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Re-open Upper Alcove House Trail
Bandelier National Monument » Re-open Upper Alcove House Trail » Document List
Between June 26, 2011 and August 3, 2011, the Las Conchas fire burned over 156,000 acres in and around the park. Major watersheds within Bandelier National Monument, including Frijoles Canyon, were heavily impacted by the fire. Multiple heavy rain events in the Jemez Mountains coupled with burned vegetation and bare hydro-phobic soil lead to widespread flooding in Frijoles Canyon. With each flood event, a swollen Frijoles Creek carries a tremendous amount of dead and down trees from up-canyon and deposits the mass of debris in the downstream floodplain.
The Lower Alcove House Trail currently operates as the only trail that allows park visitor access to Alcove House, one of the more popular and frequently visited archeological sites in the park. The Lower Alcove House Trail runs along Frijoles Creek within the floodplain. Maintaining the operational capacity of this trail after moderate and major flood events significantly strains park resources (personnel and financial) effectively barring safe access to Alcove House.
While providing secure and uninterrupted access to a popular interpretive site is one important priority, BAND's foremost concern is the safety of visitors and staff during flood events. With each flood event, water from the upper canyon reaches Alcove House in a shorter amount of time than the time before. We currently have less than a 30 minute warning. Consequently, BAND is challenged to provide visitors with a timely and effective warning prior to flash flood events. We have not experienced a single major flood event where at least several visitors were not trapped on the other side of the creek until the time that water levels retreated to a safe crossing depth. Our concern, as flood waters approach at a faster rate, is that a visitor will get caught in the fast moving water. Bandelier National Monument feels that removing the risk of operating a single trail in the Frijoles Creek floodplain and opening a trail above the floodplain drastically reduces hazards posed by flash floods to visitors.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED UNDERTAKING
Bandelier National Monument proposes re-opening the Upper Alcove House Trail which connects to the Long House Trail immediately west of Long House Pueblo. The CCC constructed this trail in the 1930s as per the design for visitor movement and access to cavate sites between the visitor center and Alcove House. This trail was closed in the late 1950s in response to insufficient staffing and overnight lodging and camping in the canyon. As staffing levels increased with the closure of the lodge and the campground was moved out of the canyon to the mesa top, the trail was never reopened and fell into disrepair.
We propose reopening the Upper Alcove House Trail to alleviate strains to park operations and enhance visitor safety resulting from the Las Conchas fire and subsequent flooding.
The Lower Alcove House Trail currently operates as the only trail that allows park visitor access to Alcove House, one of the more popular and frequently visited archeological sites in the park. The Lower Alcove House Trail runs along Frijoles Creek within the floodplain. Maintaining the operational capacity of this trail after moderate and major flood events significantly strains park resources (personnel and financial) effectively barring safe access to Alcove House.
While providing secure and uninterrupted access to a popular interpretive site is one important priority, BAND's foremost concern is the safety of visitors and staff during flood events. With each flood event, water from the upper canyon reaches Alcove House in a shorter amount of time than the time before. We currently have less than a 30 minute warning. Consequently, BAND is challenged to provide visitors with a timely and effective warning prior to flash flood events. We have not experienced a single major flood event where at least several visitors were not trapped on the other side of the creek until the time that water levels retreated to a safe crossing depth. Our concern, as flood waters approach at a faster rate, is that a visitor will get caught in the fast moving water. Bandelier National Monument feels that removing the risk of operating a single trail in the Frijoles Creek floodplain and opening a trail above the floodplain drastically reduces hazards posed by flash floods to visitors.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED UNDERTAKING
Bandelier National Monument proposes re-opening the Upper Alcove House Trail which connects to the Long House Trail immediately west of Long House Pueblo. The CCC constructed this trail in the 1930s as per the design for visitor movement and access to cavate sites between the visitor center and Alcove House. This trail was closed in the late 1950s in response to insufficient staffing and overnight lodging and camping in the canyon. As staffing levels increased with the closure of the lodge and the campground was moved out of the canyon to the mesa top, the trail was never reopened and fell into disrepair.
We propose reopening the Upper Alcove House Trail to alleviate strains to park operations and enhance visitor safety resulting from the Las Conchas fire and subsequent flooding.