New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Torreon Fossil Fauna
BLM found a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 3 oil and gas leases and 2 rights of way inside the line today, and five grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 5,917 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
2 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 2 under other energy facilities.
- THE NAVAJO NATION2rights of way
The oil and gas leases
3 active oil and gas leases sit inside the line. 0 of them took effect before the area was designated on December 23, 2024.
- R & R ROYALTY LTD1lease
- SITL ENERGY LLC1lease
- ENDURING RESOURCES IV LLC1lease
Grazing allotments
5 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Star Lake Community129,773acres
- Counselor Community100,734acres
- Starr Community16,160acres
- Pelon Community7,689acres
- Casaus Bros., Duran4,118acres
The nearest areas
- Cañon JaridoNew Mexico · 6,144 acres · 9 grazing allotments covering part of it15miles
- Jones CanyonNew Mexico · 400 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it20miles
- Elk SpringsNew Mexico · 8,603 acres · 2 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it24miles
- Margarita Martinez HomesteadNew Mexico · 9.8 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it24miles
- Martin Apodaca HomesteadNew Mexico · 90 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it26miles
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 Torreon Fossil Fauna. 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