11 Most Endangered
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail
Year Listed: 2007
Location: New Mexico
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Development
The earliest Euro-American trade route in the United States, the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, known for its austere physical beauty, rural solitude and remote isolation, is threatened by a $225 million commercial Spaceport, a venture planned adjacent to one of the most pristine and sacred segments of the Trail. El Camino Real is considered by many to be one of the largest and most important artifacts of the Spanish Colonial era in the United States and one of the most valuable single markers of the Hispanic experience in the Southwest. On its U.S. side, the trail crosses a small section of West Texas in the El Paso area and then passes through the New Mexico counties of Doña Ana, Sierra, Socorro, Valencia, Bernalillo and Santa Fe. The Trail is owned by many different entities as it traverses federal, tribal, state, county, municipal and private lands. Heritage tourists continue to be inspired by the pure beauty and unique ecosystems offered by this resource, especially the segment known as the Jornada del Muerto, which remains - for now - largely untouched by modern-day encroachment.
Update
The proposed Spaceport site is within a 90-mile stretch of waterless desert located 45 miles northeast of Las Cruces-the Jornada del Muerto-and immediately adjacent to El Camino Real. Spaceport operations, which will involve the construction of multiple structures, access roads, parking lots, runways, launch pads, chemical tanks, fencing and viewing areas, will pose a serious threat to the area's historic and cultural resources, The near-pristine quality of the air, animal habitats and the public's ability to visit, experience and enjoy the Trail and its environs will be compromised. The immediate goal is to avoid adverse affects to the Trail, while the long-term goal is to set a precedent for citing and designing modern-day developments so that they contribute to, rather than diminish, an important historical and cultural resource. Collaboratively developing a Comprehensive Management Plan and Memorandum of Understanding (with BLM, the NPS and New Mexico) will help ensure that the area is deservedly protected. At the same time, New Mexico's famous Night Sky should remain protected and a 20-mile no-development zone needs to be established and rigorously enforced around the Spaceport in Sierra County.
