Management Planning for the Old Spanish Trail Now Under Way

Santa Fe, NM - The Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service are seeking public input in developing a management plan for the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. Designated as part of the National Trails System in 2002, the trail route crosses six western States – New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California – and links some of the West’s oldest communities from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Los Angeles, California.

Twenty public meetings will be held along the trail route, beginning in New Mexico and Colorado communities in February, and continuing in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and California through mid-May. Everyone with an interest in the trail and its history, possibilities for recreation and heritage preservation, or resources and opportunities along the route are encouraged to attend one or more of the scoping meetings.

The first of 4 public meetings in Colorado will be held in Durango on February 28, at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, Extension Building, Animas Room, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Additional meetings will be held in Alamosa, March 1, at the Alamosa County Services Center, 8900 Independence Way, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; and in Gunnison, March 2, at the Fred R. Field Heritage Center, 275 South Spruce Street, 5:30-7:30 p.m. One final meeting will be held in Grand Junction on April 17, at the Grand Vista Hotel’s Horizon Room, 2790 Crossroads Boulevard at Horizon Drive, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The public is also invited to submit comments in writing, by email or through the webpage, http://parkplanning.nps.gov, at any time through May 17, 2006. Written comments and email should be addressed to Sarah Schlanger, New Mexico State Office, Bureau of Land Management, PO Box 27115, Santa Fe, NM 87502, Sarah_Schlanger@blm.gov, or to Aaron Mahr, National Park Service, P.O. Box 728, Santa Fe, NM 87504, aaron_mahr@nps.gov.

Some of the more remote sections of the Old Spanish Trail still can be walked, ridden on horseback or bicycle, or followed by wagon or jeep. Other parts of the route are now beneath or alongside some of our busiest highways. The management plan will describe how the surviving elements of the Old Spanish Trail—the route, the landscape, and the historic places—will be developed to preserve trail resources, provide access to trail sites, and tell the story of the trail and its role in American history. The full meeting schedule is posted at www.nps.gov/olsp and at www.nm.blm.gov.

-BLM-