Share Your Concerns About the Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern
- The Friends of the Nambe Badlands does not advocate closing the Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) to all users.
- We do promote responsible recreation by all user groups as long as the fragile resources in the Sombrillo ACEC can be protected.
- Not all the trails can sustain mountain biking and/or horseback riding.
- We encourage authorized new mountain bike trails to be built on the east side of NM 503, outside the ACEC.
- In the past two years, the Sombrillo ACEC has experienced significant damage due to a small cadre of irresponsible mountain bikers.
Please express your concerns with your representatives
(202)227-6621
(202) 224-5521
Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez, New Mexico 3rd District Representative
(505)428-4680
Illegal trail constructed March 2021 in the Sombrillo ACEC
Summary Points
- The Sombrillo ACEC land is exceptionally fragile.
- Illegal trails have been constructed on the most delicate terrain, including steep erodible slopes and ridgelines protected by law under the rules of the Sombrillo ACEC.
- The past two years have experienced a dramatic increase in the number of mountain bikers in the ACEC.
- Irresponsible mountain bikers built illegal trails on the most sensitive areas of the ACEC and are now having Strava races on them.
- There has been no self-policing by the mountain bike community. Instead, local bike clubs are promoting riding on known illegal trails.
- The above facts question whether sustainable mountain biking is possible in the fragile Sombrillo ACEC.
- The Sombrillo ACEC can only sustain mountain biking if the mountain biking community can self-police and only ride on officially authorized BLM trails.
