PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] · D–NM
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Aug 20, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-08-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Chama Basin Watershed Protection Act would restrict the use of mining laws to establish mining claims or obtain land rights or title on federal land in a mapped part of New Mexico’s Rio Chama watershed. The withdrawal would apply only to minerals owned by the United States.
This Act may be cited as the Chama Basin Watershed Protection Act.
The Federal land located within the boundary area depicted as Rio Chama Watershed on the map entitled Rio Chama Watershed Draft and dated April 22, 2026, is withdrawn from all forms of location, entry, and patent under the mining laws.
The withdrawal described in subsection (a) applies only to minerals owned by the United States
The proposed withdrawal would cover federal land within the boundary shown on the map titled “Rio Chama Watershed Draft,” dated April 22, 2026. Its stated scope is all forms of mining-law location, entry and patent—the processes for establishing mining claims and obtaining rights or title under mining laws.
The Federal land located within the boundary area depicted as Rio Chama Watershed on the map entitled Rio Chama Watershed Draft and dated April 22, 2026, is withdrawn from all forms of location, entry, and patent under the mining laws.
The withdrawal would apply only to minerals owned by the United States. The bill expressly preserves mineral rights, titles, interests and claims owned by, held in trust for, or claimed by a qualifying community land grant or an Indian Tribe as defined in the bill.
The withdrawal described in subsection (a) applies only to minerals owned by the United States and nothing in this Act affects, diminishes, impairs, encumbers, or otherwise applies to any right, title, interest, or claim in minerals owned by, held in trust on behalf of, or claimed by— (1) a qualified land grant-merced; or (2) an Indian Tribe.
The bill would leave traditional, customary or personal use, gathering and collection of common mineral materials unaffected for individuals, including members of the listed communities. Covered materials include stone, sand, gravel, clay and adobe. Covered purposes include domestic, cultural, religious, ceremonial, subsistence, agricultural and noncommercial construction uses. These activities must remain consistent with applicable federal law and national forest management.
Nothing in this Act prohibits, restricts, or otherwise affects the traditional, customary, or personal use, gathering, or collection of common variety minerals, stone, sand, gravel, clay, adobe, mineral earths, or other similar materials by members of a qualified land grant-merced or acequia community, or by other individuals, for domestic, cultural, religious, ceremonial, subsistence, agricultural, or noncommercial construction purposes, consistent with applicable Federal law and the management of the National Forest System.
For this bill, “Indian Tribe” means the governing body of a federally recognized Indian or Alaska Native tribal entity included on the most recent federal list specified in the text.
The term Indian Tribe means the governing body of any individually identified and federally recognized Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, affiliated Tribal group, or component reservation included on the most recent list published pursuant to section 104(a) of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a)).
A qualifying “land grant-merced” would be a community land grant issued under Spanish or Mexican laws or customs and recognized under the specified New Mexico statutes or their successor. It must also have either a record of historical or traditional use on federal land inside the mapped area, or an exterior boundary established by a land patent that is or was on or adjacent to federal land inside that area.
The term qualified land grant-merced means a community land grant issued under the laws or customs of the Government of Spain or Mexico that— (A) is recognized under New Mexico Statutes Chapter 49, Articles 1 and 4 (or a successor statute); and (B) (i) has a record of historical or traditional use on Federal land within the boundary area described in subsection (a); or (ii) has a patented exterior boundary that is or previously was located on or adjacent to Federal land within the boundary area described in subsection (a).
The supplied actions snapshot, updated August 20, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Natural Resources on August 6, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-08-20T14:01:28Z. 2026-08-06: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. 2026-08-06: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-08-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Earmark disclosures and committee materials are not supplied, and this conclusion does not cover those materials or other versions.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Express preservation of existing rights or access does not by itself establish preferential treatment. This conclusion does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Aug 20, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI