Rio Grande Trail: Long trail for a big river

Photo courtesy Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Doña Ana
4.5 miles of La Llorona Trail in Las Cruces is the first segment of the Rio Grande Trail to be officially designated. State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, shown with a trail map, drafted the bill that created the trail and the commission that is guiding its development. Las Cruces Bulletin What could go better along the Rio Grande than a largo sendero? And that’s just what the Rio Grande Trail Commission has in mind: a long trail for the Big River. The commission met June 12 in Las Cruces, continuing a series of meetings around the state as it works to designate about 470 miles of a new Rio Grande Trail from the Texas border to the Colorado border, including about 80 miles in Doña Ana County. “It was great,” state Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Doña Ana, said about the Las Cruces meeting. “Progress is being made and it’s exciting to see.” Steinborn introduced House Bill 563 and shepherded its passage into law in 2015 as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives (he was elected to the state Senate in 2016). The law created the trail and the commission guiding its development and designation. The proposed trail “includes four national wildlife refuges, six national monuments, one national heritage area and six state parks,” according to www.riograndetrailnm.com, “touching nearly 10 counties and more than 22 cities or towns.” Las Cruces is home to the first segment of the trail. Gov. Susana Martinez officially designated the 4.5-mile La Llorona Trail in October 2016. Other designated segments of the trail in the county are south of Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park and north of Las Cruces between Fort Selden and Radium Springs, including Leasburg Dam State Park. Designated portions of the trail also exist in Sierra County and near Albuquerque. About 25 miles of the Rio Grande contained within the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument near Taos has just been added, as well, Steinborn said. Another 20 miles that would take the trail to the Colorado border is undergoing an environment assessment and could be designated soon. Steinborn said the commission is working with conservancy districts along the Rio Grande corridor, the International Boundary and Water Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to leverage additional designations. “We’re seeing incredible support,” he said, “just incredible enthusiasm for this trail.” Calling it “terrifically ambitious,” Steinborn said a timeline discussed at the June 12 meeting could have about half the trail designated by the end of 2018, and he said a plan for the complete trail could be finished by this fall. Creating a “visually appealing and experiential” trail is essential, Steinborn said, along with making the trail as environmentally sensitive and minimally invasive as possible. The commission includes state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNR) Sec. Ken McQueen, New Mexico State Parks Director Christy Tafoya, state Tourism Department Sec. Rebecca Latham, state Department of Transportation Sec. Tom Church, ENMR Mining and Minerals Division Director Fernando Martinez, Toner Mitchell of Trout Unlimited, state Tourism Department Division Director David Griscom, state Department of Indian Affairs Acting Sec. Suzette Shije and state Department of Transportation Urban and Regional Planner Shannon Glendenning. Legislative advisory members of the commission include Steinborn; State Sen. Sander Rue, R-Bernalillo, and state Reps. Bobby Gonzales, D-Taos, and Gail Armstrong, R-Catron, Socorro and Valencia. Visit www.riograndetrailnm.com and www.emnrd.state.nm.us. Contact the Rio Grande Trail Commission at riograndetrailcommission@state.nm.us.   Mike Cook may be reached at mike@lascrucesbulletin.com