Community members showed up in droves to protest a controversial Northern New Mexico power line project Friday, demanding federal intervention to protect the sacred and historically significant Caja del Rio plateau as a deadline looms for public objections to the plan.
A traditional Native American Buffalo Dance kicked off the march where around 70 protesters composed of faith and tribal leaders as well as peace and environmental activists loudly promenaded through Downtown Santa Fe.
Their destination: the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) building.
Leading the procession was Joseph “Brophy” Toledo of Jemez Pueblo, who serves as a cultural advisor with the Indigenous-led non-profit Flower Hill Institute. The connection he has to the Caja is deep.
“It is like a mediation point where my DNA memory becomes alive and really grounds me back down to where I need to be,” Toledo said.
Recently, the Santa Fe National Forest issued a finding of “no significant impact” of environmental and cultural resources for the Caja transmission line project – essentially giving its approval to begin construction.
The decision would give the federal government permission to alter the forest’s recently amended management plan to make way for a transmission corridor.
Protesters came to hand deliver their objection to this finding and demand federal intervention.
“We’re marching because we want to bring attention to this, but we also want to challenge LANL and the NNSA to come up with better solutions,” said Andrew Black, one of the conservationists spearheading these efforts against the LANL line.
The power line project, which has been in the works for several years now, would provide “reliable and redundant” power to Los Alamos National Lab for “national security” – namely to run a new supercomputer to advance isotope research and top-of-the-line climate modeling. That’s according to NNSA officials.
In all, the 115kV transmission line project would cut across 14 miles of the plateau from east to west with the addition of 17 new towers and road infrastructure.
It would be the third such line in the area.
Alternatives such as solar or wind power have been shot down by NNSA officials, contrary to past feasibility studies. Suggestions to “reconductor” or upgrade existing lines have been met with the same response.
The project has even caught the eye of the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners – like Anna Hansen, who voted unanimously for a resolution calling for permanent protections for the Caja plateau.
“We have one of the most important, pristine pieces of land in New Mexico, period,” Commissioner Hansen said. “The Caja del Rio is an incredible piece of natural beauty that we need to protect.”
The Caja is undoubtedly historically significant, boasting tribal burial grounds, ceremony sites and millennia-old petroglyphs. Swaths of animals also use the area as a wildlife corridor – including elk.
Since the line would dissect Bureau of Land Management and National Nuclear Security Administration land, those agencies also need to weigh in before shovels can go into the ground.
A 45-day objection period for the USFS decision ends on Monday, October 28th. Protestors found the NNSA offices closed so they taped their letter to the door.
