By GEORGIA STRICKFADEN
Los Alamos
Dear County Council and Los Alamos Citizens,
As an advocate for Open Spaces, I find that the North Mesa Park Master Plan contains an encroachment into an already “heavily used” natural amenity on the eastern canyon edge. Please keep reading. At the end I have a suggestion for an alternative.
Quoting from the Introduction in the North Mesa Master Plan,
“SITE ANALYSIS AND INVENTORY
COMMUNITY CONTEXT & CURRENT USES
The North Mesa Recreation Area encompasses approximately 26 acres of County-owned land on the northern edge of Los Alamos. The site is zoned OpenSpace – Active (OS-AO), which allows for active recreation while preserving the natural character of the landscape.”
Among the several existing amenities inventoried:
“Paved Walking Trail – A narrow loop through the field, approximately 4 feet wide; heavily used by walkers, joggers, and dog owners.”
The Final Plan that is scheduled to come before the County Council this coming Tuesday evening contains amenities that encroach on the natural character of an already “heavily used” piece of open space where the above mentioned Paved Walking Trail offers universal access to Nature.
I have no quarrel with the rest of the plan, but I find it rather presumptive of bike park and other advocates for building anything there since the area’s intrinsic value is the open grassland and a small piñon/juniper forest, which already is appreciated by nearby citizens and others who enjoy the natural area via the easily accessible trail. By accessible, I mean walkers and bikers of all abilities and capabilities and year-round use.
The Master Plan does reflect a variety of amenities that participants shot-the-moon to add during the planning process, a number of which can still be placed in other parts of the 26 acres. It is my hope that the open spaces’ natural area can remain and not be diminished of its intrinsic, healthful and historic value by encroachments. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
In an e-newsletter on January 21, 2026, from the New Mexico Department of Outdoor Recreation Division, Director Karina Armijo, states, “Safe, close-to-home access to outdoor spaces is becoming a core consideration in planning decisions…. Public lands will transition from being environmental and economic assets to being formally recognized and funded components of America’s public health infrastructure.”
That said, I now offer a suggestion that the County and Los Alamos Public Schools negotiate/cooperate for building a fantastic bike park on the land between the Mid School and the ball parks. I realize that large acreage of land is earmarked by its owner, LAPS, for development of affordable housing, but doesn’t the County Development Code require a park or trails of some sort for new developments? When/if the housing development happens, then that requirement already will have been met and a bike park can be in use soon, handier to the Middle School’s very successful Mountain Bike program. Instead of squeezing everything into an already “busy” park, the Natural Area in North Mesa Park can be preserved for everyone.