“Razor’s Edge” and “North Arroyo Loop” Illegal Trails
When were they constructed, and are they authorized trails?
The mountain bike trails, “Razor’s Edge” (magenta) and “North Arroyo Loop” (red) were constructed on the tops of ridgelines somewhere between 2019-2020. They are shared on public social media mountain bike ride-sharing sites, TrailForks.com, and bike club sites, Santa Fe Fat Tire Society.[1]The Santa Fe Fat Tire Society recently removed their sanction on Trailforks.com of some of the illegal trails constructed in the Sombrillo ACEC, although their website still links to maps of these … Continue reading Recently a YouTube video, Cryptobiotic Crust Wonderland, was shared of riders on these trails, along with other newly constructed trails in the Sombrillo Area of Critical Environmental Concern. These recently built trails traverse fragile sedimentary layers inside the “Tesuque Formation” that are rich in mammalian fossils from the Miocene Epoch. Usage of these unauthorized trails by mountain bikers has boomed in the past year.
The white spots on the map link to photos of the damage to the environment from mountain bike activity, and trail construction using tools to dig trail beds and saws to cut pinon and juniper trees. It is illegal to construct trails using tools like these on BLM lands.