Greetings, NMCCSkiClub Members and Friends-

Cibola NF is announcing its official closure of the Crest area trails north of the Tram, planned April 30 thru Jan 6, 2027. Tram and restaurant will remain open. Please see the map attached below. For current status of the work, be checking in at: Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands | Sandia Crest Area Projects Update | Forest Service This link describes the many other areas we can enjoy during this time.

A note- as you can see on the map, 10KNo Trail is open, but Survey and Ellis will be closed going south before the highway, no connection. I and a friend took the Powerline down from these trails to connect with the open 10KNo Trail. The Powerline is not a Forest Service-designated trail- its an overgrown rough 'route' with a faint user trail at times. At Ellis Trail one must go south a bit then get back under the line due to rocks. Be careful to not step over/beyond the 10KNo Trail, or you would be going down to Capulin! (fyi- taking the Powerline down from the Crest Trail is quite dangerous) See you on the trails!

Bet Gendron, Egroups Chair, FOSM member

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From: FS-Cibola PAO <SM.FS.CibolaPAO@usda.gov>

Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Subject: Forest Service News Release: Area Closure Order to be Enforced Starting April 30 for Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project

Forest Service News Release

Forest Service Shield

Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands

2113 Osuna Road NE

Albuquerque, NM 87113

(505) 346-3900

www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola

www.facebook.com/cibolanf

x.com/cibola_nf

Area Closure Order for
Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree
and Fuel Reduction Project

To be enforced starting April 30^th

(Albuquerque, NM – April 24, 2026) — The Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands issued a closure order (03-03-05-26-02) for the Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree and Fuels Reduction Project on the Sandia Ranger District to be enforced starting April 30, 2026. The closure protects public health and safety during mechanized thinning work. See map attached.

“The forests around the Sandia Crest contain a significant number of dead trees, both standing and down. A high-severity wildfire could damage or destroy critical infrastructure because of the high fuel loading around the Crest Communication Site,” said Ken Born, Sandia District Ranger. “This project protects both public safety and critical infrastructure that serves our entire region while also providing firefighters defensible space in the event of a wildfire on the mountain.”

Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project will thin 140 acres of National Forest System lands around the Sandia Crest and New Mexico State Highway 536. The project aims to protect critical infrastructure around the Sandia Crest Recreation Area and the Sandia Crest Communication Site from wildfire through the removal of dead trees that present a hazard to visitors and staff. The closure area includes the Ellis Trailhead, Sandia Crest Recreation Site, and State Highway NM-536 to be closed beyond the 10k Trailhead Parking lot (just past mile marker 11). You can find the official area closure order 03-03-05-26-02 on the forest website, where it describes the parking areas and trails that the agency will close at: www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/alerts.

The closure will be enforced from April 30, 2026, at 6 a.m. through January 15, 2027, at 6 a.m., unless rescinded.

For more information on the Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project, Sandia Crest area projects, and alternatives destinations for visitors, visit www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/newsroom/stories/sandia-crest-area-projects-update

For more information about this order, contact the Sandia Ranger District Office at 505-281-3304

About the Forest Service: The Forest Service has, for more than 100 years, brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology — and rooted in communities — the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.