LAS CRUCES, NM – The Bureau of Land Management's Las Cruces District is hosting a public workshop to provide an update on the development of the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy for the Afton Solar Energy Zone in southern New Mexico. The workshop will be held on Sept. 7 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Rd. Registration will start at 8 a.m., and the workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an hour lunch break.

The workshop will focus on three main areas: 1) the SRMS progress to date on the residual impacts and impacts warranting mitigation, and goals/objectives, 2) candidate regional mitigation site locations and actions nominated for consideration, and 3) an open forum for discussion and soliciting thoughts on evaluating candidate mitigation sites.

Anyone wanting to present candidate regional mitigation site locations and actions should contact Treaver Ashby at tashby@blm.gov prior to the workshop to be added to the agenda.

To ensure adequate space for the workshop, the public is asked to RSVP to lfox@anl.gov

Comprised of 29,964 acres of public land, the Afton Solar Energy Zone is located south of the West Mesa Industrial Park and north of the Afton Generating Station in Doña Ana County. It was one of 17 solar energy zones identified in the Solar Development Programmatic Environment Impact Statement prepared by the Department of Energy and the BLM in July 2012. The SEZ is an area well-suited for utility-scale production of solar energy, where the BLM will prioritize solar energy and associated transmission infrastructure development.

Information on the workshop, status of the strategy and public participation opportunities can be found at the BLM website at http://www.blmsolar.anl.gov/sez/nm/regional-mitigation/ or by contacting Treaver Ashby at 575-525-4304 or at tashby@blm.gov.