New Mexico Pueblo governors endorse draft federal legislation to protect Caja del Rio landscape - ICT
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The bill, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), would designate the area as a national monument, and thus add limits to new industrial development

Danielle Prokop
Source New Mexico

A coalition of New Mexico Pueblo governors last week unanimously voted to endorse forthcoming federal legislation to protect the 107,000-acre expanse of the Caja del Rio plateau, a swath of public lands south of Santa Fe with environmental, historical and spiritual significance to multiple advocacy groups.

The bill, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), would designate the area as a national monument, and thus add limits to new industrial development. Heinrich will introduce the legislation sometime in April, according to Press Secretary Luis Soriano.

Pueblo leaders, state officials and members of the New Mexico congressional delegation have urged the federal government for years to limit development on the plateau, joined by coalitions of tribal, Hispano, outdoor recreation, ranchers and environmental groups.

A Republican-backed effort to sell off public lands last year identified BLM-owned areas to the south and the northeast of the Caja del Rio Plateau as available for sale. The sell-offs ultimately failed to move through Congress.

In August, federal officials greenlit construction to move forward on a transmission power line project to power Los Alamos National Laboratory, despite overwhelming public opposition.

The plateau, jointly managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service, includes many cultural sites, including the La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs, one of the largest concentrations of ancient rock carvings in the state.

The Caja Del Rio is identified as a vital corridor for wildlife and grazing, advocates say, and also a site for spiritual pilgrimage, hunting and firewood for nearby Pueblos and Spanish land grant communities.

The All Pueblo Council of Governor’s vote Friday to back the legislation shows “we all agree the Caja needs to be protected,” Chair Joey Sanchez, Santa Ana Pueblo, said in a statement following the vote.

“The proposed legislation represents a significant step toward ensuring the long-term protection of the Caja del Rio while honoring its deep cultural and historical significance to Indigenous and local communities,” Sanchez said.

Gov. Raymond Aguilar Jr. of Kewa Pueblo called the bill a “landmark piece of legislation” in a statement Friday saying it offers “an important step in the co-management of this sacred place by both federal and Pueblo governments.”

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