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Fire closures affecting the Pecos River and it's tribs within the Santa Fe National Forest will be lifted at 8:00 am on Saturday June 30th!!! The fishing program at Pecos National Historical Park is still suspended until further notice. Please see their website for the details at http://www.nps.gov/peco/index.htm and click on "2011 Fishing Program". The Pacheco Fire area will remain closed for public safety. Last week, the Carson National Forest opened up some of their Ranger Districts under Stage II fire restrictions. I will be in contact with forest service officials to find out if there will be other areas where the closures will be lifted. I will post that information as soon as it becomes available. Please see the rest of our announcements page below for a list of what's closed and what is open. Remember there are other places to fish. Plan a little bit and venture someplace new. The Valle Vidal is open. The Wheeler Peak area near Taos Ski Valley is a great place to backpack. Cooper's Ranch below El Vado dam is open to camping and fishing. So, be willing to try something different, you might just be glad you did!
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish properties/recreation sites within Pecos Canyon will reopen on Friday July 29th. Be aware that the surrounding national forest lands won't reopen until Saturday! These recreation sites include: Bert Clancey, Terrero, Jamie Koch, Mora River and Monastery Lake. Other Game and Fish properties that have reopened include the Rio de Los Pinos Fishing Area, the Red River Hatchery, Rio Chama Wildlife Area (access to the Chama River off of NM Highway 112), Cimarron Canyon State Park.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve has implemented Stage I Fire Restrictions. The visitor center is open and the Valles Caldera will resume normal summer activities excluding those which normally occur in the burned areas. The Las Conchas Fire area will remain in Stage III Fire Closures. The fishing programs on the Preserve remain suspended until further notice. Please call the Valles Caldera or visit their website at www.vallescaldera.gov for more information. The remainder of the Jemez Ranger District is open under stage I restrictions. Paliza Campground and Jemez Falls Campground will remain closed for fire suppression activities.
Effective July 22nd, the Carson National Forest has reopened the forest that had been closed under stage III fire restrcitions. Please see the Carson National Forest website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/for the details of Stage II. The Camino Real Ranger District has reopened. The Camino Real district includes Rio Chiquito, Rito de la Olla, Rio Grande del Rancho, Rio del Pueblo, and the Rio Santa Barbara and north end of the Pecos Wilderness. The other open waters are the Red River, Cabresto Lake, Hopewell Lake, the Rio Hondo, and the Valle Vidal.
As of this writing, some New Mexico State Parks will reopen. Hyde Memorial, Fenton Lake, Morphy Lake, Coyote Creek, and Cimarron Canyon State Parks are now open under stage II fire restrictions.
Cochiti Lake is also closed. US Army Corps of Engineers facilities at Cochiti Lake will remain closed through August 16th. The water quality at the lake was cited as one of the factors in keeping the lake closed. There has been a lot of ash runoff from the areas affected by the Las Conchas Fire entering the Rio Grande and into the lake. It is also being used as a water source to mop up the Las Conchas Fire and the campgrounds at the lake are being used to house the firefighters.
Currently, the BLM areas like Orilla Verde, Rio Grande Wild and Scenic Rivers, and Santa Cruz Lake are open have lifted all fire restrictions. Eagle's Nest Lake, Abiquiu Lake, El Vado Lake, Heron Lake, Navajo Lake, the San Juan River, and Jicarilla Nation Lakes are open.
