Sponsors (2)
The bill permanently conserves and restores large tracts of public land and elevates tribal stewardship—improving ecological health and management clarity—while imposing meaningful limits on development, motorized access, and some uses that could reduce local economic opportunities, add administrative complexity, and create exclusion or transparency concerns for certain tribes and stakeholders.
Indigenous tribes gain stronger formal roles and protections: federally recognized tribes can participate in stewardship, have Indigenous knowledge incorporated into management plans, and obtain explicit access and contracting authority for cultural and traditional uses.
Residents and visitors benefit from long-term protection of thousands of acres of public lands (including scenic, cultural, and wildlife habitat), preserving recreation, biodiversity, and local ecosystem services.
Management clarity and accountability improve: the Act creates an official dated map and precise definitions, requires filing maps with Congress and Forest Service offices, and mandates time-bound management and travel plans and safeguards in land exchanges.
Local businesses, workers, and governments lose opportunities and revenue because restrictions on development, extraction, and leasing limit mining, geothermal, and other resource projects on the covered lands.
Rural residents and visitors will face reduced motorized access and longer travel times due to limits on roads and motorized routes and planned road decommissioning.
Grazing permittees, landowners, and utilities may face new restrictions, permitting burdens, or reduced flexibility (including on grazing operations and rights‑of‑way), increasing compliance costs and project delays.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Designates the Caja del Rio NCA and Special Management Area, withdraws those Federal lands from most mining and public disposals, and requires management and travel plans prioritizing conservation and Tribal participation.
Official title: Establish the Caja del Rio Special Management Area and Caja del Rio National Conservation Area in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 30, 2026 by Martin Heinrich · Last progress April 30, 2026
Creates the Caja del Rio National Conservation Area (about 17,837 acres of BLM land) and the Caja del Rio Special Management Area (about 67,163 acres in the Santa Fe National Forest), withdraws those lands from most public land and mineral uses, and requires the Interior and Agriculture Secretaries to prepare comprehensive management and travel plans that prioritize conservation and Tribal participation. The bill limits new road construction and motorized access, preserves existing valid rights and grazing, authorizes ecological restoration and limited land acquisition, and anchors Tribal consultation, Indigenous knowledge, and possible Tribal roles as cooperating agencies in planning and stewardship.