New Mexico Wildlife magazine Conserving New Mexico's Wildlife for Future Generations
On Monday, May 20, 2019 the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish joined officials from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), San Juan County and the City of Farmington to proudly cut the ribbon on the Brown Springs Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area at BLM’s Glade Run.
New Mexico’s OHV program is a user pay system. As off-highway vehicles are registered, a portion of the funds are set aside in the Trail Safety Fund. This fund is used for OHV education, law enforcement and grants.
The Brown Springs Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area at the Glade started in April 2016 with $200,000 granted from the Department of Game and Fish to the BLM with the intent of developing a site to provide OHV education programs. This site included a flat level space, hill transactions, concrete pad meeting standards of the American Disabilities Act, signage and improvements to some of the new and existing OVH’s trails.
In 2017, an additional $400,000 in grants were provided to BLM with the purpose of building an OHV training trail with different degrees of difficulty, including some easier spots for little kids. This phase also included improving existing trails, adding vault toilets, camping sites and pavilions.
While the Department of Game and Fish donated the funding, this project could not have been possible without the BLM, who donated post and cable, heavy equipment for on the ground work and a significant amount of labor. The base course and water were donated by City of Farmington and the County of San Juan.
This has all has resulted in:
- A skills course that is just over a mile long
- Little tot lot for engine sizes of 50cc
- 10 camping areas
- 24/7 access to the trails and parking lot
Annually, staff and volunteers provide nearly 50 in-person programs educating hundreds of students ranging from age 6 to 70.
We invite you to enjoy the Brown Spring Recreation Area at BLM’s the Glade, but remember to Tread Lightly – leave the land better than what you found it, stay on trails and protect traditional values and our land.
In addition to recreation trails for vehicles, the area also includes designated skills and education areas. For directions to the area, click here: https://www.blm.gov/visit/glade-run
Click the video above to learn more about this new recreation spot.
