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Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument (Photo by laertes/Flickr)
ALBUQUERQUE — One of New Mexico’s signature geological showplaces is no longer open to New Mexicans’ four-legged friends.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, just outside Cochiti Pueblo, is implementing the new canine closure effective this Saturday.
Kasha-Katuwe, which means “white cliffs” in the Keres language, is managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
According to a press release announcing the closure yesterday, the BLM cites “concerns about public safety at the Monument” as the reason for the closure. The release emphasized that the decision will be revisited:
The BLM issued a temporary restriction order this week, which will remain in effect until the agency prepares a plan to resolve the issue over the long term. The public will have an opportunity to comment on the issue of dogs and public safety during the BLM’s planning process, which will be completed within the next two years.
Asked to elaborate about the aforementioned doggy “issue” and public safety concerns, BLM spokesman Hanson Stuart told NMI that a recent bite incident at the monument was a major factor in the BLM’s decision.
“The issue of public safety involved dog encounters… including a recent ‘bite’ incident that required medical attention (stitches),” Hanson wrote in an e-mail. He added that the “BLM will prepare an Environmental Assessment that fully ‘fleshes out’ the issue’” — no pun intended, I’m guessing — and that the BLM’s Albuquerque office will provide for public comment during the process.
