BLM Press Release

SALT LAKE CITY— The National Park Service (NPS) National Trails Intermountain Region and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office are seeking public input on a new strategy document that will guide administration of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail for the next 15 to 20 years. Public comments will be accepted through September 16, 2016.

Key proposals in the strategy include establishing the purpose of the trail and an inventory of important cultural areas, known as high potential sites and segments. The document also includes a clear strategy for how the NPS and BLM will comply with the National Trails System Act through future administrative and planning efforts.

Congress designated the Old Spanish National Historic Trail in 2002 to recognize the national significance of the notoriously arduous trail that traders used to transport goods between Santa Fe, New Mexico and present day Los Angeles, California from 1829 to 1848. The trail passes through New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and represents a time of economic and cultural change on Mexico’s far northern frontier and the American Southwest.

For more information and to comment visit: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/OLSP-DCAS.

Comments may also be provided in writing, by telephone, fax, or by email to:

Michael Elliott

National Trails Intermountain Region

National Park Service

PO Box 728

Santa Fe, NM 87504

Voice: (505) 988-6015

Fax: (505) 986-5214

Email: michael_elliott@nps.gov

The NPS and the BLM co-administer the trail together to encourage its preservation and public use. These two federal agencies work in close partnership with the Old Spanish Trail Association, American Indian tribes, state, county, and municipal government agencies, private landowners, nonprofit groups, and many other partners.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.