This bill, the Buffalo Tract Protection Act, would withdraw about 4,288 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land near Placitas, New Mexico from mineral development. The land is shown as Tract A, Tract B, Tract C, and Tract D on a map dated November 13, 2019. The withdrawal applies to location, entry, and patent under the mining laws and to disposition under the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights. The Secretary of the Interior may convey the surface estate under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act or the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, but any such conveyance must reserve the mineral estate to the United States.
If you live near or use the Placitas area, the bill would block new mining claims, mineral leases, and related mineral development on the described 4,288 acres. The federal government could still transfer the surface land to others under existing programs, but it would keep the underground mineral rights.
No publicly available information on costs, budgetary effects, or federal spending is included in the bill text or provided metadata.
No publicly available information in the bill text or metadata describes proponents' statements or detailed reasons beyond the bill language and the named sponsors (Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Luján).
No publicly available information in the bill text or metadata describes opponents' statements or concerns.