Commonweal Conservancy, Inc.

Commonweal Conservancy respectfully requests $15,000 from the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Trails+ Grant program to help underwrite the improvement and expansion of the three trailheads at the Galisteo Basin Preserve (GBP). The GBP is a 9,000-acre, publicly-accessible open space project, located 20 minutes outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. The property includes 41 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, dog walking, trail running, wildlife viewing and photography. As the largest trail network in the Santa Fe metro area, the GBP trails are an increasingly well-loved and actively-used regional recreation resource for residents of northern New Mexico, as well as for visitors from surrounding states, including Texas, Arizona and Colorado. A $15,000 grant from NMORT will be matched 1:1 by Commonweal. It will be used to: i) expand the parking areas at each of the trailheads, increasing their capacity by 30-70%; ii) improve the trailheads safety and utility by grading the lots and adding basecourse as an all-weather surface; iii) install wildlife-friendly perimeter fencing to keep cars from over-reaching the lot and damaging adjoining grasslands; iv) improve the circulation and flow of traffic at each trailhead; and v) enhance the safety and navigability of the Preserve’s 41-mile trail network by installing new trailhead signage with updated trail maps.