Contacts:
Dan Roper, New Mexico State Lead, Trout Unlimited, dan.roper@tu.org
Ivan Valdez, Owner, The Reel Life Fly Shop, Santa Fe, NM – ivanjvaldez@yahoo.com
Santa Fe, NM – The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that approximately 166,000 acres of public land in the headwaters of New Mexico’s Pecos River will be withdrawn from all forms of mineral entry, appropriation, and disposal for the next twenty years.
Protecting the headwaters of the Pecos River has been a priority of local governments, water users, watershed groups, and the fishing community since learning of new mineral speculation by an Australian mining company in 2019. The upper Pecos Watershed is home to some of New Mexico’s most culturally and ecologically significant waters and public lands.
“While mining will continue to play a role in New Mexico’s economy, this announcement is a recognition that some places are simply too special to mine. Pecos Canyon and the headwaters of the Pecos River is one such place,” said Dan Roper, New Mexico State Lead for Trout Unlimited. “This area is one of the state’s most popular fishing destinations, and the watershed is an important water source for downstream communities and irrigators.”
Link to the Department of Interior’s press release on the proposed withdrawal.
In addition to contributing to the state’s growing outdoor recreation and tourism economies, the watershed plays a critical role in the conservation of native fish and wildlife species like Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
“As local fly shop owners who guide on the Pecos River, we know that mining in the watershed would have major consequences for this popular trout fishery”, said Ivan Valdez, owner of the Reel Life Fly Shop in Santa Fe. “Maintaining a clean river is essential for the fishing community, and for all the people that live downstream in the Village of Pecos.”
The 20-year withdrawal is authorized by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, but only Congress can legislate a permanent withdrawal. The federal Pecos Watershed Protection Act, sponsored by Senators Heinrich and Luján, and Representatives Leger Fernández and Stansbury, would permanently protect the watershed from new mining claims to protect critical headwater streams and wildlife habitat.
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Trout Unlimited is the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization dedicated to caring for and recovering America’s rivers and streams so our children can experience the joy of wild and native trout and salmon. Across the country, TU brings to bear local, regional and national grassroots organizing, durable partnerships, science-backed policy muscle, and legal firepower on behalf of trout and salmon fisheries, healthy waters and vibrant communities.