Popularity trashing Pecos River beauty

COWLES, N.M. (KRQE) - What used to be one of the most beautiful camping areas in the state has been trashed, and now the state Department of Game and Fish is taking drastic measures to fix it

The Pecos River canyon in the Santa Fe National Forest is one of New Mexico's most beautiful spots, or at least it used to be.

Along with graffiti there's trash, and lots of it.

A private company comes to haul it out, but they just can't keep up.

And where there use to be wildflowers, trees and plants, there's just dirt, the result of too many campers all the time.

Campers Debbie and Louie Moya have been coming to the area with their kids for 20 years.

"They put campfires in the road, the dumpster," Louie Moya said. "We are always picking up garbage because there is no control of it anymore."

And it's not just the land that's suffering.

"There's more soils and silts that go into the Pecos River and reduce the fish populations in the river," said Jim Hirsch, a land specialist with the game department.

Now Game and Fish is conducting a major rehab project.

"We put up a fence to protect the riparian vegetation next to the river," Hirsch said. "It's a balancing act between protecting the resource and allowing for recreation."

That means blocking off areas to campers especially right next to the river.

The state Department of Transportation has done the same along the main road.

The mission is to get the river and forest back to pristine condition, but it's going to take a long time because it has suffered years and years of abuse.

Game officers say the rehab is already working in some areas. And there are many more areas to do because the rehab means fewer camping spots.

Not everyone is happy, but those that love the place are anxious to see it return to what it used to be.

The improvements are being paid for by money from the habitat-improvement stamps that all fishermen and hunters pay for with their licenses.