This Act would create two protected areas near Caja del Rio: a 67,163-acre "Special Management Area" in the Santa Fe National Forest (managed by the Forest Service) and a 17,837-acre "National Conservation Area" on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land (managed by the Department of the Interior). Both areas are set aside to conserve cultural, spiritual, scenic, ecological, wildlife, geological, historical, and traditional values. The bill requires the relevant Secretary to prepare management plans (generally within 3 years) and travel management rules to limit motorized access. It withdraws covered federal lands from new mining, leasing, and most public-land disposals, and it directs the decommissioning of undesignated roads within 3 years. The bill allows continued grazing as established before enactment, permits ecological restoration and wildfire or pest control activities, and allows the Secretaries to acquire land by donation, purchase from willing sellers, or exchange. The bill also authorizes the Secretary to seek a land exchange with the New Mexico State Land Office, protects tribal access and cultural uses, allows tribal contracting for management tasks, and exempts Indigenous knowledge and sacred-site locations from public disclosure and FOIA. Existing water rights and existing drinking water infrastructure rights are preserved.
No publicly available information.
The bill states its purpose is to conserve and permanently protect cultural, spiritual, religious, scenic, ecological, wildlife habitat, natural, geological, historical, and traditional values of the designated areas. It also aims to enhance opportunities for interested Indian Tribes to help preserve and manage those lands, to incorporate Indigenous knowledge when requested, and to allow tribal contracting and access for traditional uses.
No publicly available information.