TELL OUR NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION:

Do not transfer nearly 10,000 acres of public land from the US Forest Service to the Pueblo of Sandia. Honor the 2003 agreement that is currently in place to manage this land and protect everyone’s access to the Sandias.

---

Nearly 10,000 acres of federally protected land on the west side of the Sandias are now being considered for transfer directly to the Pueblo of Sandia. The proposed transfer includes some of the most beloved and heavily used areas of the mountain, including lands around the Sandia Peak Tram, La Luz Trail, Piedra Lisa Trail, and countless other historic trails, climbing areas, wilderness areas, access roads, easements and recreation sites.

We strongly oppose this land transfer because Congress already found a way to protect the interests of the various parties.

---

In 2003, Congress enacted the bipartisan T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act. It was a carefully negotiated settlement that resolved decades of litigation surrounding a land boundary dispute and established a framework intended to protect the interests of the Pueblo, the Sandia Mountain Wilderness, the Cibola National Forest, and public access for everyone in the Rio Grande valley and the State of New Mexico.

Congress did not simply make a temporary promise. The law established these protections in perpetuity and this existing agreement should be honored.

Transferring this 10,000 acres into tribal control would fundamentally change the legal and jurisdictional framework governing the land. It would replace the existing federal protections with a different system of governance, creating uncertainty about the future of public access, roads, easements, trails, recreation, and other longstanding public uses.

---

We are asking our NM Congressional Delegation to:

1. Protect and uphold the 2003 T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act and its permanent protections of public lands for all.
2. Keep the 10,000 acres within the Cibola National Forest and under the protection of the Sandia Mountain Wilderness.
3. Protect public access for all recreational uses, roads, easements and wilderness.
4. Start a taskforce that brings the US Forest Service, the Pueblo of Sandia, local governments, neighboring landowners, conservation organizations, recreation groups, and other stakeholders together to address concerns and solutions using the existing framework provided by the 2003 agreement.

---

Sign this petition and tell our congressional delegation:
Honor the compromise that Congress established for the benefit of all, in perpetuity.