New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Mescalero Sands
BLM found a natural system, a cultural value, a scenic value and a natural process here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and four grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 10,002 acres and was designated June 17, 2010, in the Roswell 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 4 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
4 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Culp Ranch57,001acres
- West Mescalero Point14,720acres
- Under the Hill8,898acres
- Shifting Sand 37,178acres
The nearest areas
- Mathers Research Natural AreaNew Mexico · 242 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it13miles
- Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat PreservationNew Mexico · 57,564 acres · 2 oil and gas leases, 22 rights of way, 9 grazing allotments covering part of it15miles
- Overflow WetlandsNew Mexico · 6,637 acres · 5 rights of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it27miles
- North Pecos RiverNew Mexico · 6,477 acres · 4 grazing allotments covering part of it51miles
- Roswell Cave ComplexNew Mexico · 37,689 acres · 8 oil and gas leases, 13 rights of way, 21 grazing allotments covering part of it70miles
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 Mescalero Sands. 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