North of Albuquerque lies the Cabezon Country, a transition zone between the forested slopes of Mt. Taylor and the drainages of the Arroyo Chico and Rio Puerco. It is full of wildlife and full of wilderness, including a cluster of wilderness study areas and other wilderness quality lands. New Mexico wilderness advocates are working to map it, describe it and defend it.
About Cabezon Country
The Cabezon Country is in the heart of the Rio Puerco watershed. It reaches from the canyons of Banco Breaks in the south, across the broad Rio Puerco Valley and up into the remote canyons of the La Leña and San Luis areas in the north. The area includes a cluster of wilderness study areas (named in the Bureau of Land Management's own wilderness inventory and thus given some protection), and other wilderness quality lands the agency didn't find had wilderness values.
The area provides an important transition zone between the forested slopes of Mt. Taylor and the drainages of Arroyo Chico and Rio Puerco and supports a remarkable diversity of wildlife. Species include golden eagles, mountain lions, elk and black bear. In addition to rare cactus species, vegetation in the area ranges from ponderosa pine groves to pinyon-juniper woodlands, cholla and grasslands.
Sacred Sites
For the Jemez, Zia and Santa Ana Pueblos, the Cabezon holds places of sacred and religious significance.
Because of its largely undiscovered and wild landscape, the Cabezon Country offers a wide variety of traditional recreational activities. But expanding population and attendant urban development, and reckless motorized and mechanized recreational use by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles are steadily eroding the Cabezon's wildness.
Uncontrolled motorized access has resulted in increased poaching and also in increased vandalism of archaeological sites. Potential oil and gas exploration in the region could cause irreparable harm.
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