The Interior Department has banned new mining claims and oil leasing on more than 28,000 acres of public land in southeast New Mexico to protect a network of unique underground caves formed by sulfuric acid.
The 20-year ban, which began on May 23, covers a portion of the Guadalupe Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest, where prospectors once mined metals such as silver and gold. Much of that mining interest has ebbed, but environmental groups asked federal agencies to use the mineral withdrawal as a jumping-off point for even broader protections.
A previous 20-year leasing and mining withdrawal in the area expired in 2021.
The Forest Service asked the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees mineral resources under Forest Service land, to renew the 20-year withdrawal in 2020. The BLM accepted that application in 2022, kicking off a two-year freeze on new mining or leasing while BLM reviewed the application.
