Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act Clears Senate Committee

Today, the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), cleared the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The bill now awaits passage by the full Senate. The Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act, which has broad support from the local community, would designate the 45,000-acre Columbine-Hondo area in Taos County as wilderness. The bill would also expand the Wheeler Peak Wilderness by approximately 650 acres while modifying a boundary in order to create a loop trail accessible by mountain bikes along the Lost Lake trail from Taos Ski Valley to the East Fork trail to Red River. Last month, Senator Heinrich joined the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Coalition, regional stakeholders, and local officials for a hike in the area to highlight conservation and water initiatives and growing the outdoor recreation economy. There is strong, local support for the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act, including from business owners, tribal leaders, ranchers, sportsmen, acequia parciantes, mountain bikers, conservationists, and others. Local residents discussed why they support permanently protecting the Columbine Hondo and what the area means to them. Located in the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico, the Columbine-Hondo has been managed as a Wilderness Study Area since 1980...more