Our Land. Our Heritage.
A grassroots community fighting to protect the small-town character, working farmland, and rural way of life that has defined Valencia County for generations.
Growth should protect and preserve, not replace.
The Preserve Our Heritage Community Board is a nonprofit New Mexico corporation formed to preserve the rural and agricultural character of the interior of El Cerro Loop, protect our environment, disseminate information, represent community concerns with surrounding governments, and participate in long-range planning that affects our community.
The current Los Lunas Boulevard East expansion plan threatens all of that. It would extend the Boulevard through historic agricultural communities along Orona and Otero Roads, paving over generational farmland, and ignoring the long-term safety and water realities our community faces.
We are not opposed to progress. We oppose a plan that puts development ahead of the people who live here. Our proposed solution is straightforward: make improvements to existing roads, primarily much-needed upgrades to N. El Cerro Loop (Road 263).
This solution respects our heritage, protects our families, and aligns with Valencia County's own 2022 Comprehensive Plan. Our land. Our heritage. Not for sale.
The Valencia County valley — open land, working farms, mesas on the horizon.
The proposed Los Lunas Blvd Extension routes cut through residents with children and many small farms. A proposed four-lane highway will create a dangerous environment for residents to maintain their way of life.
The Orona and Otero Road corridors represent generations of farming, acequia culture, and rural identity. Once paved, this land — and the way of life it sustains — cannot be recovered.
New Mexico sits within one of the four major drought regions in the world. Continued high-density development threatens our aquifers, irrigation systems, and the drinking water our children will rely on.
Valencia County's own Comprehensive Plan 2022 commits to "grow consciously in ways that preserve historic agricultural communities." The current proposal does the opposite.
There is a smarter, safer path that protects what makes Valencia County worth living in — and still solves the traffic problem the current plan claims to address.
If you live in Valencia County, we need to hear from you. Take a few minutes to share your perspective — your input strengthens the case we bring to commissioners, NMDOT, and state legislators.
Take the SurveyTakes about 3 minutes. Your responses are collected via Microsoft Forms.
Preserve Our Heritage Community Board is run by Valencia County residents who live on the land they're working to protect. Every member is a volunteer.
To reach any member at large, email the board at stopeastextension@gmail.com.
This fight is won by neighbors showing up. Pick one. Do it now.
Commissioners, NMDOT, and state legislators. Tap to see the full contact list — then reach out in your own words.
See Contacts →Submit a letter to the editor of the Valencia County News-Bulletin. Local voices, on the local front page.
Submit Letter → 03Help fund billboards, legal support, and outreach. Every dollar goes directly to the fight.
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The Valencia County Comprehensive Plan lays out the county's own commitment to preserve historic agricultural communities. Read it. Share it. Reference it when you talk to officials.