Las Cruces, NM–The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is releasing a Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (proposed RMP/final EIS) for the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument (National Monument) administered by the Las Cruces District Office in southern New Mexico. About 5,280 acres of Paleozoic Era fossilized footprints, plants, and wood dating back about 280 million years ago located 10 miles northwest of Las Cruces, New Mexico, were designated by Congress in 2009 as part of the National Monument. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which designated the National Monument and generally prescribed management and use of the area, requires the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, to develop a comprehensive management plan for the long-term protection and management of the Monument.
The proposed RMP/final EIS evaluates a full range of management options, varying in resource use and development to conservation and protection. Public comments submitted during the scoping and public comment periods were considered and incorporated as appropriate in the proposed RMP. If approved, the proposed RMP/final EIS would replace the 1993 Mimbres RMP for this specific location. BLM planning regulations provide for a formal protest of the proposed RMP/final EIS decisions by those meeting certain criteria. Protests must be filed within 30 days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability of the proposed RMP/final EIS in the Federal Register.
Copies of the proposed RMP/final EIS are available at the Las Cruces District Office at 1800 Marquess Street in Las Cruces and BLM’s New Mexico State Office at 301 Dinosaur Trail in Santa Fe. The proposed plan is available online at: http://www.blm.gov/nm/trackwaysrmp
Complete information on the opportunity to protest is also provided at this website. All protests must be in writing and mailed to the following address: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest Coordinator, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, D.C. 20024-1383.
For more information on the plan or the opportunity to protest its planning decisions, contact Jennifer Montoya at 575-525-4316.
Information from BLM