New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Elk Springs
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a scenic value, a natural process and a natural hazard here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 2 rights of way inside the line today, and four grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 8,603 acres and was designated December 23, 2024, in the Rio Puerco 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
The rights of way
2 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 1 under non-energy facilities and 1 under other energy facilities.
- SANDOVAL COUNTY OF1right of way
- JEMEZ MOUNTAINS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC1right of way
Grazing allotments
4 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10021.01041820,183acres
- Coal Creek7,292acres
- Los Pinos Arroyo4,267acres
- La Ventana2,984acres
The nearest areas
- Jones CanyonNew Mexico · 400 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it5miles
- Cañon JaridoNew Mexico · 6,144 acres · 9 grazing allotments covering part of it9miles
- San Luis Mesa Raptor AreaNew Mexico · 9,020 acres · 4 rights of way, 10 grazing allotments covering part of it16miles
- Cabezon PeakNew Mexico · 5,098 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it21miles
- Torreon Fossil FaunaNew Mexico · 5,917 acres · 3 oil and gas leases, 2 rights of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it24miles
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 Elk Springs. 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