Rio Grande monument signing today

Rafters make their way along the Rio Grande Gorge above the Taos Junction Bridge. Residents hope to see an uptick in business with the designation of Rio Grande del Norte as a monument. (EDDIE MOORE/JOURNAL)

SANTA FE – If President Barack Obama is going to lift a glass to toast his proclamation today creating five new national monuments, Peter Kolshorn hopes it will be filled with beer from his and his business partners’ El Prado micro-brewery.

Taos Mesa Brewing Co. created the “Rio Grande del Norte National Monument Pale Ale” to celebrate the new federal designation for the wildlands spanning Taos and Rio Arriba counties, and it’s tried to arrange delivery of some bottles to Obama, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and others.

The locally made beer was only one example of the celebrations and hopes for an economic boost that followed Friday’s announcement that the 240,000 acres are being upgraded to monument status.

The president is expected to sign the proclamation creating the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument today.

“Taos has yet to scratch the surface of its eco-tourism potential,” said Brad Malone, chairman of the board of directors of the Taos Chamber of Commerce. “We believe this could potentially be huge.”

The effects of the announcement should be clear within a couple years, he said, as people around the country – and even the world – perhaps hear about the area for the first time through the monument announcement.

“Like the ski set watches the snow reports, eco-tourists watch to see ‘what new things are there that I haven’t seen?’ ” Malone said.

Taos Mayor Darren Córdova predicted a jump as soon as this summer because of the national publicity. “You can’t put a price on that kind of free press,” he said. “I think we’ll start seeing results.”

“I really believe it will bring more people to the area,” said Kolshorn. “It couldn’t hurt.”

Noting that his brew-pub, in business now for seven months, is located three miles from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on U.S. 64, he even envisioned the possibility of a new visitors center being built by the gorge and bringing even more traffic past their doors.

“The whole area north of Taos is really growing,” he said, adding that preserving the land should continue to attract visitor interest.

Malone agreed. “Our infrastructure is not highways and railroads, it’s river and wilderness, our land,” he said, adding that it needs to be preserved and promoted. “Frankly, the freeways and railways are not going to happen here.”

A study done by BBC Research & Consulting, based in Denver, estimated that the monument designation should bring $15 million in increased economic activity and 279 new jobs to the area. Much of the impact is expected to be seen through increased demand for lodging, restaurant meals, groceries, gasoline and other activities offered in the area. Rafting, fishing, hunting, hiking, camping and more already are popular, and the interest is expected to grow.

The report estimates that the area designated monument already accounts for about 312 jobs and $17.2 million in economic activity.

Since regional residents already are familiar with Rio Grande del Norte, the analysis did not predict an increase in usage by local people. However, it estimated non-local visitation could double from current levels, bringing total annual visitation up from 325,100 to 488,300.

“One of the things that attracts tourists to northern New Mexico is the natural beauty and the lay of the land,” Córdova said. “This will promote those to another level. … It will preserve our heritage and our culture.”

Cisco Guevara of Los Rios River Runners noted, “When a national monument is designated, it achieves a higher status in guidebooks and travel blogs, luring people who might otherwise be just passing through to stay a while longer …

“In fact, the BBC study noted that some similar regions which received a national monument designation in 2001 experienced approximately 500 percent growth in visitation from 2003 to 2007. If Rio Grande del Norte experiences a visitation growth anywhere close to that number it will do wonders for our local economy.”
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal