S. 5282: Chama Basin Watershed Protection Act

This bill would protect a specific area of federal land in the Rio Chama watershed in New Mexico by removing it from new mining claims and patents under the federal mining laws. In simple terms, it would block people and companies from staking new claims there for mineral development on federally owned minerals.

What area is covered

The land covered is the federal land inside the boundary shown on a map called “Rio Chama Watershed Draft” dated April 22, 2026. The bill applies only to that mapped area.

What the withdrawal means

Once withdrawn, the federal land would no longer be open to:

• new mining location
• new mining entry
• new mining patents

This means the federal government would keep this land off-limits for new claims under the general mining laws.

What the bill does not change

The bill says it only applies to minerals owned by the United States. It does not affect mineral rights that belong to:

• a qualified land grant-merced
• an Indian Tribe

It also does not stop traditional or customary use of common materials such as stone, sand, gravel, clay, adobe, and similar materials by members of qualified land grants or acequia communities, or by other individuals, when used for domestic, cultural, religious, ceremonial, subsistence, agricultural, or noncommercial construction purposes, as allowed under other applicable federal law.

Definitions

The bill defines:

• Indian Tribe as a federally recognized tribe or similar tribal entity on the official federal list.
• Qualified land grant-merced as certain New Mexico community land grants recognized under state law that have historical or traditional use on the affected federal land, or that have patented exterior boundaries on or near that land.

Relevant Companies

None found