New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Overflow Wetlands
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a scenic value, a natural process and a fish resource here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 5 rights of way inside the line today, and three grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 6,637 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
The rights of way
5 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 3 under other energy facilities, 1 under calcium, caliche and 1 under non-energy facilities.
- CENTRAL VALLEY ELECTRIC2rights of way
- ROSWELL FIELD OFFICE1right of way
- NM ST PARK & REC1right of way
- EOG Y RESOURCES INC1right of way
Grazing allotments
3 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Calumet Ranch31,944acres
- Slash G8,659acres
- Bottomless Ranch1,319acres
The nearest areas
- Mescalero SandsNew Mexico · 10,002 acres · 4 grazing allotments covering part of it27miles
- Mathers Research Natural AreaNew Mexico · 242 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it33miles
- Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat PreservationNew Mexico · 57,564 acres · 2 oil and gas leases, 22 rights of way, 9 grazing allotments covering part of it34miles
- North Pecos RiverNew Mexico · 6,477 acres · 4 grazing allotments covering part of it46miles
- Roswell Cave ComplexNew Mexico · 37,689 acres · 8 oil and gas leases, 13 rights of way, 21 grazing allotments covering part of it48miles
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 Overflow Wetlands. 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