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SANTA FE – The Bureau of Land Management in Taos has accredited a journey plan with improved entry, and an official trailhead providing parking and tenting within the Horse Thief Mesa space inside the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
In a letter to stakeholders, the bureau stated the plan was created beneath an environmental evaluation course of, with public remark and calls for nearly 36 miles of route designations offering “expanded recreational opportunities” within the 2,060-acre space.
The 242,555-acre nationwide monument was established in 2013 by President Barack Obama beneath the 1906 Antiquities Act.
Over the previous 15 years, the world has develop into more and more common for horseback driving, mountain biking, mountain climbing and operating because it gained “more attention and promotion from local nonprofit partners and the Taos County outdoor gear industry,” in accordance to an outline on the BLM National Environmental Protection Act Register.
The accredited plan consists of 35.95 miles of route designations in various classes for off-highway autos, mountain climbing, biking and horseback driving, offering expanded leisure alternatives and entry.
Following evaluate, “the BLM recognizes that the presidential proclamation that established Rio Grande del Norte National Monument precludes motorized trails within the Monument” and meaning electrical bikes “are permitted … only on roads designated OHV Open,” in accordance to the register.
The routes would come with new trails, that are “dependent on completion of additional cultural and biological surveys.”
The new path segments are conditional and require, by regulation, consultations with Native American tribes, the State Historic Preservation Office and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.