Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, August 2022 Edition
Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Jean Roberts, ESCA Board of Directors
Protection of the Buffalo Tract has moved another step forward in the long process to protect the area from gravel mining. On July 19, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources met to consider oral and written testimony concerning House Bill 5805, the Buffalo Tract Protection Act. The bill, as well as a similar version introduced in the Senate (Bill 180), is supported by Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Rep. Jerry McNerney. Both bills would also protect the Crest of Montezuma and several smaller parcels of land within Placitas.
Oral testimony to the subcommittee explained that “gravel mining is simply not compatible with residential development as acknowledged by BLM’s own 2010 Mineral Resources report. As residential development has grown, the adverse impacts on the area’s character have increased. Gravel mines damage the land, pollute the air, defile the cultural heritage, and deplete the scarce water supply.”
Written testimony included a letter submitted jointly by the Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) and Las Placitas Association (LPA). The letter provided details from “Land of Enchantment…or Gravel,” a white paper on the impact of gravel mining on our community. The white paper is available to the public on ES-CA.org, and includes findings on a broad array of topics by subject matter experts, such as the impact of gravel mining on public health, the environment, the economy, and cultural sites.
The House bill will next move to “markup,” which is the procedure for adding and discussing any amendments.
ESCA members, please mark Sunday, October 23, on your calendars to attend the ESCA annual meeting. We will gather in the Gracie Lee Room of the Placitas Community Library at 4pm for a brief social period and registration, and then we’ll start the business meeting at 4:30. We look forward to seeing you!
The next monthly ESCA meeting will be Monday, August 8, 4 pm, in the Gracie Lee Room of the library.