You cannot drink oil.

Rio Arriba Concerned Citizens is entirely a grassroots volunteer effort. We came together in the winter of 2013, over concerns about proposed oil and gas lease sales within the boundaries of the Rio Chama Watershed near Cebolla, NM. Our community rallied to speak up powerfully and the leases in question were deferred. The BLM has since proposed to lease other public lands in our watershed for oil and gas development and each time we have been part of effective action and dialogue to protect our precious land and water sources. We are grateful to have a rich and resourceful community that brings together profound skills, work and innovation.

The position of RACC is that it is shortsighted, unwise, and just a bad bet to ruin our most precious resource – water – on the unlikely chance of striking oil and gas in the Watershed.

Federal Government Review Says Chances of Oil and Gas in the Rio Chama Watershed are Low

In September 2014 the Federal Government Bureau of Land Management released a comprehensive Geologic Review by Joseph R. Hewitt, concluding that the potential for Oil and Gas in the Rio Chama Watershed (Chama Basin) was LOW in the Southern part, to MODERATE in the North.The MODERATE determination was, however, accompanied by “a C level of confidence…Of the “132 wells drilled since 1915, 12 wells have reported production”.

In other words, the natural wonderland that is the Rio Chama Watershed is on the record as unlikely to produce any real promise or revenues from Oil and Gas.

Please do read the Hewitt “Geologic Review of the Oil and Gas Potential” in the Rio Chama Watershed.

Our Mission

We are a grassroots organization that educates against Oil and Gas development in the Rio Chama Watershed, NM while providing information on sustainable, safe energy and income sources in our region.

Our Considerations Are: