Open Space Closed

Open space officials in Santa Fe County to hold public meeting today

Placer Peak, the highest peak in the Ortiz Mountains at 8,800 feet, has been closed off to hikers since mid-May.

It's hard to imagine, almost inconceivable that such a peak would be inaccessible. You can see it from virtually anywhere south of the city of Santa Fe, but you can't get to it if you want.

That's because a mining company owns the road that leads partially up to it; so in order to explore it, you'd literally have to dial up LAC Minerals Inc. and ask them if they could be so kind as to open the locked gate.

Or, another route would be to place a call to Santa Fe County's open space officials. The county owns the the easement to the road that leads up to a 1,300 acre preserve that precedes the climb to the peak.

But the preserve, an outdoor mining museum, really, is off limits too.

Commonly known as the Ortiz Mountains Educational Preserve, it was once managed by the Botanical Garden in Santa Fe.

But the nonprofit, fearful that the road that leads up to the preserve was too dangerous for off road vehicles, decided to bow out of managing the preserve for reasons of liability. A few weeks ago, it quit giving tours, putting the problem squarely back into the hands of its owner, Santa Fe County.

Since then, thousands of acres of open space have, for all intents and purposes, been shuttered as the county decides how to best manage the wilderness while balancing the needs of the public.

Maria Lohman, senior planner  for the county's trails and open space program, says the county is in the midst of interviewing dozens of docents who are familiar with the preserve and Placer Peak in hopes of coming up with some sort of transition plan.

A public meeting is scheduled at 2 pm today at the Cerrillos Hills State Park. Lohman says she has a feeling that if all goes well, then the preserve and Placer Peak could be open to the public by mid to late summer.

But first the Santa Fe County Commissioners have to sign off on the plan, she says.

"It's going to be a fact finding meeting," she adds of the public meeting. "We anticipate opening the property but not until we get the plan completed and adopted by the county commissioners."

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