Pecos Is Special in So Many Ways That It Is Worth Protecting Forever
By Ralph Vigil, acequia parciante, farmer and conservationist.
I was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico but raised in a special river valley at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Pecos. It is located east of Santa Fe and west of Las Vegas. My family has been in this area for many generations. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It is truly like no other place on Earth.
The lands and waters of Pecos have sustained the Native Americans and the Pueblo people who lived here before the Spaniards arrived. This valley has been an important crossroad for travelers of different backgrounds, from Native Americans and Spanish settlers to traders, for thousands of years. The Santa Fe Historic Trail and the famous Route 66 pass through here! Its watershed has been vital for agriculture and for communities to thrive for centuries. This land holds tremendous cultural and historical significance.
Pecos, despite its small size, is graced with abundant natural beauty. Its mountains, watershed, mesas, and plains make it an ideal location for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and more. People from all over the world come here to explore this wilderness!
The Pecos River, New Mexico's largest river, originates within the state and spans a considerable distance down into Texas before flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. It has a significant impact on various communities, wildlife, and activities such as agriculture that rely on its waters.
It is a special place in so many ways that it is worth protecting forever.
Unfortunately, our lands, waters, and way of life in Pecos are currently under threat due to extensive new mining proposals in the Upper Pecos Watershed.
In 2019, Comexico LLC, a Colorado-based subsidiary of Australian mining company New World Resources Ltd, wanted to explore the Jones Hill area near Tererro, New Mexico, and dig around 30 holes up to 4000 feet deep on 26 mining claims. This exploratory drilling would impact more than 400 acres, five tributaries of the Pecos, and the river’s mainstem.
Since 2019, Comexico has also gained ownership of over 236 mining claims throughout the Pecos headwaters, extending the potential destructive mining that now goes well beyond the original exploratory drilling sites. The area now claimed by Comexico covers 4,300 acres and, if developed, would impact the entire Pecos watershed and possibly Santa Fe’s municipal watershed.
Our land has been contaminated by mines in the past. Irresponsible mining operations polluted the river in the 1990s, resulting in the death of over 90,000 fish, and damaging the local fish hatchery and outdoor recreation economy. The state had to spend millions of dollars of taxpayer money for the cleanup. Our community is still shaken by this, and some people believe that the water is still contaminated.
The Upper Pecos Watershed Association, Trout Unlimited, and other partners have united efforts to do extensive restoration work on the river, bringing the temperature down from all the erosion that happened and making it a great cold-water fishery again.
We survived that and have thrived since. However, we cannot allow bad history to repeat itself and Comexico LLC to take us back.
The fight to protect Pecos and stop the Tererro mine has united us in a strong coalition –the Stop Tererro Mine Coalition– formed by a diverse group of members from the conservation environmental community.
I understand the need for minerals for the clean energy transition and for the technology we all use in our daily lives, from smartphones to hybrid cars.However, there are significant areas with exceptional landscapes, cultural resources, endangered species, and critical watersheds, like Pecos, that must be safeguarded and cannot be jeopardized by mining activities.
Even though the outdated Mining Act of 1872 restricts our abilities to a certain extent, we have found ways to protect this land and this vital watershed.
The Stop Tererro Mine Coalition has collaborated with the Water Quality Control Commission of New Mexico to initiate a process known as the Outstanding Natural Resource Water designation. This process will implement safeguards for the portion of the Pecos River that could be affected or influenced by mining. If any incident or contamination arises from their extractive operations, companies will be held accountable for it.
After many years of advocacy, we are pleased that our representatives in Congress have heard our concerns and introduction of the Pecos Watershed Protection Act. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján are leading an effort at the Senate, and Representative Teresa Leger Fernández is championing a companion House bill to prevent future mining contamination and to protect water quality and community health through a mineral withdrawal of approximately 170,000 acres of the Upper Pecos Watershed near Pecos, New Mexico. The legislation would also designate over 11,000 acres of wild and rugged National Forest lands, encompassing several headwaters of the Pecos River, as the Thompson Peak Wilderness Area.
Additionally, our coalition is requesting the Secretary of Interior enact a 20-year administrative mineral withdrawal of the Pecos headwaters, which would provide immediate protection.
We invite people to learn more at Stoptererromine.org, support our efforts to protect this landscape by taking action, follow our social media to stay informed, and join upcoming events.