Thank you for commenting on the route inventory for the Sombrillo Travel Management Area

Sombrillo ACEC at twilight
  • The Friends of the Nambe Badlands does not advocate closing the Sombrillo ACEC to all users.
  • We do promote responsible mountain biking 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.

Please stay tuned as the Travel Management Plan process continues.

The Friends of the Nambé Badlands is working with the BLM on getting trail signs to help educate users on the fragility of the Sombrillo ACEC and Nambé Badlands and promote responsible recreation.

We hope signs can be placed as soon as possible to help reduce negative impacts on this beautiful and delicate landscape.

The BLM Taos Office schedule for the Sombrillo Travel Management Plan can be found on the BLM National NEPA Register.

  • February 15:  Results of route inventory available to the public.
  • February-April:  Paleontological Survey completed; follow-up cultural survey completed; any additional survey work completed.
  • April-May:  Route evaluation and alternatives completed; Public Input opportunity.
  • June:  Draft EA released for public comment.

An illegally constructed mountain bike trail, using tools to covertly carve out sensitive geologic and paleontological resources protected by the  Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern designated by BLM in 1988.

Cut tree on Richards Ave Illegal Mountain Trail in Nambe Badlands, NM

Please help protect the beautiful Sombrillo Area of Environmental Concern and Nambé Badlands by promoting responsible mountain biking, hiking, and horseback riding.

Can the Sombrillo ACEC handle the increased number of mountain bikers, especially irresponsible bikers?

January 23, 2022, Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern

Mountain bike groups are organizing large-scale rides in the Sombrillo ACEC in an apparent attempt to demonstrate usage to the BLM and influence the Travel Management Plan.  Group rides with these numbers of riders are not usual in the Nambe Badlands, and many of the riders in these recent events had never ridden the area before.  These large group rides have left negative impacts on the Sombrillo ACEC.

The Friends of the Nambé Badlands supports responsible mountain biking in the Nambé Badlands and Sombrillo ACEC, only if the natural and scientific resources can be respected and protected.

To be clear, “responsible mountain biking” means:

  1. No building of illegal trails!
  2. Staying on trails designated for mountain biking.
  3. Staying off of cryptobiotic crust.  Don’t Bust the Crust!
  4. Keep singletrack single!  Not riding off the shoulders and sides of trails.
  5. Respecting other trail users and following the IMBA “trail triangle” rules of the trail.

It is also clear that the recent explosion of mountain bikers, many of them irresponsible, has already caused significant damage to the Sombrillo ACEC.

  • The fragile landscape and natural resources of the ACEC cannot withstand this volume of mountain bikers.
  • The land is so fragile that even one irresponsible mountain biker intentionally riding off designated trails results in long-term damage.
  • Illegal mountain bike trails have been constructed on the fossiliferous strata protected under the Sombrillo ACEC.

Recent (January 2022) organized group mountain bike rides have negatively impacted the ACEC by intentionally riding off-trail, widening the single tracks, and littering.

In addition, organized bike clubs and groups continue to promote riding of known illegal trails, dug using tools into the sensitive and legally protected biostratigraphic layers in the Sombrillo ACEC.

Can the Sombrillo ACEC withstand these accelerating impacts?

January 16, 2022, Nambé Badlands and Sombrillo ACEC trailhead

Mountain bike damage to cryptobiotic soil in the Sombrillo ACEC, April 2021.

Irresponsible mountain bikers leave long-lasting scars on the fragile Sombrillo ACEC by intentionally riding off the single-track trails

The maps below show the trail segments in the Nambé Badlands area of Zone 6 (the  Sombrillo ACEC, on the west side of NM 503) and Zone 5 (on the east side of NM 503).

For the trails in the Nambé Badlands and Sombrillo ACEC you want the southern map:

Download the BLM map of the Sombrillo Travel Management Area South with trail inventory

For the trails surrounding La Puebla, Sombrillo, and El Valle del Arroyo Seco you want the northern map:

Download the BLM map of the Sombrillo Travel Management Area North with trail inventory

Zone 6 of the Sombrillo Travel Management Area (the Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern)

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Zone 6 of the Sombrillo Travel Management Area, located west of NM 503 is the Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).  It is shown here with trail segment numbers as defined by the BLM Taos Field Office.  Click on the green (legacy trail segment < 2011) or red (illegally constructed segment > 2011) circle next to each segment number to learn more about each segment.  Note that information on trail segments is being updated so not all trail segments have hyperlinked information pages, yet.

Analysis of trail segments on natural resource impacts

Analyses of the BLM trail segments inside the Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) are summarized in this interactive spreadsheet.

The cell color refers to our recommendation to the BLM Taos Field Office based on resource protection and user enjoyment:

  • Green = open to H (hiking), B (biking), E (equestrians)
  • Blue = open only to H (hiking), closed to bikers and equestrians; BLM signed “no bikes or horses allowed.”
  • Red = closed.  BLM signed “trail closed.”
  • Orange = closed until the trail segment is re-routed around sensitive resources and BLM officially completes all required assessments.  BLM signed “trail closed until further notice.”

Hyperlinks in the table lead to more detail on that trail/segment, including photos of resource impacts, trail profiles, and a detailed map.

Zone 5 of the Sombrillo Travel Management Area (east of NM 503)

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Eastward and Upward Trail.  Two-track trail that climbs up and easterly from NM 503.

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Cholla Gauntlet Trail.  Single track that climbs through a dense cholla area and then up granitic steep ridge towards CR 123.

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Eastern section of Cholla Gauntlet Trail, this section climbs a granitic steep ridge via single track.

Zone 5 of the Sombrillo Travel Management Area (east of NM 503) is shown here with trail segment numbers as defined by the BLM Taos Field Office.   Note that information on trail segments is being updated so not all trail segments have hyperlinked information pages, yet.

Analysis of trail segments on natural resource impacts

Analyses of the BLM trail segments inside Zone 5 of the  Sombrillo Travel Management Area are summarized in this interactive spreadsheet.

The cell color refers to our recommendation to the BLM Taos Field Office based on resource protection and user enjoyment:

  • Green = open to H (hiking), B (biking), E (equestrians)
  • Blue = open only to H (hiking), closed to bikers and equestrians, BLM signed “no bikes or horses allowed”.
  • Red = closed.  BLM signed “trail closed”
  • Orange = closed until significant re-routing around sensitive resources is officially completed by BLM.  BLM signed “trail closed until further notice”

Hyperlinks in the table lead to more detail on that trail/segment, including photos of resource impacts, trail profiles, and a detailed map.

Please contact us if you have any questions on trail segments in the Sombrillo ACEC / Nambé Badlands

Contact Friends of the Nambe Badlands

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The Friends of the Nambé Badlands

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