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Santa Fe – June 22, 2007 –Santa Fe County announced this week that Cerrillos Hills Historic Park will be developed over the next 18 months and will eventually become New Mexico’s 36^thstate park. “Santa Fe County is excited about this partnership with State Parks that results in a synergistic leveraging of our incredible natural resources to the benefit of our residents and visitors alike” said Santa Fe County Commissioner Mike Anaya.

“We need to set aside public parks and open space in the Galisteo Basin now, before it’s too late,” said State Parks Director Dave Simon. “Cerrillos Hills State Park is a great step in what I hope will be a broader effort by State Parks to help protect this amazing area.”

A 1,116-acre open space property owned by Santa Fe County (now known as the Cerrillos Hills Historic Park) will form the first core of the state park.  It will be managed as a day-use park under an agreement between the County and State Parks that will be developed during 2007. Other lands owned by Santa Fe County, the Bureau of Land Management and the State Land Office that are adjacent to the existing County open space in Cerrillos could be incorporated, bringing the park’s total size to about 4,000 acres.

Over the past three years (2005, 2006, 2007), the Legislature has approved approximately $1.4 million for park facility development to take advantage of the area’s outstanding attributes include natural resources (open space, wildlife habitat, vistas), recreational opportunities (e.g. trails), and cultural resources (extensive Native American, Spanish colonial, and American heritage, and a long record of mining history--turquoise, but silver, lead, copper, zinc, and gold have all been mined in the area). Educational programs and other activities would eventually be important components of the State Park. Trail programs, history tours, archaeological tours, living history and hands-on activities could highlight the numerous features of the area.

In the FY 2008 budget (which begins July 1, 2007), the Legislature approved annual operating funds for the park for the first time ($163,000, which includes funding for two initial staff positions). State Parks expects to hire the first park employee in early 2008. The Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition, a local citizens organization, and other volunteers will also play a vital role.

State Parks has acquired a site (0.67 acres) in center of the Village of Cerrillos, which includes an existing structure and the village “plaza,” that will be future location of the park’s visitor center.

State Parks will begin design work on the visitor center/plaza complex this fall and hopes to complete construction by late 2008/early 2009. The new park will combine local, state and federal efforts in the nationally-significant Galisteo Basin area. In 2004, Congress passed the Galisteo Basin Archaeological Protection Act, which established a network of 24 areas of cultural significance; most are Puebloan sites dating from 900 AD to the time of the Pueblo Revolt in 1680.

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