By DEIRDRE MONROE
Santa Fe
Author of Caja trails map

An article in the Santa Fe New Mexican (Aug. 13, 2025) described a USFS “finding of no impact” for a proposed power line that would cross the northern Caja Plateau, linking Los Alamos with an existing electrical substation just off Buckman Road. Since then, I have read several strong statements of opposition. While there certainly is opposition to the project, there is also support. I’d like to provide some food for thought.

The Caja is lovely—beautiful and rugged—but it is a 100,000-acre, working landscape. In my 25 years of exploring this area and as author of a 2014 Caja trails map, the powerline project, properly built and with proper rehabilitation of any disturbed areas, will not impact wildlife or the environment and may even improve it.

Most of the proposed project (affecting about 1,300 acres) would follow an existing powerline across White Rock Canyon to Chino Mesa, using that same powerline easement south to the very well-used Forest Road 24. A couple of miles of the project would then extend east from an existing stock tank and corral (the 700 Well) to connect with the Norton Substation.

The last section would cross active and long-used pastures. As required by NEPA regulations, initial environmental and cultural surveys have been conducted, with the latter including tribal participation. If the powerline is built, processes will be in place to properly address any previously unidentified cultural or environmental issues if they are identified. USFS agreements require tribal consultation; key stakeholders would remain involved.

The Caja has a long history of many uses. The area is an old (1690s) Spanish land grant now managed as multiuse public land by the USFS and BLM. Cattle use is controlled by USFS and BLM to prevent overgrazing. More importantly, the Caja plateau is dry, with virtually no perennial water, so stock tanks provide dependable water, not only for cattle, but also for wildlife, wild horses and recreational use. Trails now used by hikers and wildlife—elk cross the Rio Grande in the winter—were originally constructed for stock access to Rio Grande and Santa Fe River water. A balanced, multiuse approach and personal collaborations have been successful.

Even with the powerline project, the Caja is and can remain a lovely multi-use landscape that honors culture and traditional uses, while also providing a safe area for family picnics at lovely overlooks and the kind of recreational activities that keep us healthy in mind and body.