The 90-degree temperatures didn’t keep 15 volunteers from showing up June 5 at the Wildlife Center in Arroyo Seco to participate in a cleanup of a piece of federal land.
The event centered around the clean up of a 680-acre parcel of land owned by the federal Bureau of Land Management in Santa Fe County that is being developed into a multi-use community park through a grant under the state Recreational Trails Program. The event was sponsored by the Chimayó Youth Conservation Corps, La Associación de la Communidad de La Puebla, the Wildlife Center and the Bureau.
The grant totals $383,000 and was obtained through a proposal written by the Corps’ Darren Griego and the Bureau’s Suzy Havener. The Corps is the grantee and will work with the Associación, the Center and the Bureau to plan the development of the area.
The grant covers a three-year period and the development of the area is in the planning stages. The Bureau hopes to have the planning stages done by late fall, Bureau assistant field manager John Bailey said.
“It’s a multi-facet project developing motorized and non-motorized use of the parcel,” Griego, a contract administrator, said. “There’s a lot of planning work that needs to be done and the cleanup was an opportunity to bring the community in.”
The volunteers spent the morning picking up trash that has been left by illegal dumpers who have been able to crisscross the area over makeshift roads carved into the high desert landscape over the years.
“We wanted to bring the community in to help us get rid of the trash,” Bailey said. “We want to solicit input from them. This is their park. What would they like to see?”
La Puebla resident Peggy Espinoza and her daughter Megan filled plastic trash bags with Corps member Melvin Trujillo.
“We’re doing this so that it looks nice up here,” Peggy Espinoza said.
Associación member Rosemary England lives adjacent to the proposed park and walks through the area daily.
“(Picking up trash) is some thing I do every day,” she said.
To control illegal trash dumping, the Burea plans to install a fence along the western boundary where the area is usually entered. The Bureau is in the process of hiring a ranger for the Española area who would patrol the area and enforce the regulations, according to Bailey. Signs would be posted to inform people dumping was prohibited and give directions to the nearest transfer station accepting trash. In addition, the ranger would also enforce the restrictions on motorized travel in areas of the parcel where it would be prohibited. Now, the entire area is used by vehicle users who have left scars over almost every hill.
“We get riders from Santa Fe and Los Alamos,” said La Puebla resident Felix Quintana, whose wife Martha is the president of the Associación.
The proposal for the area would include designated trails for motorized and non-motorized uses and an open area for motorized use with a staging area and shelters. This latter area could be used as a site to educate the public on the proper use of all-terrain vehicles, according to Griego.
“We want the involvement of the ATV community,” he said.
Other areas are proposed to be set aside for non-motorized use only and other areas would require users to stay on designated trails. There are already three miles of walking trails that would be included in the non-motorized use area.
Felix Quintana pointed out areas where conflict could develop because there were already access points to the area used by motorized travel. He also pointed out areas that needed to be cleared of trash.
“Take a map home with you and then show us those areas,” Bailey told Quintana.
The non-motorized area would include an interpretive walk under the prorosal. Wildlife Center Executive Director Katherine Eagleson wanted to emphasize the potential for introducing people to nature.
“This could be an outdoor classroom,” she said. “The educational component is huge.”
The Bureau has also identified archaeological sites in the area.
“We want to preserve those sites,” Griego said.
Felix Quintana grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for the volunteers at lunch time. The proposed park has no name.
For more information or to obtain a copy of the plans, call John Bailey at (575) 751-4703.