Buffalo Tract Protection Act Blocks New Mining Claims on 4,288 Acres in New Mexico

The Buffalo Tract Protection Act is straightforward: it immediately withdraws about 4,288 acres of federal land in the Placitas, New Mexico area from any new mining claims or mineral/geothermal leasing. This land is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and specifically identified across four tracts—Tracts A, B, C, and D—on a map dated November 13, 2019. Essentially, if you’re a mining company, you can’t stake a new claim or lease this ground for resource extraction anymore, though any rights established before this law passed are protected.

Drawing the Line Under the Surface

This bill introduces a critical distinction between the surface and what’s underneath. While the primary goal is protecting the land from new industrial exploitation, the bill doesn't stop the government from selling the surface estate—the actual dirt you walk on—to private buyers. The Secretary of the Interior can still transfer that surface ownership under existing laws. However, there’s a massive catch: if the surface is sold, the United States must retain the mineral estate rights. Think of it like buying a house but the original owner keeps the rights to the oil and gas in your backyard. For the average person, this means the government is locking down valuable subsurface resources and preventing their immediate development, which is a win for conservationists and local communities worried about the environmental impact of mining.

Who Wins and Who Pays?

For residents near Placitas, this act provides a layer of certainty that they won't see new heavy industrial activity like mining or geothermal drilling pop up next door. This is a clear benefit for environmental preservation and quality of life. The government also benefits by securing ownership of the mineral rights, giving them control over future resource decisions. On the flip side, this directly affects the resource extraction industries. Mining and geothermal energy companies lose the ability to explore and develop these specific 4,288 acres. Furthermore, potential future buyers of the surface land might be disappointed; they may assume buying the land means owning everything below it, but this bill explicitly ensures they won't get those valuable mineral rights, which could affect the land's perceived value.

The Real-World Split

This bill creates a permanent split ownership scenario, which is important to understand. If someone buys one of these tracts for a ranch or a home, they own the surface, but the federal government owns the minerals beneath their feet. This separation is common in land law, but it highlights a potential long-term conflict. While the bill prevents new claims, the government retaining the mineral rights means that the potential for development—even if remote—still exists down the line if the law were ever repealed or changed. For now, though, the Buffalo Tract Protection Act puts a solid “Do Not Disturb” sign on these specific acres for new resource exploitation.