The Caja del Rio Plateau is one of the most culturally and ecologically rich landscapes in the Southwest. Just southwest of Santa Fe, its 107,000 acres of piñon-juniper savanna and dramatic basalt canyons hold thousands of petroglyphs and countless sacred sites. Surrounding sovereign Pueblo nations and local Hispano communities still rely on the Caja today for a wide range of traditional land uses. It connects us to our past and to each other.

The Caja is also a key link in a wildlife corridor stretching along the Upper Rio Grande from New Mexico into Colorado. This corridor lets animals move freely across the landscape and sustains essential habitat for many endangered and sensitive mammals, reptiles, and birds.

Yet this landscape faces an immediate threat. Proposals for a major bypass route to Los Alamos and a high-impact powerline to serve LANL’s growing energy demands would permanently industrialize this fragile plateau, desecrating cultural sites, cutting off wildlife corridors, and harming the traditional land uses of neighboring communities.

There is a path forward. Introduced in May 2026, the Caja del Rio Protection Act (S. 4458 and H.R. 8616) would permanently protect roughly 107,000 acres of this irreplaceable landscape. Learn more about the legislation here.