Under the authority of sections 505(b) of SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1255(b), and in accordance with the position taken by the State of New Mexico, the following provisions of New Mexico law and regulation are hereby preempted and superseded as they may apply to coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations:
The State Wildlife Conservation Act (17-2-37 to 17-2-46 NMSA 1978) to the extent it is inconsistent with provisions of SMCRA related to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 USC 1531 et seq.).