Public lands such as the Caja del Rio must be protected, not only as a means to safeguard our state’s rich history, but also to forge a more equitable public lands future.

Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project extends a sincere thank-you to the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners for voting unanimously in support of a resolution to preserve this landscape for its “profound cultural, historical, archaeological, and ecological significance,” and sees this as an invaluable step toward helping our communities reconnect with our cultural and natural heritage for generations to come.

The Caja del Rio plateau west of Santa Fe is a window into New Mexico’s rich and complex history. Millennia-old petroglyphs and ancient Pueblo cultural sites throughout the plateau shed light on the reverence Indigenous communities have held for these lands long before colonial times. Spanish land grant settlements also heavily relied on the Caja’s natural resources and influenced the landscape. Pueblo nations and traditional Hispanic communities still rely on these lands today to practice their cultural heritage.