Gov. Bill Richardson celebrated Earth Day by announcing a lawsuit against the federal government.
"Today, the State of New Mexico is going to court to protect Otero Mesa," Richardson said.
Richardson, with Attorney General Patricia Madrid, filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday to prevent the Bureau of Land Management from drilling in Otero Mesa in southern New Mexico.
About 100 people came to hear Richardson and Madrid announce the lawsuit at the west side of Zimmerman Library.
The oil and gas drilling would take place on 95 percent of Otero Mesa and compromise the diverse environment there, Richardson said.
"There overflows one of America's untouched, pristine groundwater region. Perhaps the greatest water resource remaining in our state," he said. "It doesn't make sense to subject this vital water resource to widespread oil and gas drilling."
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He said Otero Mesa is one of the best areas for antelope hunting in the region, and sportsman rights also need to be protected.
"The federal government has stomped on the rights of conservationists, ranchers, hunters and others who treasure and enjoy our public lands," Richardson said.
Madrid said the mesa, which is contained with the Chihuahuan desert in southern New Mexico, northern Mexico and eastern Arizona, has many rare animal and plant species. She said more than 3,500 species of plants are in Otero Mesa. Of those, 1,000 of those can't be found anywhere else on Earth, she said.
Student Brian Rasmussen said the lawsuit is important because the preservation of natural spaces is a big deal.
"It's a sacred place to many people, and it's so important to have these wild spaces," he said. "I don't want to live in a world that has concrete, manufactured homes everywhere I look."
According to the lawsuit, the state seeks "declaratory and injunctive relief for multiple violations of federal law by the Defendants, the Bureau of Land Management."
The main violation is of the Federal Land Policy Management Act, which gives state governors special status in the planning of federal lands.
Rick Simpson is a fifth-generation New Mexican growing up near Otero Mesa. He is the chairman of the Lincoln County Board of Commissions and a self-proclaimed lifelong outdoorsman.
"In the winter, it's the home to many, many eagles, and it also supports a very good population of great big rattlesnakes," he said.
He said he hunts antelope, mule deer and quail in Otero Mesa.
Simpson said developing Otero Mesa has permanent repercussions to the environment.
"This is Chihuahuan desert, so when we make scars and roads on this landscape, it doesn't last for a few years, it lasts for a few generations," he said. "Right now, that mesa is just the way God made it, and it would just break my heart to see it all cut up."
Student Lindsay Arellanes said she isn't a conservationist but wanted to support the state's initiative to keep drilling out of Otero Mesa.
"I support everything the governor is doing for the area," she said. "I really just wanted to come out today to get fully informed."
Richardson said he has an advantage over the Bureau of Land Management if they try to drill in Otero Mesa.
"When the BLM and the oil companies apply for groundwater permits, please expect delays," he said. "If you want to drill in Otero Mesa, it's going to be after a long fight that you're going to lose."
