Mystery in the forest
Stick structures and painted rocks bring intrigue, but are unwelcome and illegal
It was almost three years ago when a rash of stick structures puzzled Santa Fe National Forest officials. Some of the conical structures were as tall as a two-story building and as big around as 20 feet.
Nearly 20 known structures were located in the Aspen Vista, Winsor Trail and Big Tesuque drainage areas.
Since then, the mysterious structures — the origins of which were never determined — had pretty much disappeared. At least until recently, said Julie Anne Overton, public affairs officer with the Santa Fe National Forest.
“It’s not a new issue, not a new phenomenon,” she said. “But it’s one we haven’t seen in a while.”
One of the structures, which has since been dismantled, was located along the Alamo Vista Trail in an open space known as “Carl’s Meadow.”
“We don’t know who is building these structures and why, but we do know they pose significant health and safety hazards,” Española District Ranger Sandy Hurlocker said. “The structures are not stable and the wood is extremely dry, raising the risk of collapse or catching on fire. Given the extreme drought and high fire danger right now, we worry about the potentially catastrophic consequences of a wildfire in one of our most popular recreation corridors.”
The construction of stick structures on National Forest System lands is prohibited under Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which prohibits “constructing, placing, or maintaining any kind of road, trail, structure, fence, enclosure, communication equipment, significant surface disturbance, or other improvement on National Forest System lands or facilities without a special-use authorization, contract, or approved operating plan when such authorization is required.”
“It’s a safety thing,” Overton said. “It’s a huge safety risk. They’re clearly not built to any sort of safety specifications.
Some of them are quite large, and they can fall and seriously injury someone if they landed on top of a person, especially a child. And the other risk is the fire danger, which is a serious one. It’s a giant pile of kindling.”
This structure was “a fairly significant size,” she said. “It was big enough for an adult to walk into.” And it was located not far from where the previous ones had been erected.
“We don’t really know who is building them or why,” Overton said. “Apparently, this is the spot for these structures, but they’ve also been reported in the Cuba Ranger District.”
The Santa Fe forest has also been seeing vandalism of a different sort, she said, as the recent trend for painting rocks seems to have taken hold here. The rocks are usually painted with a cheery message or picture.
“There are a couple of problems if people paint rocks that are in the forest,” Overton said. “It is considered graffiti and damaging federal property. It sounds funny to say a rock is federal property, but it is.”
Furthermore, the materials used could be damaging to the environment, she said.
“Most people don’t pay any attention to the kind of paint or sealant that is used, and it can break down and get contaminants in the watershed.”
The latter issue, she said, could simply be a case of people being in the forest who are unfamiliar with being there.
“We can speculate on that,” Overton said. “It wouldn’t be a surprise. We do know, particularly since COVD
19, that visitation across the national forest has really increased. And, anecdotally, I’ve heard a lot of stories from district rangers who are surprised by the numbers of people who are in the national forest for the very first time. In normal times, they’re going to the movies on a Saturday afternoon. We have seen a big increase in visitation by a lot of folks are who first-timers and just aren’t familiar with ‘Leave no trace’ principals.”