New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Chama Canyons
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a cultural value, a scenic value, a natural process, a historic value and a fish resource here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and nine grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 9,613 acres and was designated May 24, 2012, in the Taos RMP. In the plan's name, RMP stands for 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
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The 9 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
9 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10000.01041839,639acres
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10103.01042420,538acres
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10026.01041811,830acres
- Esperanza Allotment9,155acres
- Puerto Community6,301acres
- Navajo Peak4,702acres
- Rio Chama Allot1,279acres
- Nutrias Canyon Allot1,239acres
- Rio Nutrias781acres
The nearest areas
- Mexican Spotted OwlNew Mexico · 2,755 acres · 4 oil and gas leases, 37 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it34miles
- Santos PeakNew Mexico · 132 acres · 3 rights of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it38miles
- Gonzalez Canyon-Senon S. Vigil HomesteadNew Mexico · 36 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it40miles
- Martin Apodaca HomesteadNew Mexico · 90 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it41miles
- Ojo CalienteNew Mexico · 101,226 acres · 31 rights of way, 21 grazing allotments covering part of it42miles
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 Chama Canyons. 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