The Ancestral Pueblo people who lived at Tsankawi Pueblo carved a network of trails into the volcanic tuff mesa. Courtesy/NPS

The present-day trail around Tsankawi includes several ladders to get visitors up and down the mesa where the pueblo was built. Courtesy/NPS

BANDELIER News:

Bandelier National Monument Superintendent Jason Lott announced today that the public is invited to review and comment on the park’s Tsankawi Unit Management Plan and Environmental Assessment.  

The plan and environmental assessment evaluate a range of alternatives to improve resource protection, address safety concerns, and enhance visitor opportunities at the Tsankawi section of Bandelier. Three alternatives were developed based on the results of internal and public scoping, agency and pueblo consultation, and prior planning studies.

Proposed actions in the plan include changes to the trail system, interpretive program, and parking. Realignment of existing trails would help protect resources from visitor impacts and natural erosion.

 New trails would enhance visitor opportunities to experience the area’s rich history of human occupation. New interpretive messaging would help visitors understand the significance and sensitivity of the area’s cultural and natural resources. Trailhead parking along the road shoulder of New Mexico State Highway 4 would be relocated onto National Park Service lands to provide safer access to the site.

The National Park Service encourages review and input on the plan and environmental assessment, which are available at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/Tsankawi. Comments may be posted online or mailed to: Bandelier National Monument,  Attention: Tsankawi UMP/EA, 15 Entrance Road, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544.

The public comment period will extend through Jan. 30.