The Bureau of Land Management to host public meeting and accept comments on a Forest Service request for a withdrawal to protect Guadalupe Cave in New Mexico
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CARLSBAD, N.M. — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Office announced today that the United States Forest Service is requesting that the Secretary of the Interior withdraw 28,513.30 acres of National Forest System (USFS) land at the Guadalupe Cave Resource Protection Area located on the Guadalupe Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest. The withdrawal would prohibit location and entry under the United States mining laws, and leasing under the mineral leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights, for a period of 20 years.
The purpose of the requested withdrawal is to protect recreation use, the scenic integrity, and existing infrastructure in the Guadalupe Cave Resource Protection Area. Publication of the Federal Register notice starts a two-year segregation of the land from operation of the specified laws which allows the BLM to process the withdrawal application and announces an opportunity for the public to comment on the withdrawal application. The notice announces a 90-day public comment period, which ends April 25, 2022.
The USFS and the BLM will have a public meeting on February 23, 2022, at 5:30 PM (Mountain Time). A link to join the Teams virtual meeting will be available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/lincoln. Comments may be emailed to snaranjo@blm.gov or sent through the mail to: Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Sarah Naranjo, BLM New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
For further information about this withdrawal application, please contact Sarah Naranjo at (505) 954-2200.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.