New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Old Town
BLM found a cultural value and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 2 rights of way inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 322 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
The rights of way
2 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 1 under other energy facilities and 1 under non-energy facilities.
- PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW MEXICO1right of way
- QWEST CORPORATION1right of way
Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Butterfield Lease53,261acres
- Old Town Lease1,822acres
The nearest areas
- Cooke's RangeNew Mexico · 17,547 acres · at least 2 active mining claims and 15 more BLM lists as Filed, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it12miles
- Uvas ValleyNew Mexico · 1,598 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it31miles
- Florida MountainsNew Mexico · 15,591 acres · 7 grazing allotments covering part of it34miles
- Bear CreekNew Mexico · 1,483 acres · at least 4 active mining claims, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it45miles
- Gila Middle BoxNew Mexico · 841 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it46miles
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 Old Town. 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