New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Organ/Franklin Mountains
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a scenic value, a natural process, a historic value and a natural hazard here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 43 rights of way inside the line today, and six grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 36,667 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
43 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 13 under oil & gas facilities, 13 under non-energy facilities, 13 under other energy facilities and 4 under fiber optic facilities.
- EL PASO ELECTRIC CO12rights of way
- EL PASO NATURAL GAS CO6rights of way
- QWEST CORPORATION5rights of way
- MAGELLAN PIPELINE COMPANY LP3rights of way
- SFPP LP2rights of way
- DONA ANA COUNTY (New Mexico)2rights of way
- SBA TOWERS II LLC2rights of way
- COMCAST OF NEW MEXICO LLC1right of way
- COE1right of way
- DONA ANA FLOOD COMM1right of way
- NM ST HWY DEPT1right of way
- FHWA1right of way
- KINDER MORGAN INC1right of way
- MOONGATE WATER CO1right of way
- CONTERRA ULTRA BROADBAND LLC1right of way
- Innercity Fibernet LLC dba Gigabit Fiber1right of way
- Cardinal New Mexico, LLC (Cardinal Midstream)1right of way
- COMCAST OF NM/PENN INC1right of way
The geothermal leases
No active geothermal lease sits inside the line.
Not counted: 6 more leases BLM lists as Closed.
Grazing allotments
6 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Bishop's Cap39,875acres
- Chaparral27,984acres
- Dripping Springs25,571acres
- Baylor Canyon11,544acres
- San Augustine Spring9,345acres
- Rose Well1,578acres
The nearest areas
- Doña Ana MountainsNew Mexico · 1,428 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it17miles
- RinconNew Mexico · 856 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it40miles
- Black GramaNew Mexico · 3,558 acres · 6 grazing allotments covering part of it43miles
- Uvas ValleyNew Mexico · 1,598 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it48miles
- Sacramento EscarpmentNew Mexico · 5,425 acres · 2 rights of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it51miles
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 Organ/Franklin Mountains. 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