TAOS, NEW MEXICO—After years of collaboration, the iconic Rio Grande del Norte area is finally slated to be protected as a national monument next week. According to TU the monument will be designated on Monday at the request of a diverse group of local interests including hunters, anglers, and traditional land users.
“We are excited to see a place as special as the Rio Grande del Norte be protected for generations to come,” said Chris Wood, CEO of Trout Unlimited. “Protection of the Rio has been years in the making, and for the hunters and anglers of New Mexico, this is a huge victory. They have worked very hard to preserve the amazing fishery and hunting opportunities that exist in this unique place and we should celebrate that in a big way.”
The designation will protect more than 60 miles of trout stream and critical habitat for game such as pronghorn, mule deer, migratory waterfowl, bighorn sheep, turkey, and elk.
Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.