CEDSSummary Background Land, Resources & Culture
The Landscape That Shapes Us
Natural resources, working lands, and distinctive landscapes shape the region’s productive and visitor economies.
- Resource Base
- Working Landscapes
- Stewardship
Introduction
A Shared Landscape, Different Economies
A regional map of assets is only a starting point. The same land can support mineral extraction, grazing, wildlife, outdoor travel, water supply, and cultural places. Each use has a different owner, time horizon, and physical footprint. The CEDS treats these relationships as planning questions: where do uses reinforce one another, where must they be separated, and which local partners have authority to act?
The Regional Reading
Use this chapter to follow the connections among energy and minerals, working lands, water, recreation, and culture. County conditions differ, so a strategy that works near Carlsbad may not fit the Sacramento Mountains or the Tularosa Basin.
What Makes This Asset Work
Read the Land
Match each asset to its geography, owner, and physical limits before calling it an opportunity.
Connect the Economy
Look for links among suppliers, working lands, tourism, and public services rather than isolated attractions.
Protect the Future
Put water, hazard, habitat, and cultural stewardship into project design from the beginning.
Energy & Mineral Resources: Powering the Present, Shaping the Next Economy
Southeastern New Mexico sits atop a rare convergence of energy and mineral assets: oil and gas fields in Lea and Eddy that rank among the nation’s most productive, globally significant potash near Carlsbad, a strategic foothold in the nuclear fuel cycle at Eunice, fast-rising wind and solar on the plains and basin rims, and emerging carbon-management projects tied to the Permian. Together, these endowments underpin thousands of jobs and billions in investment, and they are evolving quickly under state clean-energy targets and shifting federal market signals. This section maps where the value is today and where it’s headed next so the region can grow jobs, revenues, and resilience with clear-eyed stewardship.
