89.9 FM Live From The University Of New Mexico
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Let’s talk about the Caja del Rio

The Caja del Rio.
Courtesy, Garrett VeneKlasen
/
NM Wild
The Caja del Rio.

Let’s Talk New Mexico 01/16, 8am: From the plains of the Río Grande del Norte to the Gila Cliff Dwellings down South and many others around the state, New Mexico boasts over 2.7 million acres of protected national monuments.

Recently, advocates and politicians alike have put last-minute pressure on the Biden administration to add the culturally significant and ecologically diverse Caja del Rio plateau to the state’s list of protected lands before President-elect Donald Trump takes the White House.

On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’ll explore a controversial proposed power line project through the Caja del Rio that sparked this campaign and talk to the people who recreate and use the landscape on a daily basis.

Should preserving public lands like this be a priority? How do you think the upcoming presidential administration might shift public land use? Are you worried about the future of national monuments? Email letstalk@kunm.org, leave a voice message by clicking the button below, or call (505) 277-5866 Thursday morning at 8.

Guests:

  • Garrett VeneKlasen, Northern Conservation Director, New Mexico Wild 
  • Stephanie Stringer, Associate Deputy Field Office Manager for Business, Security, and Mission, NNSA Los Alamos Field Office
  • Hilario Romero, Former NM State Historian, Retired Professor of History, Spanish & Bilingual Education and Author
  • Jim James, Attorney, Tesuque Pueblo   

Resources, Related Readings: 
Antiquities Act of 1906
"The Insidious Plan to Destroy Our National Monuments," Outside Magazine
Read about the proposed “Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project"
"Proposed Caja del Rio transmission project near LANL raises concerns," KUNM
"Tribes ‘ignored’ as Forest Service approves controversial Caja del Rio transmission project," KUNM
"An audio postcard from the Caja del Rio plateau," KUNM

Stay Connected
Bryce Dix is our local host for NPR's Morning Edition.
  1. State Land Commissioner issues executive order banning transmission lines, mining on Caja del Rio
  2. Sen. Heinrich urges Biden administration to designate Caja del Rio a national monument
  3. Tribes ‘ignored’ as Forest Service approves controversial Caja del Rio transmission project
  4. Community protests LANL transmission line through the Caja del Rio
  5. An audio postcard from the Caja del Rio plateau
  6. Proposed Caja del Rio transmission project near LANL raises concerns
  7. Public overwhelmingly voices opposition to nuclear lab transmission line project