Could Mt. Cristo Rey start New Mexico trail?

An El Paso museum group pitched an idea last week to a state commission that met in Las Cruces: An in-the-works Rio Grande hiking trail could start at the foot of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park. The nonprofit, called Insights El Paso Science Center, owns a 211-acre parcel of land in New Mexico at base of the mountain that contains dinosaur tracks. Officials with the organization told the Rio Grande Trail Commission that they're eyeing their options for the future of the parcel, including transferring ownership to another entity that would work to preserve its resources and educate the public about them. The state commission is tasked with overseeing the creation of a trail that would run the more-than-500-mile length of New Mexico along the Rio Grande.  The Rio Grande Trail proposal is still in its infancy. Legislation took effect July 1 of last year, calling for the trail's establishment. The trail commission's meeting on Wednesday in Las Cruces was its third session. Rio Grande Trail commissioners head an update about a proposal by the New Mexico Department of Transportation to spend about $500,000 of mainly federal funds to create a master plan for the trail and work out its alignment across the state. "Now funding is being dialed in to do some serious comprehensive planning," Steinborn said...more