Federal authorities begin decommissioning an old gas pipeline in New Mexico

A natural gas pipeline built through northern New Mexico in the 1940s is being shut down by authorities. Some of the final rehabilitation work is already underway.

The abandoned natural gas pipeline is located in the Valles Caldera National Preserve and work is underway on the third and final phase of decommissioning the pipeline.

It crosses the caldera, a large area that was once the site of a volcano before it erupted, leaving behind a crater that could extend for several kilometers or even further.

This phase will restore natural ecological processes to a 14.5-kilometer section disturbed by the pipeline corridor. This includes reducing erosion, reconnecting wetlands, recontouring to encourage natural revegetation, and removing traces of the access road. During this restoration work, the project area, along with trail access from the park’s eastern boundary, will be closed for the remainder of the year.

The pipeline – built in the 1940s by the U.S. Department of Energy to transport natural gas to Los Alamos National Laboratory – was decommissioned in 2022 and rehabilitation work began the same year.

The National Park Service (NPS) and New Mexico Gas Company jointly developed the restoration plan. This phase includes landscape restoration along the middle and eastern nine miles of the pipeline route within the park, from the San Antonio Cabin area to the eastern boundary of the park.

The rehabilitation work, funded entirely by the New Mexico Gas Company, includes smoothing the old roadbed, removing berms, installing water barriers and plugs, removing culverts, reconnecting the wetlands crossed by the line, tilling and harrowing the reclaimed sections, and replanting with native plant seeds.

The entire stretch of the old pipeline corridor will be closed to all visitors to allow vegetation to regrow. The NPS is working on a trail reroute for the 2025 season and will announce details early next year.

Work is expected to be largely completed by early November. The NPS will monitor restoration efforts to evaluate vegetation development and ensure erosion mitigation efforts are successful.