DONATE to our GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/f/saveelenagallegos ! We are a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax-deductible!

We oppose the City of Albuquerque’s disastrous and devastating plans to develop the Elena Gallegos Open Space. 

In January 2022, the City of Albuquerque announced plans to build a large government building (“Education Center”) in the Elena Gallegos Open Space (EGOS), at either the Pino Trailhead or the Cottonwood Springs Trailhead. 

Such a building is expressly prohibited by the legal covenants which protect this land. The EGOS is preserved in perpetuity as undisturbed open space with no buildings on it. 

The following paragraph is lifted directly from the Purchase Agreement for the EGOS made between the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Academy in June 1982; the same restrictions are reprinted word-for-word in the Deed to the EGOS: 

"Limitations on Use of Park Property. The Park Property shall be used solely by the City as a City park. The City will limit use of the Park Property to passive recreation uses which will include only the installation, construction, maintenance and use of picnic benches, tables, shelters, barbeque grills, drinking water facilities, associated minor recreation facilities (such as volley ball or horseshoe pitching facilities), restrooms, access roads, parking lots, hiking trails, trail heads, a trailer or other residence for a residential caretaker, and electric power facilities associated with the specified uses."

These covenants have protected the EGOS from development for forty years and are now under threat of being permanently broken.

We believe that this building on its own will cause very real and serious harm to the fragile ecosystem of the EGOS and to all the magnificent species of animals who call her home. We also believe it will ruin the experience of the thousands of hikers, bikers, and picnickers who visit the EGOS every year precisely because they want to escape from modern buildings and immerse themselves in the magic of pure wilderness.

But the long-term consequences of breaking the covenants could go far beyond the impact made by one building. If the City breaks these covenants, they establish a precedent for buildings in the Open Space, which will render the restrictions in the Deed unenforceable by an outside party and open the door for future development in the Elena Gallegos. 

We cannot allow the City to “pave paradise and put up a parking lot.” We must uphold the covenants and protect this precious land!

Join us in sending a clear and powerful message to all responsible parties: 

DO NOT BREAK THE COVENANTS!!

We do not want a building on this land! Keep the Elena Gallegos wild!  

This project originated with David Simon (Director of Parks & Rec) and Colleen Langan-McRoberts (Superintendent of Open Space). We call on Mr. Simon and Ms. Langan-McRoberts to abandon their ill-conceived plans for a PROHIBITED, expensive, unwanted, and unnecessary government building on protected Open Space land.

We call on Albuquerque City Councilor Trudy Jones to withdraw her support for the project. (The Elena Gallegos Open Space is located in Ms. Jones’ district, and her Policy Analyst, Aziza Chavez, was a member of the City committee which designed and approved this building.) 

We call on Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller to uphold the covenants which protect the Elena Gallegos and to preserve this beautiful, pristine, untrammeled wilderness for the children of Albuquerque and for all future generations. 

Learn more and join the movement at saveelenagallegos.org.

DONATE to our GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/f/saveelenagallegos. We are a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax-deductible!

Purchase a T-shirt or tote bag with our logo at https://inkblot.ink/collections/save-the-elena-gallegos.

Petition created by "Save the Elena Gallegos," a 501(c)(3) New Mexico incorporated nonprofit and grassroots citizens movement.