SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard today issued Executive Order 2024-0o1 in protection of the Caja del Rio Plateau by banning mining, the construction of large transmission lines (115 kv or above) and major throughfares on state lands. The order applies to 3,487 acres of surface and 5,523 acres of mineral rights on state trust lands within the Caja del Rio landscape.
While the draft decision on the 14-mile transmission line issued by the U.S. Forest Service does not include state lands, this order, in conjunction with the Cultural Properties Protection Rule that Commissioner Garcia Richard promulgated in December 2022, is intended to further identify and protect significant cultural resources on the plateau while preventing development on state lands in the region for the foreseeable future.
The order takes effect immediately and runs through December 31, 2044 unless extended by the Commissioner.
Download a copy of the executive order here.
“The Caja del Rio represents a wealth of New Mexico history and culture just minutes away from Santa Fe. It is my duty as the State Land Commissioner to protect the state lands located on our most cherished landscapes because once they are gone, they are gone forever,” said Commissioner Garcia Richard. “The area’s Indigenous and Hispano communities maintain a very deep and very real connection to the landscape through continued uses of the land that have been around for hundreds or even thousands of years. These communities, along with a broad coalition of advocates, have voiced valid concerns about how development on the plateau could permanently damage cultural resources and wildlife migration routes. I strongly urge leaders at the federal level to make a similar determination.”
The Caja del Rio, which is located primarily on Bureau of Land Management and U.S. States Forest Services lands just outside the City of Santa Fe, holds significant cultural, historical, archaeological and ecological importance to many New Mexicans. The Caja del Rio plateau has been inhabited by Indigenous communities since time immemorial and contains a dense concentration of thousands of sacred sites, structures, burial sites, petroglyphs, irrigation systems, and other significant cultural resources. Pueblos including, Cochiti, Tesuque and San Ildefonso still maintain ongoing connection to the Caja del Rio landscape and its cultural resources, and sacred sites through story, song, pilgrimage, and prayer.
Families from the Caja del Rio Hispano communities, including Jacona, Agua Fria, La Cieneguilla, La Cienega, La Bajada, and Santa Fe’s Southside also remain deeply connected to the landscape and act as living repositories of traditional ecological and cultural knowledge of the area.
Statement from Governor Milton Herrera, Pueblo of Tesuque:
“The Pueblo of Tesuque thanks the state land commissioner for recognizing the unique and special character of the Caja del Rio and acknowledging our respective use of this living, cultural landscape to maintain our pueblo culture values and spiritual beliefs that drew our ancestors to this area and the important areas within the Caja we still visit to this day.
“This Executive Order highlights the reason why the entire landscape should be protected and the Commissioner is taking a very bold step in the right direction to protect state lands within the Caja from further desecration, litter, trespass, poaching and other bad actions many of us have been raising an alarm about and working as best we can with other federal agencies, stakeholders and the county of Santa Fe to protect.
“The pueblo of Tesuque fully supports commissioner Garcia Richards issuance of the executive order and will work with her office and others to the greatest extent we can to continue our joint efforts to protect and preserve the entire Caja del Rio landscape.
“The creator gave us this special gift to care for our children, grandchildren, and those yet to come. As noted in the executive order and by all scientific studies done on the area, it supports the broad and diverse ecosystem for wildlife, plants, insects, and the amazing petroglyphs and petrographs that live throughout the Caja and that tells the story of the movement of all living things through this unique area.
“This place is our grocery store where we gather our eatable plants, our pharmacy where gather our medicinal plants and our church where we go prey.
“We are grateful for this executive order. It is the right thing to do to protect a piece of this beautiful living landscape for all now and in perpetuity to enjoy.”
Additional Quotes:
“The Caja del Rio is the heartbeat of emergence in our identity due to the setting where native Pueblos staked down. This sacred landscape holds my ceremonial power point and is alive each and every day. Our connection to this sacred site will always be active in ceremonies today and tomorrow’s youth are especially proud to be part of the sacred site. In our migration from Pecos, this sacred site was chosen due to waterways and pharmaceutical land scape where the 4 legged, winged, finned, pollinators, micro invertebrates, survived wild fires. We earthpeople are stewards of the environment and have been able to keep the land from further destruction, but the Caja needs permanent protections from unlawful activities and we are thankful the State Land Office is taking this important step.”
Brophy Toledo, Member of Jemez Pueblo and Flower Hill Institute
“The Caja del Rio embodies the spirit of the Southwest with abundant wildlife, rich cultural and sacred sites, and a truly remarkable history that has shaped the identity of this nation. It’s long overdue to protect this important area. We applaud Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard and the New Mexico State Land Office for their visionary leadership in protecting the state trust lands within the Caja and we join with Indigenous, Hispano, local, and state leaders in calling for the Biden Administration to designate the Caja del Rio as a national monument.”
Reverend Andrew Black, Public Lands Field Director for the National Wildlife Federation and Founder of EarthKeepers 360.
“To protect the cultural and ecological integrity of our ancestral lands, non-tribal governmental partners need to uphold the sovereignty and consent of tribes who wish to protect biodiversity, sacred sites and scared places. We recognize the efforts of the State Land Office in adopting a resolution that will protect state lands within the Caja del Rio landscape and it’s steps like these that we wish to see all other forms of government model.”
Julia Bernal, Executive Director of the Pueblo Action Alliance
“The Caja del Rio Plateau contains an abundance of cultural, historical, and ecological sites of major significance. This Executive Order ensures that this landscape is protected for future generations while respecting the traditional land use practices of Native and Hispano communities. The Caja del Rio is the key landscape demarcation between the Rio Arriba and Rio Abajo, the upper and lower regions of New Mexico with their distinct cultures, cuisines, and economies. The communities of Santa Fe’s traditional Hispanic villages maintain deep ties and living roots to the Caja del Rio as ‘Ejido’ through the preservation and practice of traditional land uses like pilgrimage, prayer, hunting, grazing and firewood and piñon nut gathering.”
Carmichael Dominguez, Hispanic Organizer for EarthKeepers 360 & Former Councilor City of Santa Fe City.
“As a Santa Fe County Commissioner, District 2, I’ve advocated for the preservation of the Caja del Rio. I’m honored to stand with our State Land Commissioner Garcia Richard. On multiple occasions, the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners have passed resolutions supporting the preservation and protection of the Caja del Rio (e.g., Resolution No. 2005-76, Resolution No. 2019-144, and Resolution No. 2022-030).It is a place of spiritual refuge for many and a place in deep need of protection from numerous threats including “wildcat shooting” on BLM and Forest Service lands that has left a legacy of lead and other toxic substance behind that must be clean up for the protection of our wildlife and ground water.”
Santa Fe County Commissioner Anna Hansen
“New Mexico Wild applauds Commissioner Garcia Richard for her efforts from the New Mexico State Land Office to protect the natural and cultural resources and land uses on state trust lands within the Caja del Rio. We hope all of our congressional delegates and especially Secretary Deb Haaland will push with all their political might to create a national monument on this remarkable landscape before the Biden administration’s clock runs out.”
Garrett VeneKlasen, Northern Conservation Director of New Mexico Wild.
“We at Archaeology Southwest are gratified that State Land Commissioner Garcia Richard has banned mining, the construction of large transmission lines, and major throughfares on state trust lands on the Caja del Rio Plateau. This special area contains many ancestral, historic, and sacred sites important to New Mexico’s Pueblos and Hispano communities. Bold action by Commissioner Garcia Richard will ensure that these resources are protected.”
Paul F. Reed, New Mexico State Director of Archaeology Southwest.
“Just across the river from Bandelier National Monument, the Caja del Rio is an integral part of a vast cultural landscape, where Indigenous and Hispano connections to the land have spanned generations” said National Parks Conservation Association New Mexico program manager Maude Dinan. “Despite its profound cultural and ecological importance, the Caja remains at risk of energy development that could permanently devastate the landscape. This order is an important step toward protecting the Caja and encourages more responsible planning for energy development elsewhere. We urge federal leaders to continue this momentum for lasting protections for the Caja.”
Maude Dinan, New Mexico Program Manager of the National Parks Conservation Association
“The Caja del Rio is a living cultural and ecological treasure that deserves to be celebrated and protected for current and future generations. It doesn’t matter if development happens on federal or state land on the Caja del Rio – the impacts don’t recognize boundary lines. The leadership by State Land Commissioner Garcia Richard to protect this landscape should set a model for how the U.S. Forest Service and BLM approach the management of the landscape. We applaud the steps taken today by the State Land Office to protect the Caja del Rio and the interests of the Pueblos and nearby communities.”
Michael Casaus, New Mexico State Director of The Wilderness Society
Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard was first elected by New Mexico voters to lead the State Land Office in 2018. Since she took office in January 2019, the agency has raised more than $11 billion for New Mexico public schools, hospitals, and universities. Over 13 million acres of state trust land are leased for a variety of uses, including ranching and farming, renewable energy, business development, mineral development, and outdoor recreation. The State Land Office has a dual mandate to use state trust land to financially support vital public institutions, while simultaneously working to protect the land for future generations.