New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Fossil Forest Research Natural Area
BLM found a natural system, a cultural value, a scenic value, a natural process and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and a grazing allotment covers part of it. It covers 2,795 acres and was designated September 1, 2003, in the Farmington 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 grazing allotment below isn't marked.Grazing allotments
A grazing allotment covers part of this line. Its permittee isn't named here yet.
- Black Lake37,027acres
The nearest areas
- Ah-shi-sle-pah RoadNew Mexico · 666 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it4miles
- Pierre's SiteNew Mexico · 443 acres · 1 oil and gas lease, a grazing allotment covering part of it8miles
- North RoadNew Mexico · 6,454 acres · 7 oil and gas leases, 42 rights of way, 8 grazing allotments covering part of it11miles
- Halfway HouseNew Mexico · 40 acres · 1 oil and gas lease, a grazing allotment covering part of it14miles
- Bis sa'aniNew Mexico · 118 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it19miles
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 Fossil Forest Research Natural Area. 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