John Long Canyon

Last week, the Portal-Rodeo Hiking Group hiked to John Long Canyon, a very special place. The group saw mature Apache, Chihuahuan and some Ponderosa pine trees, as well as Douglas Fir, several oak species, Madrone and Sycamore trees and a golden eagle, ravens, a mountain lion, turkeys, and many deer.

This is a very special place and the Center for Biological Diversity is taking the lead on a lawsuit to prevent an access road into John Long. The CRC is a co-plaintiff in this lawsuit together with some other organizations. Another aspect to John Long is the petition to the regional forester in Albuquerque to create a Zoological Botanical Area in the John Long Canyon drainage and to call it Izęę’ Bich’ilwozh `Medicine Canyon’. See more here: https://biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/pdfs/ZBA-Petition-Final-PDF.pdf

Let’s hope for the best on both initiatives!