# 119-s-4458: Caja del Rio Protection Act 119-s-4458, Caja del Rio Protection Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4458 - As of: 2026-09-10 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-4458 - Congress: 119 - Title: Caja del Rio Protection Act - Status: in_committee - Introduced: 2026-04-30 - Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM) - Cosponsors: 1 - Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-10 ## Summary **Permanently protects Caja del Rio landscapes and expands Indian Tribe participation in their management.** The bill creates 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 to conserve cultural, spiritual, ecological, and historic values and to increase Tribal roles in preservation and planning. - Indian Tribes: Tribes with historic connections keep guaranteed access for cultural, spiritual, medicinal, and traditional food and material gathering. Tribes can contract to perform management duties, receive technical and financial support, and may be designated cooperating agencies. - Local governments and water systems: Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe retain existing rights to drinking water infrastructure. The Secretary may grant new permits for water infrastructure or recreation within one mile of the Buckman settlement area. - Public users and land managers: Road building and motorized use are limited to mapped or plan-designated routes, undesignated roads must be decommissioned within 3 years, and the covered area is withdrawn from most mining and leasing laws. ## Cosponsors (1) - Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Protections for Santa Fe water: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would preserve existing rights and rights-of-way for Santa Fe County, the City of Santa Fe, and the Buckman Direct Diversion Board to repair, operate, maintain, replace, or expand drinking water infrastructure. The Secretary could also grant new permits or rights-of-way to buil… - Existing grazing permits allowed to continue: benefit, medium. If enacted, grazing that was established before the date of enactment would be allowed to continue in covered areas. Continued grazing would be subject to reasonable regulations, policies, and practices the Secretary considers necessary and must be consistent with the conservation purposes of the a… - Tribal access and sacred protections: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Secretary would be able to contract with interested Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations to perform management functions and to give technical and financial help to build tribal capacity. Enrolled tribal members culturally linked to the land would be allowed to collect plants and m… - Stronger law enforcement and penalties: benefit, low. If enacted, the Secretary would be required to ensure an adequate law enforcement presence in the covered area for matters under the Secretary's control. Management plans could include higher penalties for unauthorized acts like vandalism, damage to cultural sites, or unlawful shooting. The provisi… - New rules for roads and access: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Secretary would must make a travel management plan for the Conservation Area within 1 year and full management plans for the SMA and Conservation Area within 3 years. Motorized vehicle use would be allowed only on roads shown on the Map or in approved travel plans, with narrow excep… - New Caja del Rio protections: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would create the Caja del Rio Special Management Area (about 67,163 acres) and the Caja del Rio National Conservation Area (about 17,837 acres). The bill would withdraw federal land in the covered area from new mining claims, mineral leasing, mineral materials sales, geothermal… ## Related bills - 119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026 - 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026 - 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act - 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act - 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026 - 119-s-1503: Equality Act ## Sources - [119-s-4458 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4458) ## Related - [119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4504) - [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990) - [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823) - [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51) - [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108) - [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4458 (as of 2026-09-10).