New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
San Luis Mesa Raptor Area
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a natural process and a fish resource here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 4 rights of way inside the line today, and ten grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 9,020 acres and was designated December 23, 2024, in the Rio Puerco 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
4 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 2 under other energy facilities, 1 under oil & gas facilities and 1 under non-energy facilities.
- JEMEZ MOUNTAINS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC1right of way
- PUBLIC SVC CO OF NM1right of way
- DNU ANDEAVOR1right of way
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
Grazing allotments
10 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Cerros Colorados18,874acres
- Brandy12,832acres
- Torreon Wash8,314acres
- Arroyo Empedrado7,953acres
- San Luis Community5,220acres
- Cerro Cuate3,872acres
- Middle San Luis2,583acres
- South San Luis1,254acres
- Upper Valley–acres
- Angostura–acres
The nearest areas
- Cabezon PeakNew Mexico · 5,098 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it6miles
- Guadalupe Ruin and CommunityNew Mexico · 429 acres · 4 grazing allotments covering part of it11miles
- Cañon TapiaNew Mexico · 579 acres · 5 grazing allotments covering part of it12miles
- Ignacio ChavezNew Mexico · 39,457 acres · 7 grazing allotments covering part of it13miles
- Jones CanyonNew Mexico · 400 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it13miles
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 San Luis Mesa Raptor 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