[NMCCSC] Cibola Forest Service News Release: Area Closure Order to be Enforced Starting April 30 for Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project

[Bet Gendron]

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
<https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/newsroom/stories/sandia-crest-area-projects-update>
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
*__________________________________________________________________________________*

From: FS-Cibola PAO <SM.FS.CibolaPAO at 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*

[image: 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 30th*

*(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.


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