reintroduce Buffalo Tract Protection Act.
- July 2016: Heinrich, Udall introduce Buffalo Tract Protection Act.
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Haaland Visits Placitas to Commemorate Historic Public Lands Protection
