近距离内射合集

The Sandia Pueblo wants to regain control of nearly 10,000 acres of public lands on the Sandia Mountains鈥� western face, claiming that the U.S. Forest Service has failed to protect the nature and sacred sites there.

However, opponents, including homeowners bordering the wilderness preserve and outdoor recreationists, said they fear the pueblo would strip away public access from nontribal members.

The proposed congressional legislation would move the wilderness trust from the Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior, granting the pueblo management rights.

Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano said the pueblo would continue to allow outdoor recreation, only cracking down on uses that are already banned within wilderness areas, like off-roading and mountain biking.

For them, the act is a matter of protecting sacred lands, which they say are increasingly vandalized and restoring treaty rights broken by the federal government.

鈥淭hat mountain belongs to us and we're trying to regain it through a transfer,鈥� said Sandia Pueblo Lt. Gov. Alex Lujan. 鈥淣othing will change, but we want to get to a point where we can keep it pristine. It's too important to ignore and I think it's something that the public needs to understand 鈥� we're not taking anything away from them.鈥�

But for some, the pueblo鈥檚 word alone isn鈥檛 enough.

Jory Mayschak lives in Evergreen Hills, a neighborhood surrounded by the current T鈥檜f Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area. She鈥檚 lived there for seven years and raised her children with the foothills as their playground. Mayschak said her family uses the trails behind their house every single day.

Mayschak loves the Sandias and said she understands why the pueblo wants so fiercely to protect them.

鈥淚 visited here for the first time about 16 years ago and someone brought me up into the Sandias and I was like, 鈥楾his is the most magical place in the world,鈥欌�� Mayschak said. 鈥淎nd to have a major metropolitan area with this massive wilderness right outside of it makes Albuquerque so incredibly special.鈥�

Mayschak said she and many of her neighbors were blindsided when they learned of the proposed land transfer about a week and a half ago, saying the pueblo never notified them. She said the perceived lack of transparency has made it difficult for neighbors to trust the pueblo on good faith alone.

鈥淚 think it needs to be written into law in the same exact way that it was in 2003,鈥� Mayschak said. 鈥淪o it needs to be guaranteed, continued public access and preservation of the wilderness nature.鈥�

The draft legislation obtained by the Journal writes that the act 鈥渄oes not include the roads, highways and public right-of-ways.鈥� However, the draft also doesn鈥檛 specifically detail which trails are considered public rights-of-way, whether off-trail access is allowable or mention other forms of outdoor recreation.

When asked about the language, Paisano said the act amends the 2003 agreement rather than overhauls it.

鈥淲hat it says is it transfers certain acreage and then it says everything else in the preservation act is left,鈥� Paisano said.

Still, Mayschak said she and her neighbors would want those assurances more explicitly written in the bill itself, leaving zero room for interpretation.

鈥淚 worry that this is precedent-setting and is not just applicable to New Mexico but actually could have ramifications across the U.S. and could be the beginning of the dismantling of our public lands,鈥� Mayschak said. 鈥淲hich I know our current (presidential) administration is not opposed to and so I think that's incredibly scary to think about.鈥�

Mayschak and her neighbors aren鈥檛 the only ones who are concerned.

On Friday, a website called Sandias For All popped up on the internet, imploring residents to call their representatives in Congress and oppose the act. It also asked residents to share their experience enjoying nature in the Sandia Mountains.

It is unclear who runs the new website, as numerous outdoor conservation groups in New Mexico denied involvement.

A long, complicated history

Long before the 近距离内射合集 States of America, the people of Sandia Pueblo lived in the shade of the Sandia Mountains. And long before those mountains were named by Spanish settlers for their bright red color, like a slice of watermelon sitting on the horizon, the Sandia Pueblo was called T鈥檜f Shur Tia in the puebloans鈥� native language, Tiwa.

When Spanish conquistadors arrived and imposed, often forcefully, the Catholic faith, most of New Mexico鈥檚 pueblos fought back in a rebellion called the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. Historians consider the Pueblo Revolt to be the only successful large-scale Native American uprising to remove a European colonial power in North America.

But it was short-lived, lasting just 12 years before the Spanish reconquered the area. However, the revolt brought Spain to the table in negotiating land grants for each pueblo.

Those land grants formed the basis of treaties that both the Mexican and later the 近距离内射合集 States governments would agree to. Language from the original treaties was included in the famous Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which formally ended the Mexican-American War in 1848.

Decades later, when surveyors came to map and designate the pueblos鈥� reservations under the newly signed treaty, the English version that guided them didn鈥檛 match the Spanish, Paisano said.

In the Spanish version, Paisano said the pueblo鈥檚 lands extended all the way to the 鈥渟ierra madre鈥� of the Sandias, which translates literally to 鈥渕other mountain鈥� but figuratively to 鈥渢he highest peak.鈥� Instead, surveyors drew a straight line across the beginning of the Sandia foothills at the base of the mountain.

鈥淭hey did the same to Isleta Pueblo and San Felipe Pueblo, whose boundaries were (later) corrected,鈥� Paisano said.

By the time the pueblo realized the error in old surveying documents, settlements and neighborhoods had already been built west of the legal boundary. A decades-long legal battle ensued, culminating in the 2003 T'uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act, sponsored by then-New Mexico U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

As written, that act was intended to protect wilderness while balancing both the pueblo's and the public鈥檚 interests.

鈥�(The Act) recognizes and protects in perpetuity: (1) the Pueblo of Sandia's rights and interests in such area; (2) the wilderness and National Forest character of the area; and (3) the public's longstanding use and enjoyment of the area,鈥� the 2003 act reads.

The act entrusted the U.S. Forest Service with managing the land, while Sandia Pueblo was given an advisory role. However, according to Paisano, the Forest Service hasn鈥檛 held up its end of the bargain.

Scrolling through photos on his phone, Paisano showed the Journal images of unkempt bathrooms, graffiti on rock faces and litter within the T鈥檜f Shur Bien Trust. In one image, liquor bottles, plastic cups and beer cans scattered the parking lot of a trailhead.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 the hikers,鈥� Paisano said.

More worrying, he said, is vandalism and theft at sacred sites. Paisano alleges that pottery sherds and other archaeological artifacts have been stolen over the years.

鈥淭his is what is so disrespectful for us and how we look at this mountain,鈥� Paisano said. 鈥淚t鈥檇 be like walking into a Catholic church or a mosque and spray painting inside of it.鈥�

Closing gates at sunset, like signage at the trailheads dictates, and having more law enforcement patrolling the area are simple solutions, Paisano said. But even after years of asking, Paisano said the Forest Service has not addressed their concerns.

鈥淭here are things that can help that will stop the destruction immediately,鈥� Paisano said.

With budget cuts to the Forest Service under President Donald Trump and Republican allies in Congress, Paisano worries that the neglect will only worsen.

The Forest Service declined to answer questions about conditions in the preservation area, instead saying in a statement Friday that 鈥渢he Forest (Service) maintains open communication with the Sandia Pueblo Governor's office and communicates with them on a regular basis.鈥�

As for the draft legislation, the Forest Service 鈥渄oes not currently have a position.鈥�

From the neighboring homeowners鈥� perspectives, complaints of destruction in the area feel overblown. Several homeowners said concerns they raised with the Forest Service were quickly dealt with.

That is not the pueblo鈥檚 experience, Paisano said. The Forest Service not holding up its end of the bargain is just another example of the federal government breaking promises.

鈥淚t's sad when you hear that our word is not enough when the federal government should have done the right thing from the beginning,鈥� said Lt. Gov. Lujan.

Opinions on the Hill and at home

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, with less than six months remaining in her final term, gave her resounding support to the pueblo and its legislation in a letter to New Mexico鈥檚 all-Democratic congressional delegation.

鈥淭his land transfer represents a meaningful step toward honoring our shared history while supporting responsible and sustainable land stewardship,鈥� she wrote in the July 8 letter.

Perspectives on Capitol Hill are more murky.

When asked if they would sponsor or support such a bill, Rep. Gabe Vasquez declined to comment. Both Rep. Teresa Leger Fern谩ndez and Sen. Ben Ray Luj谩n could not be immediately reached for comment.

As for Sen. Martin Heinrich, he hasn鈥檛 decided yet, according to staffers. 

鈥淪enator Heinrich is reviewing Sandia Pueblo鈥檚 proposal and appreciates hearing from all stakeholders,鈥� spokesperson from his office said in a statement.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury gave the most supportive response, though dodging the question of sponsorship. The Forest Service 鈥渉as failed,鈥� she said, to fulfill their duties to the detriment of both the pueblo and the public at large.

鈥淚t is imperative that the federal government come to the table and uphold its federal trust responsibilities to our pueblos and that our communities work together to collaborate, find common solutions and protect our sacred and public lands,鈥� Stansbury said. 鈥淭hat is the current discussion at hand.鈥�

Gillian Barkhurst is a general assignment reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.