New Mexico · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Wind Mountain
BLM found a wildlife resource, a cultural value, a scenic value, a natural process and a natural hazard here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place at least 125 active mining claims inside the line today, and four grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 2,310 acres and was designated December 1, 1993, in the White Sands 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
Who holds the claims
At least 125 claims sit inside this line: 125 active, 118 with a holder BLM names and 7 with a claimant BLM withholds under the Privacy Act. BLM lists 125 as Active.
- JS GROUP LLC118claims
- Names withheld by BLM (private individuals)7claims
BLM's mining rules list designated ACECs among the places where mining that disturbs the surface beyond casual use needs a plan of operations BLM approves. Exploration of five acres or less can go ahead on a notice instead.
Grazing allotments
4 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Alamo Mountain35,876acres
- Chess Home19,720acres
- Mulberry11,171acres
- McVeigh Hills3,366acres
The nearest areas
- Cornudas MountainNew Mexico · 853 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it5miles
- Alamo MountainNew Mexico · 2,530 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it7miles
- Black GramaNew Mexico · 3,558 acres · 6 grazing allotments covering part of it28miles
- Alkali LakesNew Mexico · 6,353 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it28miles
- Lonesome RidgeNew Mexico · 2,983 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it47miles
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 Wind Mountain. 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