News on the Buffalo Tract Project. The Las Placitas Association team has completed most of the work necessary to turn the project over to SWCA. SWCA is the company hired through a rigorous vetting process to update the Environmental Assessment of the Buffalo Tract for use as a recreational area. With constantly added recreation requirements/prohibitions being enacted by the Interior Department, it’s been a moving target to nail down the parameters. All trails allowed recreational usages and wildlife corridors have to be reviewed to assure user safety, appropriate design and provide wildlife with unfettered passage. We will keep Placitans informed as the project progresses, with results expected to be ready for public comment by year’s end.
Disposal of Public Lands in New Mexico: More than 250 million acres of public land could be up for sale if the reconciliation bill moving through Congress becomes law. This includes more than 14 million acres in New Mexico. When we attempted to determine how this affects the Placitas area, it got a little more difficult. The best map we found is an interactive map from the Wilderness Society, which you can access at the link at the bottom of this paragraph. We then found that Senator Martin Heinrich’s office has done a deep dive into the question of which lands on the list most affect Placitas/Sandoval County. Though he cautions that the list may not contain every parcel at risk, it’s the best we have found so far and here it is:
- Ball Ranch/Espinosa Ridge Area of Critical Environmental Concern
- Placitas Trailhead
- Crest of Montezuma
- Buffalo Tract
- Strip Mine Trailhead
Forest Service Thinning Project: The best news we have gotten since the Forest Service released its draft plan for forest thinning in the Sandia Ranger District came out of a recent meeting with the new District Ranger, Ken Born. It was an opportunity to express concerns about the prospect of “prescribed burns” in Las Huertas Canyon and it appears that he is listening and responsive. We know there are layers of approvals to be checked off, but there is a possibility of thinning beginning in the canyon this year, with wood removed rather than burned. KUPR interviewed Jon Couch of Las Huertas Community Ditch and Kendra Lucero-Mattucci, President of San Antonio de Las Huertas Land Grant about the meeting. The interview has already aired but you can listen to it as well as recordings from all the Wildfire Prevention meetings in the archives here: https://www.kupr.org/outreach.html.
Dog Poop Patrol: Reports of large amounts of dog poop accumulating near the trails into the forest in west Placitas prompted action. Doris Fields, LPA and ES-CA are working together to install a collection station, complete with bags and regular pickup volunteered by Doody Calls. We will report back once this is a reality. All that will be needed at that point is responsible dog owners being willing to use it.