BY SCHON LEVY
Los Alamos

I would like to make some follow-up comments to the letters about the North Mesa Park Master Plan from Georgia Strickfaden (12/16/2025) and Kyle Dickman (12/17/2025).  Like Georgia’s letter, my concern is focused on the area east of North Mesa Park Road that includes the paved walking trail loop.  This area lies within the proposed bicycle amenities/skills park and would be seriously impacted by proposed construction of park infrastructure.

Georgia describes the heavy usage by local residents of the paved walking trail and their enjoyment of the open field within and surrounding the trail loop.  She refers to the open area as a Natural Habitat Area.  I don’t know if this is a formal designation.  What I do know is that this open area is the last surviving vestige of a homestead-era agricultural field owned by Los Alamos County.  All other former homesteads owned by the county and accessible to the public have been competely built over and their historic significance is visually unrecognizable (interpretive signs are no substitute).  This impending loss should be of immediate concern to anyone who values local history and historic preservation.

Kyle addresses Georgia’s concerns about the loss of the paved walking trail by stating that the park plan calls for the trail to be restored in modified form, although he doesn’t explicitly mention that the open fields will be replaced by a bicycle skills park.  He does suggest that walkers who want a more natural experience can use the Kwage Mesa trail.  I hope everyone understands that when you suggest we go somewhere else like more remote and unpaved Kwage Mesa, where we won’t affect your bicycle-park plans, you are addressing people with strollers and small children or vision- and mobility-impaired people.

There is plenty of space on North Mesa for a bicycle amenities park without destroying a feature of immense historical significance or offering a degraded walking experience to local residents.