By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Raton played host to the new NM Outdoor Recreation Division head, Axie Navas, Thursday morning December 5 as an overflow, packed Commission meeting room heard those who were present talk about the recreation opportunities that northeastern New Mexico has and the partnerships that are being formed.
The Outdoor Recreation Divivsion is a new department under the umbrella of the Economic Development Department in New Mexico state government. Navas told the crowd that part of the reason the Outdoor Recreation Division is under economic development is that this is as much an economic development issue as it is bringing attention to outdoor recreation in the state. The focus of the division is not on so much on tourism, although they work closely with the tourism department, but is economy building, to help grow the recreation economy in the state with and special emphasis on creating rural jobs. The division is also creating grants to help develop recreational infrastructure.
Navas noted in her comments that she had been following the outdoor recreation industry and has in just the last few years really seen a growth in that industry nationally. Utah became the first state to create an Outdoor Recreation Department which was designed to help outdoor businesses to locate to Utah or help create and grow outdoor business in that state. In 2016 the federal government passed the Federal Rec Act which asked the Bureau of Economic Analysis to track the economics of outdoor recreation. In 2017 that number was $2.2 billion that was spent on recreation in the State of New Mexico.
Raton City Manager Scott Berry moderated the event and Navas then heard from representatives from the area including Sugarite Canyon State Park on their recreation opportunities. Others present were the Colorado Conservancy and Parks and Wildlife, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Philmont Scout Ranch, The Whittington Center, Vermejo Park, The Mandala Center and Raton Parks and Recreation.
As the new Colorado State Park on Fisher’s Peak abuts Sugarite Canyon State Park, it was noted that there will be a great deal of coordination between Colorado and the City of Raton who owns Sugarite Canyon State Park. There are talks going on about how to create trails and other opportunities that include both entities. Other ideas include combining trails and creating mountain biking trails that could cover the entire area. Mark Rosenfield presented an idea of using the old railroad track road beds to create trails between Raton and Cimarron and east to Des Moines called Rails to Trails.
Commissioner Ron Chavez told Navas as he has so many state legislators, “that the State of New Mexico doesn’t end at Santa Fe and Taos”, that there is a huge are that is often forgotten up here. He added it’s like a breath of fresh air that you are coming up here and opening this up. She responded by saying that coming up here isn’t just checking a box but she sees Raton and this area of New Mexico as an area with the most outdoor rec potential. She added “I am here to work for you.”
