Los Alamos outlines cooperation with Pueblo of San Ildefonso on broadband, trails and feral cattle

Danielle Duran, Los Alamos County intergovernmental affairs manager, told the Inclusivity Task Force that the county and the Pueblo of San Ildefonso have maintained regular meetings and “a really good relationship” as they work on broadband, trail stewardship, feral cattle and other cross‑border issues.

The discussion matters because projects affecting roads, trails and communications cross jurisdictional lines and affect Pueblo members’ daily access, public safety and cultural sites. Duran described recent and planned cooperative steps intended to reduce outages, protect cultural resources and improve safety.

Duran said County Manager Anne Laurent and John Gonzalez, administrator for the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, now meet monthly. On broadband, the county and San Ildefonso Services (SIS) coordinated after an NTIA grant delayed implementation; Los Alamos County provided a $2,000,000 match to a later state grant application to expand fiber and service into Pueblo homes. “That not only serves Los Alamos, but it makes sure that the Pueblo has customers for the broadband for the fiber they’re putting in,” Duran said.

On public safety and traffic, Duran said the county police department is buying two radar speed signs to collect speed and volume data on New Mexico 502 (and on State Road 30) to document speeding and build a case for traffic calming with New Mexico Department of Transportation or other authorities. The signs “don’t collect your information on your license plate,” she said; they log speeds and counts to produce evidence for requests to the state.

Feral cattle were raised as an ongoing issue: Duran said multiple herds now move across county, lab and Pueblo property. The county contracts a “wrangler” to manage cattle on county and Pueblo lands; Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Defense Department handle cattle on lab property. Duran described property damage and safety risks from the animals and said Parks personnel coordinate with Pueblo staff.

Trail misuse and protection of cultural resources were a repeated concern. Duran described earlier incidents of graffiti and of informal trails that can damage cultural sites. She said the county has offered policies and surplus equipment access to the Pueblo and suggested joint public education — library forums, school programming, signage and targeted trail fencing — so visitors understand why staying on marked trails matters. “The Pueblo might like a chance to buy those things back” when families find artifacts at estate sales, Duran said, and suggested outreach to local estate‑sale companies.

Other items Duran listed as topics of ongoing conversation were geothermal project coordination with the Pueblo, hunting and trespass issues in Pueblo Canyon, and maintaining continuity in tribal‑county relations after leadership changes in both governments. She said prior council‑to‑council meetings had been substantive and that future meetings could cover more sensitive topics as trust grows.

Task force members asked several follow‑ups. James (Task Force member) noted local interest in bike lanes on New Mexico 4 and said he had collected “about a 100 signatures” on a petition supporting a bike lane; he also suggested the 2027 repaving project could be an opportunity to add bike infrastructure. Duran said the county must coordinate with the state and Santa Fe County on highway projects.

No formal county policy decisions or votes on the items Duran described were taken at the meeting; the presentation concluded with an offer to arrange direct Pueblo presentations to the task force on trail cultural issues and with invitations for task force help on public education plans.

Looking ahead, Duran said she expects continued technical coordination on broadband and safety data collection and hopes for another council‑to‑council meeting in the coming year to deepen the partnership.