Biden admin unleashes 50-year mining, oil drilling ban across thousands of acres in New Mexico
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Texas Public Policy Foundation VP Chuck DeVore reacts to Biden talking about the 'climate crisis' while surveying Florida's Hurricane Idalia damage on 'Fox & Friends.'
The Biden administration proposed to block of thousands of acres from future oil drilling or mining in northern New Mexico in an effort to protect Native American lands.
According to the Department of the Interior (DOI), the proposal would ban new mining claims and oil and gas development across more than 4,200 acres in Sandoval County, New Mexico, located north of Albuquerque. If finalized and implemented, the action would remain in place for up to 50 years.
"Today we're responding to call from Tribes, elected leaders, and community members who want to see these public lands protected," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. "We look forward to hearing more from the public to inform decisions about how activities, like gravel mining, may impact these lands, including the important cultural and natural resources."
"We recognize the importance of the Placitas area, both for Tribal Nations and for the local community who visit and recreate in this area," added Melanie Barnes, the state director of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) New Mexico office.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, speaks during a news conference on July 22, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
In its proposal, the BLM stated that the action was designed to "protect, preserve, and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values, and wildlife habitat connectivity" in the region.
The DOI said the Pueblo tribes of San Felipe and Santa Ana have previously advocated for protections in the area which contains archeological resources from hundreds of years ago. The area is also popular for hiking, camping, sightseeing and hunting.
In 2019, Haaland, who at the time served in Congress and as vice chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced the Buffalo Tract Protection Act which would mimic the actions taken Monday. At the time, Haaland said residents and tribal citizens in the region bear the brunt of pollution produced from the area's many mines.
The Biden administration asserted that the region in New Mexico is home to various archeological resources linked to tribes.(iStock )
Earlier this year, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., reintroduced the legislation. The pair have also repeatedly called on the DOI to take action blocking mineral development in Sandoval County.
"It is time we put an end to this years-long debate and withdraw these parcels from future mineral development," Heinrich said during a March event in Albuquerque alongside Stansbury.
Using information available from the BLM, the Congressional Budget Office issued a report on the Buffalo Tract Protection Act in August concluding that the area impacted by the mineral ban has high potential for sand and gravel extraction and minimal potential for development of other minerals. Sand and gravel extraction is key for various infrastructure projects like roads.
The report projected the land withdrawal would result in a decrease of $2 million in federal revenue.
All part of the insane energy policy of Joe Biden.
Across 6 or 7 square miles of protected land? Big Whoop! So what?
That leaves over 121,000 square miles of land in New Mexico left...
You think all of that remaining land has oil and valuable minerals on it? In quantities large enough to even make worth getting?
Let's just go fight another damn war in some third world shit hole that doesn't have any environmental standards in place for mining or extraction instead. Then we can pay billions to prop up a weak, corrupt, pro Western government for years while not getting what we invested return resources. I am sure China will appreciate our efforts as they get developmental contracts that were supposedly to go to US companies.
SSDD from Democrats. But at least Brandon will be happy as the kickbacks from China roll in.
Virtue signaling and "doing something" is all this is..................
There are six hundred and forty acres in one square mile. New Mexico has over one hundred and twenty one thousand square miles of territory. Do the math...
Your math is as faulty as your damn logic.
No one is going to mine when their aren't sufficient enough resources available to make it worth while. Nor is anyone going to set up an oil rig where there isn't any damn oil!
Why don't you waste your money buying some of that acreage and starting an operation without any damn idea what is there?
We all need a good laugh.
Oh, boo hoo. We're supposed to cry alligator tears because Wall Street can't screw over people again?
None of this land in New Mexico would ever go into production. The companies would buy up mineral rights to add to their reserves, leave pecker tracks all over the countryside, and then use the mineral rights as a threat against the land owners. Just so some investment bank could bilk another nickel out of 'retirement savers'.
Yeah, Biden hasn't done one damned thing here. But the free market morons wouldn't have done anything, either.
New Mexico currently mines a diverse set of natural resources, and is a leading state in the mining of several minerals , including potash, perlite, zeolite, copper, and molybdenum. New Mexico generates 1.7 percent of total US non-energy minerals production value (not including coal).
In 2022, New Mexico was the nation's second-largest crude oil-producing state, after Texas . The state accounted for more than 13% of total U.S. crude oil production.
Mining is currently done across NM.
There are 15,000 abandoned mines in NM and the largest radioactive spill in US history took place at Church Rock NM in 1979 which is still being cleaned up as a superfund site.
Or how about the uranium mining and deadly legacy in NM, do you experts know anything at all about it?
And you experts are whining about 4,500 acres when virtually the whole state of NM is a mine or oil field.
How about the river that turned yellow?
What do we do?