Talk of the Town | ABQJournal Online
Help us save La Bajada Mesa
LA BAJADA MESA is one of the most stunning and scenic places in New Mexico. Driving toward Santa Fe on I-25, the reward for cresting the last long, hard climb is a vast expanse of open space where sun and shadow dance across the plain. It has been a demarcation between Rio Arriba and Rio Abajo for centuries, and it is still an iconic part of our Western landscape.
La Bajada Mesa is a focal point for artists, writers and the tourists who support our economy. It is the gateway to the Galisteo Basin parklands and an important wildlife corridor for both predators and prey.
Yet this special place is threatened by a massive, 50-acre strip mine, right in heart of La Bajada Mesa. Yes, this magnificent part of New Mexico’s landscape, ecology, history and tradition – and everything that depends upon it – is under threat of being crushed to gravel. And, in a stunning display of disregard for what it means to live in the desert in the midst of record-setting drought, the operation proposes to use 18 million gallons of precious, potable water for dust control over its 25 years of operation.
Learn more at www.SaveLaBajada.org and attend the Santa Fe County hearing at 4 p.m. Thursday at 102 Grant Ave., Santa Fe.
DIANE SENIOR, Madrid