Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has cleared legislation he wrote to protect and enhance cultural, ecological, recreational, and scenic resources on public lands in Northern New Mexico.  The bill is cosponsored by Senator Tom Udall.

The "Río Grande Del Norte National Conservation Area Establishment Act" would protect approximately 236,000 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Taos and Río Arriba counties by designating a combination of "conservation" and "wilderness" areas.  Click here for a map and a picture.

The vast majority of the land – 214,600 acres – would be managed as a conservation area.  Two other areas – the 13,400-acre Cerro del Yuta on the east-side and the 8,000-acre Río San Antonio in the west – will be managed as wilderness.

"Taos and Rio Arriba counties boast some of the most scenic lands in our state.  This bill would help protect a particularly special area from development while ensuring its cultural and traditional uses are also preserved," Bingaman said.

"This legislation is key to protecting the historic landscapes of Taos and Rio Arriba counties for the enjoyment of future generations," Udall said.  "I commend Senator Bingaman and his Committee for moving this legislation and look forward to its consideration and approval by the full Senate."

The bill would designate as a conservation area the upper reaches of the Rio Grande Gorge previously designated as a Wild and Scenic River and a large portion of the Taos Plateau, protecting elk wintering grounds and a main migratory flyway for birds and raptors, including peregrine falcons and bald eagles.  The majority of the conservation area is composed of high mesa sagebrush-grasslands interspersed with piñon juniper woodlands.

The Cerro del Yuta Wilderness will protect Ute Mountain, a forested extinct volcano which rises to more than 10,000 feet from an elevation of about 7,600 feet at its base.  The Río San Antonio Wilderness Area lies northwest of San Antonio Mountain and is currently managed as a Wilderness Study Area by the Bureau of Land Management.  Its unique character is shaped by the 200-foot-deep canyon formed by the waters of the Río San Antonio that bisects the wilderness area.

"Visitors and residents of northern New Mexico also enjoy these public lands for recreational purposes, including river rafting, hunting, fishing, and hiking, among many others," Bingaman said.  "The local economy benefits greatly from the tourists who visit this area to take in the scenic beauty and natural character of the region, and it is my hope that this designation will further highlight the region as a premier destination in the state, nationally and internationally."

The bill is the culmination of more than two years of work with members of the local community, and because of that input, earlier drafts were revised to specifically mention that the collection of piñon nuts and firewood is permissible within the conservation area.  In addition, existing grazing within the conservation area will be preserved consistent with current management practices.

The Energy Committee also approved S. 1453, the Bureau of Reclamation Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2009.  The bill authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to maintain annual funding through fiscal year 2023 for the Upper Colorado River and San Juan River fish recovery programs.  Those programs provide environmental compliance for water uses in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and the other states within the Upper Colorado River Basin which are Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.   The recovery programs have received national recognition for their efforts to help recover endangered species while at the same time protecting existing water uses within the basin.

The bills are now ready for full Senate consideration.