LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on a draft environmental assessment for the proposed Starvation Draw earthen dams project near Deming in Luna County. The $3.66 million for this project comes from the Great American Outdoors Act, a historic investment in the protection and deferred maintenance and repair needs on public lands. This funding has enabled the BLM to complete large asset improvement projects, reduce the cost of construction, and provide for critical repairs to public infrastructure such as Starvation Draw.
“This project will ensure that the dams provide years of service controlling stormwater and sustaining watershed health in the area,” said BLM Las Cruces District Manager Scott Cooke.
Five earthen detention dams within the Starvation Draw watershed were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2022, the BLM began evaluating options for maintaining or modifying the dams after assessments of the structures noted poor conditions at most of the dams. The goal of the study was to identify design options to reduce the risk of dam failure and to encourage a release of water that promotes a more natural flow.
The environmental assessment presents a maintenance alternative to keep the dams in their current form, a modification alternative to reclassify them as grade control structures, and a no action alternative.
Project documentation is available for public review at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2036005/510 where comments can be submitted through the “Participate Now” option (preferred). Comments can also be delivered to: BLM Las Cruces District Office, Attn: Starvation Draw Project, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005. The comment period ends March 17, 2025.
For more information about the project, please contact BLM Assistant District Manager Don McClure at dmcclure@blm.gov or (575) 525-4366.
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