What we know about federal plan to restrict oil and gas drilling from New Mexico caves
Federal land managers planned to block oil and gas development from about 28,000 acres in Lincoln National Forest, aiming to protect “sensitive” cave systems near Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains national parks.
The U.S. Forest Service will accept public comments for 30 days on an environmental analysis it conducted on the proposal, and the Department of Interior will make a final decision following that process.
Should the proposal be denied by the DOI, its Bureau of Land Management would be allowed to consider proposals for exploration and extraction projects in the area.
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Here’s what we know about the agency’s plans to withdrawal the lands from mineral development.
Where are the lands located?
The 28,513 acres of federal land being considered for withdrawal are within Lincoln National Forest on a stretch of lands known as the Guadalupe escarpment.
The escarpment is south of Queen, an about 30 miles southwest of Carlsbad, between the two national parks.
What would the proposed withdrawal mean if enacted?
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If the DOI ultimately approves the Forest Service’s proposal, the no new prospecting permits or mineral leasing would be authorized within the area for 20 years.
Were these lands protected before?
The acreage being proposed for protection by the Forest Service were first withdrawn from mineral development in 2001, and the Forest Service filed another application in December 2020.
In January 2022, the Bureau of Land Management filed a notice it accepted the application and began a two-year segregation of the lands during the approval process.
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A public hearing was held in February 2022, and the environmental analysis (EA) was published July 21.
How could drilling impact sensitive species?
In the EA, the Forest Service pointed to sensitive resources like cave systems and underground aquifers that could be damaged by oil and gas drilling.
“Potential conflicts with mining and fluid mineral development include significant earth disturbing activities, especially to sensitive cave resources,” read the report.
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The EA detailed 26 threatened and endangered species in the area proposed for withdrawal that could be impacted by oil and gas drilling and mining.
This could see direct and indirect mortality of plants and animals through the damage to the surface, and by causing them to consume hazardous materials, the report read.
Industrial operations could also damage habitats, remove food sources and displace breeding locations, the report read.
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“These impacts can harm wildlife individuals and decrease the health and abundance of populations. Surface disturbance could impact populations by affecting breeding, feeding, and sheltering habitat,” the report read.
What could extraction do to the caves?
Beneath the surface the report said there are “the most spectacular cave resources in the world” and if drilling or mining was allowed to occur it could cause “irreversible and irreplaceable” damage.
This could contaminate groundwater, spring and aquifers, the report read, reducing water quality.
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Increased surface activity could cause heavy vibrations, potentially damaging the underground rock formations that make up the cave systems, read the report.
Has the area ever been mined before?
Records show the forest has a history of mining for metals like gold, silver, lead and copper, dating back to the early 1900s, but those activities have largely ceased.
There are two mining claims still in existence within the proposed withdrawal area.
A uranium mining pit was established in Lincoln National Forest in 1954, the report read, but it was closed the same year and no subsequent mining for uranium was anticipated.
The Forest Service reported that no oil and gas leases exist in the area, and no entity has shown interest in such leases, despite the Forest’s close proximity to the Permian Basin – the U.S.’ busiest oilfield in southeast New Mexico and West Texas.
“The Lincoln National Forest boundary is roughly the geologic edge of the Permian basin; however, the forest is outside of the Permian basin,” read the report. “For this reason, the oil and gas development near the Lincoln National Forest is unlikely to spread across its boundaries.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: What we know about plan to block oil drilling from New Mexico caves
