# 119-hr-8616: Caja del Rio Protection Act

119-hr-8616, Caja del Rio Protection Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8616
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8616
- Congress: 119
- Title: Caja del Rio Protection Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-30
- Sponsor: Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**This bill would create two adjacent federally managed units in New Mexico — a 67,163-acre Special Management Area in the Santa Fe National Forest and a 17,837-acre National Conservation Area on Bureau of Land Management land.** It focuses on **permanent conservation** and requires Indigenous participation and protections for cultural, spiritual, and ecological values. - Interested Indian Tribes gain formal roles in planning and management, contracting opportunities, preserved access for traditional and religious uses, and confidentiality protections for Indigenous knowledge. - Public users face strict travel limits. The bill bans new permanent roads except where it allows them and limits motorized use to designated routes set in management plans, and it authorizes hunting zones and temporary closures after consultation. - Ranchers keep existing grazing rights subject to reasonable regulation. The bill authorizes land acquisition, designates withdrawals from entry and mineral and geothermal leasing in the Withdrawal Area, and allows ecological restoration plus fire, pest, and disease control measures.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM), 2026-05-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2] (D-NM), 2026-05-11T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New Caja del Rio protected areas: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create the Caja del Rio Special Management Area (about 67,163 acres) in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Caja del Rio National Conservation Area (about 17,837 acres) on BLM land. If enacted, the bill would withdraw Federal land in these covered areas from public land…
- Tribal management and cultural protections: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary contract with interested Indian Tribes or tribal organizations to carry out management and administrative functions in covered areas. If enacted, the Secretary could provide technical and financial help to tribes to build capacity for those contracts. If…
- Protect Buckman water infrastructure: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would confirm that existing water rights and rights-of-way for Santa Fe County, the city of Santa Fe, and the Buckman Direct Diversion Board are not affected. If enacted, the Secretary could grant new permits or rights-of-way to build water supply infrastructure up to one mile…
- New road and grazing rules: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would require management plans and travel rules that limit motorized vehicle use to designated roads and decommission undesignated roads within three years. If enacted, the Secretary must file maps with Congress and ensure law enforcement capacity for matters under the Secretar…
- State-federal land exchange process: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would direct the Secretary to try to start a land exchange with New Mexico within 18 months, swapping identified BLM land for specified State trust parcels. If enacted, exchanged lands must be appraised by an independent appraiser agreed to by both parties, and unequal values c…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8616 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8616)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5356)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10115)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8616 (as of 2026-09-21).