Victory for New Mexico's Otero Mesa

DENVER (April 29, 2009) - A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to uphold the National Environmental Policy Act in it's 2005 Resource Management Plan for Otero Mesa. BLM put together it's plan in response to requests for oil and gas leases on Otero Mesa after Harvey E. Yates Co. struck natural gas there in 1997.

In it's decision, the appeals court said that the BLM failed to consider an alternative that would have put the area off limits to drilling and did not adequately consider potential impacts of drilling on the area's diverse plant and animal life and on a large underground water source.

Since the plan was released in 2005, it has been met with staunch opposition from Governor Bill Richardson, other state agencies and environmental groups, who finally sued BLM over the plan.

The court ruled that the BLM must complete a more detailed environmental review, including considering totally closing Otero Mesa to development, showing more evidence for conclusions about impacts on the area's aquifer and appropriately weighing oil and gas development against other possible uses, including conservation.

Otero Mesa, located in rural southeastern New Mexico near the Texas border, is the largest public expanse of undisturbed Chihuahua Desert grassland left in the state. This stunning area is widely considered to be among the most biologically rich and diverse desert eco-regions in the world. It's home to hundreds of species of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and insects in addition to endangered species such as the Northern Aplomado falcon.

Underlying Otero Mesa is the largest untapped freshwater aquifer in New Mexico, the Salt Basin Aquifer. Currently, ninety percent of New Mexico depends on groundwater for its water supply. A study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed that there is a significant volume of fresh water in the Salt Basin Aquifer, perhaps enough water for 1 million people for 40 years. Therefore, the Salt Basin Aquifer contains much of the region's future water supply.