Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today introduced legislation that would protect and enhance cultural, ecological, recreational, and scenic resources on public lands in Northern New Mexico.  The bill is cosponsored by Senator Tom Udall.

Bingaman’s “El Río Grande Del Norte National Conservation Area Establishment Act” would protect approximately 235,980 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land by designating a combination of “conservation” and “wilderness” areas.

The vast majority of the land – 214,573 acres – would be managed as a conservation area.  Two other areas – the 13,420-acre Cerro del Yuta on the east-side and the 8,000-acre Río San Antonio in the west – will be managed as wilderness. 

 “This bill would protect the valuable natural and cultural resources found in the area while also recognizing that the history of these lands is still being written by the local community,” said Bingaman, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. 

“Our northern communities understand the special value and heritage captured in these lands,” said Udall. “I am pleased to be joining Senator Bingaman in introducing legislation to make these unique and historic landscapes in Taos and Rio Arriba counties available and accessible for the benefit of generations of New Mexicans to come.”

The bill would designate as a conservation area the upper reaches of the Rio Grande Gorge previously designated as a Wild and Scenic River, protecting elk wintering grounds and migratory corridors along the plateau between Ute Mountain and San Antonio Mountain and habitat for other game species and birds of prey, 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 hiking, camping, mountain biking, river rafting, hunting, fishing, and bird watching, 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.

This bill will be referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.