Efforts planned to clean up behavior at hot springs
United World College to address safety, cleanliness issues, seek solutions
Aseries of hot springs touted for healing powers and serene surroundings has become a hot spot for nudity, drug and alcohol use, and theft, owners say.
United World College-USA, which owns Montezuma Hot Springs, will host a meeting Wednesday evening to address recent safety and cleanliness issues, and to begin brainstorming possible solutions to protect the public space.
Organizers say the future of the free-to-use and family-friendly springs largely will depend on community efforts.
“I think there are all kinds of community solutions that involve people working together,” said Carl-Martin Nelson, a spokesman for UWC-USA, officially named the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West.
“If it’s a community resource, then a solution will be driven by community members making it what they want it to be,” ,” Nelson said.
The naturally mineral-charged baths, 6 miles northwest of Las Vegas, N.M., on N.M. 65, have been a gathering place for centuries. In more recent decades, the roughly developed pools, ranging in temperature from about 102 to 120, have continued to be a popular draw for families, students and tourists. It’s a place locals say is vital to the area.
“It’s one of those pieces of the community that’s very valuable to us,” said Virginia Marrugo, a spokeswoman for the city of Las Vegas who remembers her arthritic grandmother using the springs.
Although alcohol is prohibited at the hot springs, consumption persists — oftentimes after hours, Nelson said. The springs are open from 5 a.m. to midnight daily and patrolled by the college’s security officers, but many times people try sneaking into the pools after 3 a.m., he said. The consequence, he said, is a simple warning from security.
“It’s rare that they’ve had to call the police to get someone to leave,” said Nelson, adding that trespassers are rarely students of United World College, which serves about 200 students ages 16-19.
“There are people who just take advantage,” Marrugo said.
In the last couple of years, there have been several injuries at the springs, mainly the result of people stepping on broken glass. The most extreme example was a man’s death in December — the cause is still unknown.
In addition to safety, cleanliness is a large concern.
Dirty diapers, drug paraphernalia, beer cans and feminine products have been found at the site, Marrugo said.
“It really takes away from the beauty out there,” she said of the view, which includes mountains, a flowing river and the Montezuma Castle, a former luxury hotel that now houses United World College.
It gets to a point where people come who leave their trash and don’t care about it. … They don’t think of what it takes to take care of it or protect it,”
Marrugo said. Nelson agreed. “It’s a wetland, and it’s not being cared for the way a wetland should be cared for,” he said.
Similar problems with trash and alcohol-related incidents have emerged at popular hot springs along the Rio Grande near Taos, residents say.
Another problem with the iconic Manby Hot Springs, just upstream from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, is that to reach the site, most drivers travel Tune Drive, a private dirt road that is now in poor condition, according to neighbors who must pay to maintain it.
Hot springs traffic in Taos has become “the bane of our existence,” resident Mary Lane Leslie told The Taos News in July for a story about how the residents of Tune Drive were trying to encourage hot springs visitors to take a different route.
Though Nelson wants to wait to plan the next steps until after Wednesday’s meeting to address the situation in Montezuma, he considered the idea of volunteer security guards or partnering with other organizations to help monitor the area.
“What if we had a group of members who signed up for shifts to manage and keep track of things, who had official roles?” he asked, adding that hiring more security guards is not a viable option for the nonprofit school.
Some other ideas, he said, include posting signs that tell visitors not to park overnight, fencing the springs or locking them after hours.
Closing the springs is not an option. “Having the hot springs available to the community is very much a part of our mission,” Nelson said.
The community meeting is a first step.
“It all needs to be broken down first,” said Nelson, adding there will likely be a series of meetings to solidify a plan for the site’s future. “[This meeting] is to map a way forward.”