Otero Mesa
Encyclopedia
Otero Mesa is a 1.2 million acre (4,900 km²) area in northern Chihuahuan Desert
region of southern New Mexico
. Between 1954 and 1965 the U.S. Army expanded its McGregor Range
facilities at Fort Bliss
onto Otero Mesa by purchasing ranches. In 2005, the Bureau of Land Management
approved the area for exploratory drilling for oil and gas, but that approval is currently being litigated by the state of New Mexico and environmental groups who want the mesa to be recognized as protected wilderness.
On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the US Bureau of Land Management plan for leasing the Otero Mesa for oil and gas extraction. The court found that the BLM had failed to consider an alternative that would leave the Otero Mesa unleased, and also failed to examine potential impacts to the underlying groundwater. The oil company HEYCO had been granted a lease for extracting natural gas for Otero Mesa, pending the outcome of the litigation.
Coalition for Otero Mesa Website
Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...
region of southern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Between 1954 and 1965 the U.S. Army expanded its McGregor Range
McGregor Range
The McGregor Range is a mountain range in the Central Interior of British Columbia, located between the main spine of the Rocky Mountains and the Fraser River on the northeast and southwest, and between the Torpy River on its southeast and the McGregor River on its northwest...
facilities at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
onto Otero Mesa by purchasing ranches. In 2005, the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
approved the area for exploratory drilling for oil and gas, but that approval is currently being litigated by the state of New Mexico and environmental groups who want the mesa to be recognized as protected wilderness.
On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the US Bureau of Land Management plan for leasing the Otero Mesa for oil and gas extraction. The court found that the BLM had failed to consider an alternative that would leave the Otero Mesa unleased, and also failed to examine potential impacts to the underlying groundwater. The oil company HEYCO had been granted a lease for extracting natural gas for Otero Mesa, pending the outcome of the litigation.