Cochiti Pueblo Closes Jemez Roads
Cochiti Pueblo has closed three roads leading into the Jemez Mountains near Cochiti Pueblo. Forest Road 289, the Dome Road, which passes through Bandelier National Monument, and along the eastern boundary of the Valles Caldera before entering the Santa Fe National Forest has been closed on the road’s south end by the Pueblo. That road is still accessible from the north at Highway 4. The road also provides access to the Dome Wilderness.
The Bland Canyon road (FR 268) has also been closed as has the road to Tent Rocks National Monument, which passes through Cochiti Pueblo land before accessing the national monument on Bureau of Land Management Land the Pueblo also closed the Cochiti Canyon Road. Cabin owners in Bland Canyon road cannot access their private property because of the closures. These areas were severely burned by the 2011 Las Conchas Fire.
The closures started in 2018 because of a complex dispute between Cochiti Pueblo, Sandoval County, and the State Land Office. Cochiti Pueblo obtained the Canada de Cochiti tract of land from the State Land Office in a trade. The Pueblo then closed all roads crossing this piece of land. Despite various agreements made with the State, Cochiti Pueblo says nobody may cross their new land parcel except Forest Service staff. Naturally many national forest users are upset about the closures as are ranchers with grazing leases on national forest lands.
The Canada de Cochiti “grant” had long been sought by the National Park Service for addition to Bandelier because of its highly unusual archaeological features.
The US Forest Service, Jemez Ranger District is working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to resolve this problem. For a detailed account of this issue, click here.
National Park Service Staff Faces Housing Shortage
National parks and monuments hire seasonal employees to staff visitor centers, staff fire crews, work in law enforcement, and maintain facilities. Seasonal staff supplement permanent staff during peak visitor seasons at all park areas across the United States. Often these seasonals are specialists who come from out of the area.
Managers at the Valles Caldera, Bandelier, and the Manhattan Project National Historic Park are finding hiring seasonal staff difficult because of the intense demand for housing near Los Alamos, driving by new LANL hiring and the national flight from cities to more rural areas.
Already much of the Valles Caldera staff commutes from suburban Albuquerque to Jemez Springs, but seasonal employees need housing close to their work sites. Their pay is relatively low so they can’t compete in many overheated rental markets. Caldera Action is calling on New Mexico’s Congressional delegation to help with this problem by developing NPS owned housing areas for workers at the Caldera and expanding existing NPS housing at Bandelier.
Park-owned housing is common at parks in remote areas, but the National Park Service has compelled staff working near towns and cities to find their own housing. In places like the Jemez Mountains, economics rather than geography makes housing inaccessible to NPS staff. If potential employees can’t find housing, they can’t work and the parks end up with staff shortages leading to frustrated visitors, deteriorating facilities, or slow emergency responses.
White Rock Canyon Infested with Wild Cattle
Hikers in beautiful White Rock Canyon east of Los Alamos are finding themselves face to face with a large snorting Hereford bull. Cows and their calves hide in the juniper thickets and congregate around Pajarito Springs and Ancho Creek. A growing number of wild cattle live north of Ancho Canyon in land owned by the Department of Energy and Los Alamos County. The cows trample sensitive soils, overgraze native grasses, ruin native willows, and spread weeds while their dung covers beaches and trails.
Caldera Action has been pressing Los Alamos County staff to address this problem. The County assures us they plan to send people into the canyon to drive the cows off public land. Likely the cows came from San Ildefonso Pueblo lands to the north, but the Pueblo members have made little effort to retrieve their cattle. Cows could also enter by crossing the river from US Forest Service land to the east.
Rangers from the National Park Service are building a new fence on the Bandelier/DOE boundary near lower Frijoles Canyon to block feral cattle from entering the park. Rafts carried supplies down the river to the site. Bandelier staff shoots any cattle that enter Bandelier to protect archaeological sites and native vegetation.
Though Los Alamos County hopes to drive the wild cattle out of White Rock Canyon, such an effort may not be successful. We urge the County and DOE to do whatever it takes to make White Rock Canyon cattle free. Fencing along the County, San Ildefonso boundary near Buckman Crossing will need to be restored.
Increasing numbers of hikers use the Blue Dot, Red Dot, and White Dot trails in the Canyon to enjoy dramatic scenery, the 85-degree Pajarito Springs for summer dipping. The area offers excellent birdwatching and you can see a wide variety of ducks, plover and geese along the river.
You can help by contacting Los Alamos County Trails and Parks to share your concerns.
