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FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO RECREATION AUDIT Northwest New Mexico boasts exceptional cultural resources, including the world-famous Chaco Culture National Historic Park and Mesa Verde National Park, as well as the lesser-known Aztec Ruins National Monument and the many Dinetah Pueblitos scattered throughout San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties. These cultural attractions already attract a significant amount of tourism, but are relatively distant from Farmington (Mesa Verde NP = 1:40; Chaco Canyon = 2 hrs). In additional to cultural resource based tourism (supporting photography, site-seeing, hiking, camping and ancillary tourism business such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations), Northwest New Mexico also hosts high-quality river and lake-based recreation, especially fishing along the Animas and San Juan Rivers, and at Navajo Lake State Park. Boating is also popular at Navajo Lake S.P. and on select sections of the Animas and Animas Rivers (i.e., Animas River Whitewater Park). After cultural attractions and fishing opportunities, additional activities of medium popularity include photography, hiking and camping at various scenic areas (Angel Peak, Shiprock, Simon Canyon, Lybrook Badlands), wilderness areas (Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness Study Area), and the hundreds on natural arches in the northeast part of San Juan County. Bicycling opportunities —especially mountain biking—exist in the region (Glade Run Recreation Area, Alien Run, Road Apple Rally Trails, Pinon Mesa, and Barker Dome) but are under-represented considering the potential provided by the diverse landscape. Similarly, motorized recreation opportunities (Dunes Vehicle Recreation Area) are under-utilized. Additional Farmington-area recreation activities that offer limited opportunities include horseback riding (Glade Run Recreation Area), and hunting (Jackson Lake Wildlife Area; high-quality hunting is found a few hours north of Farmington in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado). Other quality recreation opportunities are available regionally, but are fairly distant from the Farmington area and are better served by other regional communities: skiing (Hesperus 60 miles from Farmington, Purgatory 75 miles from Farmington), climbing (Durango area climbing 50 miles from Farmington). • Within approximately one-half hour of downtown Farmington, the most prominent recreation activities include golfing fishing, hiking, and

boating. • Within an hour of Farmington additional activities include cultural tourism, more extensive backcountry hiking, and photography. • Limited niche activities in the Farmington area include: skydiving, geocaching. • Conventional recreational opportunities in the Farmington area include: golf, horse racing, and auto-racing.

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• Activities, events and other attractions in the Farmington area include: the Road Apple Rally, Aztec Highland Games & Celtic Festival, Chile in October, and Shiprock Fair.

The Farmington area lacks in opportunities for active recreation. For example, although the landscape is ideal for mountain biking there are relatively few trails to accommodate biking. Similarly, the landscape is perfect for OHV and other forms of motorized recreation, there could be more designated areas that could provide for OHV activities while not impacting other forms of quiet recreation. This is true especially south of Farmington in areas of traditional oil and gas developments where roads have already been built. The regional landscape has been damaged by intensive industrial development activities, and the regional brand is known more for air pollution, intensive industrial activity (oil & gas developments, coal mining and power generation plant) than it is for recreation or a quality landscape. Nonetheless, the area has very high quality natural and cultural resources that could sustain an increase economic sector based on recreation tourism and quality of life recruits, especially if more industrial developments are minimized and damaged areas are rehabilitated. Because of the world-class cultural resources in the region, there is an opportunity for the Farmington area to better promote cultural tourism opportunities, focusing on developed sites such as national monuments and national parks where undesirable impacts can be better managed. There is also an opportunity to better promote new and existing recreation opportunities (such as fishing along the Animas and San Juan Rivers as well as Navajo Lake State Park). As noted, the Farmington area also has an opportunity to develop more active recreation opportunities such as mountain biking and consider more motorized recreation south of Farmington in areas where roads have already been developed. The potential for a future economic sector in the Farmington region focused on recreation is threatened by continued industrial developments that marginalize quality of outdoor experiences. The quality of recreation experiences in the region are limited by degraded air quality, the development of industrial infrastructure and the associated impacts to viewsheds, and the on-going damage to regional brand of Northwest new Mexico that has earned a reputation for air pollution and the “nation’s methane hotspot.” A future recreation economy for Northwest New Mexico will also be limited if the area fails to diversify recreation opportunities and invest in desirable amenities consistent with recreation tourism such as coffee shops, brew pubs, outdoor gear shops and recreation-focused outfitters. Regional Population Centers: • Farmington, New Mexico – 45,000 • Durango, Colorado – 18,500 • Cortez, Colorado – 9,000

• Bayfield, Colorado – 6,900 • Aztec, New Mexico – 6,000 • Bloomfield, New Mexico – 5,400

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Recreational Activities: Cultural Tourism1

Chaco Culture National Historical Park2 Mesa Verde National Park3

Aztec Ruins National Monument4 Dinetah Pueblitos5 Hiking Animas River Trails6 De-na-zin Wilderness7 Angel Peak Scenic Area8

Chaco Culture National Historical Park9 Dinétah Rock Art & Pueblitos10 Navajo Lake State Park11 Shiprock Pinnacle12 Simon Canyon13 Glade Run Recreation Area14 Jackson Lake Wildlife Area15 Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness16 Simon Canyon17

Fishing

San Juan River18 Animas River19 Lake Farmington20 Navajo Lake State Park21 Jackson Lake Wildlife Area22

Navajo Nation Lakes23 Simon Canyon24

Biking

Glade Run Recreation Area25 Alien Run26 Animas River Trails27 Mountain View Trails28

Road Apple Rally Trails29 Pinon Mesa30 Barker Dome31

Boating

Navajo Lake Marina32 Animas River Whitewater Park33

Lake Farmington34 Navajo Lake State Park35 Animas River (Cedar Hill to Farmington)36 San Juan River (Navajo Dam to Four Corners)37

Camping

Jackson Lake Wildlife Area38 Sulphur Springs Campground39

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness40 Angel Peak Scenic Area41

Horse

Glade Run Recreation Area42 Jackson Lake Wildlife Area43 SunRay Park & Casino44

Wildlife Viewing/Photography

Jackson Lake Wildlife Area45 Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness46 Simon Canyon47

Horse

Glade Run Recreation Area48 Jackson Lake Wildlife Area49 Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness50

Climbing

San Juan College Climbing Wall51 Durango, Colorado Climbing Areas52 Hunting

Jackson Lake Wildlife Area53 Off Road

Glade Run Recreation Area54 Dunes Vehicle Recreation Area55 Head Canyon OHV Recreation Area56

Geocaching57 Target Shooting

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Significant Recreation Assets/Tourism Sites Near Farmington58

Aztec Ruins National Monument59 Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway60 Chaco National Historical Park61 Mesa Verde National Park62 Navajo Lake State Park63 Farmington Golf Courses64 Skydiving65 Natural Arches

Area Activities and Festivals Road Apple Rally66 Aztec Highland Games & Celtic Festival67 Chile in October68 Shiprock Fair69 SunRay Park & Casino70

Aztec Speedway71

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1 https://farmingtonnm.org/choose-your-journey/cultural-adventures/ 2 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/chaco-culture-national-historic-park 3 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/mesa-verde-national-park 4 https://www.nps.gov/azru/index.htm 5 http://www.aztecnm.com/archaeology/ 6 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/animas-river-trails 7 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/bisti-de-na-zin-wilderness 8 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/angel-peak-scenic-area 9 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/chaco-culture-national-historic-park 10 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/dinetah-rock-art-pueblitos 11 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/navajo-lake-state-park-1 12 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/shiprock-pinnacle 13 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/simon-canyon 14 https://www.blm.gov/visit/glade-run 15 http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jackson-Lake-GAIN-WMA-NMDGF.pdf 16 https://www.blm.gov/visit/bisti-de-na-zin-wilderness 17 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/simon-canyon 18 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/majestic-enchantment 19 https://www.hookandbullet.com/fishing-animas-river-farmington-nm/ 20 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/farmington-lake 21 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/navajo-lake-state-park-1 22 http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jackson-Lake-GAIN-WMA-NMDGF.pdf 23 https://www.nndfw.org/nnlakes.pdf 24 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/simon-canyon 25 https://www.blm.gov/visit/glade-run 26 http://www.alienrun.com, https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7006734 27 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/animas-river-trails/ 28 https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7020822 29 https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8014948/road-apple-rally-trails 30 https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/6139682 31 https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7006884/barker-dome 32 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/navajo-lake-marina 33 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/animas-river-white-water-park, https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/3186 34 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/farmington-lake 35 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/navajo-lake-state-park-1 36 https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1203/ 37 https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1233/#tab-map 38 http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jackson-Lake-GAIN-WMA-NMDGF.pdf 39https://www.recreation.gov/recreationalAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&facilityId=234954 40 https://www.blm.gov/visit/bisti-de-na-zin-wilderness 41http://web.archive.org/web/20170127052132/https://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/farmington/Angel_Peak.html 42 https://www.blm.gov/visit/glade-run 43 http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jackson-Lake-GAIN-WMA-NMDGF.pdf 44 https://farmingtonnm.org/events/live-horse-racing/ 45 http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jackson-Lake-GAIN-WMA-NMDGF.pdf 46 https://www.blm.gov/visit/bisti-de-na-zin-wilderness 47 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/simon-canyon 48 https://www.blm.gov/visit/glade-run 49 http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jackson-Lake-GAIN-WMA-NMDGF.pdf 50 https://www.blm.gov/visit/bisti-de-na-zin-wilderness 51 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/indoor-rock-climbing-wall 52 https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105819665/durango 53 http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Jackson-Lake-GAIN-WMA-NMDGF.pdf 54 https://www.blm.gov/visit/glade-run, https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/chokecherry-canyon-glade-run-recreation-area

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55 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/dunes-vehicle-recreation-area 56 https://www.recreation.gov/recreationalAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=1845 57 https://farmingtonnm.org/choose-your-journey/outdoor-adventures/geocaching/ 58 https://farmingtonnm.org/choose-your-journey/outdoor-adventures/ 59 https://www.nps.gov/azru/index.htm 60 https://www.newmexico.org/things-to-do/scenic-byways/trail-of-the-ancients/ 61 https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm 62 https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/mesa-verde-national-park 63 http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/spd/navajolakestatepark.html 64 https://farmingtonnm.org/choose-your-journey/outdoor-adventures/golf/ 65 http://www.skydivinginfarmington.com 66 http://www.fmtn.org/277/Road-Apple-Rally 67 www.AztecHighlandGames.com 68 www.gofarmington.com/chamber-events-calendar 69 www.northernnavajonationfair.org 70 https://farmingtonnm.org/events/live-horse-racing/ 71 https://aztecspeedway.com/