Tent Rocks to reopen after national monument's four-year shutdown
Nov. 7—After a four-year closure, the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument will reopen later this month, Cochiti Pueblo and U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday.
But don't hop in your car just yet. There are a few new requirements to visit the site, which is known for its striking geologic features.
To prevent overvisitation, visitors will have to register with the BLM and obtain a Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Access Pass before arriving. To access the monument, both visitors and BLM representatives have to cross tribal land.
The monument will reopen Nov. 21. Reservations will be accepted starting Nov. 12.
BLM reservations cost $5 for visitors 16 and older and are free to anyone younger. America the Beautiful Passes waive the ticket price, and can be applied to both the pass holder and up to three additional guests. The Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Access Pass is $20 per person over age 16, $2 for kids between 2 and 16 and free for anyone younger.
Visitors must check in at the visitor center, starting at 7:45 a.m. The last of the pilot vehicles, which will guide visitors to the monument, departs at 1 p.m. Visitors must leave by 4 p.m.
"This unique management relationship with Cochiti Pueblo is an asset to the Monument," BLM Albuquerque District Manager Sabrina Flores said in a statement. "Pueblo members know this Monument well, and we will continue to work closely with the Pueblo on management decisions that will best serve the land, the visitors to the Monument, and the Pueblo."
The new registration system will limit the number of daily visitors, said BLM spokesperson Jamie Garcia, to ensure that limited parking spaces and the monument itself aren't overcrowded. Recreation.gov will show the daily availability.
When the monument was first established in 2001, annual visitation was low, Garcia said. In 2007, BLM estimated that the monument would bring in around 50,000 visitors per year, but by 2020, it was averaging around 100,000 visitors annually.
"People love it so much, they want to see it," Garcia said. "It was starting to degrade the trail."
The fee for registration is slightly increased from pre-closure, Garcia said, from $5 for a vehicle with eight or less passengers to $5 per person.
"That will really help us continue projects and different things within the monument as time goes along," Garcia said.
The national monument was closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and remained closed even after pandemic restrictions were lifted. Overvisitation, long lines, staffing challenges and resource protection concerns were cited as reasons for the ongoing closure. At its peak, the national monument attracted 130,000 visitors in a year.
The national monument is located southwest of Santa Fe, near Cochiti Lake. Located on the Pajarito Plateau, its namesake cone-shaped rock formations were created by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. The pointed rock formations can be up to 90 feet in height.
A trail is located thousands of feet above sea level and allows visitors to hike and view the rocks.
"BLM recognized over-visitation impacted not only the natural resources within the Monument, but also the gateway community of Cochiti Pueblo," a press release said.
A 2021 business plan recommended a reservation system to limit annual visitation to between 50,000 and 75,000 people, along with a fee increase — the $5 entry fee for vehicles with fewer than eight people hadn't been raised since 1997.
For the past two years, the BLM and Cochiti Pueblo have been negotiating under the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act. The establishment of the national monument was made with the understanding that BLM and the pueblo would work closely together to manage the site. Calls to the Cochiti Pueblo government were not immediately returned Thursday.
Ultimately, it was decided Cochiti Pueblo would take over day-to-day operations of the monument.
"Today is a new beginning as we come together with the Bureau of Land Management to take on the day-to-day operations of the Monument," Cochiti Pueblo Governor Joel Arquero said in a statement. "The Pueblo now has a greater voice in how we want our sacred lands and community to be treated and respected by our visitors to the Monument. This will help us preserve our traditions and culture for generations to come."
