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In April, 2009, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on litigation brought by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, the State of New Mexico, and a number of other conservation groups challenging the Resource Management Plan Amendment for Otero and Sierra Counties. In addition to recognizing the ecological importance of Otero Mesa, the court specifically found that the RMP Amendment did not adequately consider potential impacts of oil and gas development in causing habitat fragmentation in the grasslands or in contaminating the Salt Basin Aquifer. Furthermore, the court found that BLM’s entire RMP Amendment is flawed because the agency did not consider an alternative to protect all of Otero Mesa from oil and gas drilling.

The BLM will now need to consider and analyze sufficient protections in a supplemental process. This new process could take several years to complete, which gives us the opportunity to take a proactive approach to find ways to permanently protect Otero Mesa - America's Wildest Grassland.