New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Bear Creek
BLM found a natural system and a natural process here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place at least 4 active mining claims inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 1,483 acres and was designated December 1, 1993, in the Mimbres Resource Management Plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
Who holds the claims
At least 4 claims sit inside this line: 4 active, 4 with a claimant BLM withholds under the Privacy Act. BLM lists 4 as Active.
- Names withheld by BLM (private individuals)4claims
BLM's mining rules list designated ACECs among the places where mining that disturbs the surface beyond casual use needs a plan of operations BLM approves. Exploration of five acres or less can go ahead on a notice instead.
Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Stone Canyon Lease14,166acres
- Bear Creek Lease9,027acres
The nearest areas
- Gila Middle BoxNew Mexico · 841 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it19miles
- Apache BoxNew Mexico · 2,628 acres · 5 grazing allotments covering part of it29miles
- Gila Lower BoxNew Mexico · 6,257 acres · 1 right of way, 6 grazing allotments covering part of it32miles
- Old TownNew Mexico · 322 acres · 2 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it45miles
- Lordsburg Playa Research Natural AreaNew Mexico · 4,515 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it48miles
More from BLM's New Mexico office
Every area BLM's New Mexico office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Bear Creek. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026