Open Space
& Our Local
Natural Environment
A Brief History of ABQ Open Spaces, and Notably of the Manzano/Four Hills Open Space
Full Article (long version)
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As Albuquerque residents, we are blessed with not only with a wide variety of open space lands, but we also we have more acres of open space per capita than any other major city in the United States (~50 acres/ 1,000 residents). The Manzano/Four Hills (M/FH) Open Space is located immediately east of FHV. Additional multiple large blocks of Open Space land that lie along the bottom of Tijeras Canyon are adjacent to, or, are within a half mile of the northern and western sides of our community.
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The Four Hills pueblos and the Hot Housing
Market of the Fourteenth Century
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Habicht-Mauche and Eckert (2021) * Used with permission from Cambridge University Press.
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No, I am not suggesting that we rename our neighborhood. There really is, or I should say was, a “Four Hills Pueblo”, in Tijeras Canyon. The recent opening of the Singing Arrow Community Center and Archaeological Site and the CABQ development plan for the Tijeras Creek Cultural Corridor have drawn attention to a little-known phase of pueblo culture and Albuquerque Basin human settlement, now called the Coalition Period (1200-1299 CE) and the early Classic Period (1315-1600 CE).
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Fire Concerns in FHV and the Surrounding Open Spaces
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Please, be careful with any ignition sources you handle- brush fires are all too easy to start and can quickly run out of control. Take a look at your yards and the Open Spaces and check for dead or dying pine trees. They are a particular hazard. Data from the US Forest Service shows that dead pine needles can ignite within 11-12 seconds of an ember touching them (in non-windy conditions). Standing dead pine trees will burn 50% hotter than living pine trees and dead pine trees are extremely brittle. They are very likely to have limbs snap or fall over in our high winds.
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Open Space
Maps
(click to enlarge)
The City has been working hard to link the game trails and water access up and down Tijeras Canyon.
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"Pre Oct 2020" Manzano/Four Hills and eastern Tijeras Canyon Open Spaces
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Open Space Acquisition
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The Open Space Division is pleased to announce three new acquisitons in the Tijeras Arroyo/Manzano area since the beginning of 2020 totaling over 100 acres. Most of these parcels were identified as priorities in the Tijeras Arroyo Biological Zone. |
Animals
Meet Your Neighbor, the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
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Now that spring is here and summer is upon us, rattlesnakes have become far more active. It is important for us to become aware of their habitats, and the risks and benefits of living with these beauiful animals. |
The Bobcats of Four Hills Village and New Mexico
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We meet them in the early mornings, often see them in the gloaming of the sunset, and frequently film them on our night trail cameras. These solitary, stealthy, and intelligent hunters have been residents of our rocky, juniper-studded neighborhood hills for thousands of years. The bobcat (Lynx rufus), also called “red lynx” or “wildcat”, is the most successful wild cat species in North America. It can be found in every county and in every biological habitat of New Mexico. Survivors of the ice ages, their range extends from northern Mexico to southern Canada.
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Mule Deer of Four Hills Village & the Surrounding Open Spaces
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Four Hills Village (FHV) is a unique neighborhood in many ways. How many other neighborhoods in Albuquerque have a resident mule deer herd? Year-round, deer are present here in groups ranging from 1-3 deer in the summer to 5-7 or more in the winter. |
Canada Geese
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What are Canada Geese doing in Four Hills? Enjoying the Good Life, apparently. The past two years we have had Canada Geese visiting the irrigation pond on the 14th Fairway of the Golf Course. |
Plants
Native Wildflowers – the Western Wallflower
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The western wallflower (Erysimum capitatum) has been showing off its bright yellow flowers through late April and May. Why care? Well, there are several interesting things about this native wildflower. |
The Tumbleweed - This One Does Not Belong
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The TUMBLEWEED is the iconic weed of the West, made famous in Bob Nolan’s 1930 song, “Tumbling Tumbleweeds”, which became a national hit from 1934 when it was sung by Roy Rogers (originally named Leonard Slye) in the Sons of the Pioneers group. |
Geology
Geology of the Open Space & the FHV Area
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As a geologist I was drawn to New Mexico because of its beauty, diversity, and complexity of its landforms, it’s wildlife, and the cultures of its people. I love Four Hills Village and it’s adopted Manzano Open Space because it includes all these features. |
Colorful Rocks of FHV & the Open Space
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Many of the homes in FHV were built with stone facia decoration of unusually colored rocks. Also, many folks have placed rocks with interesting colors in their gardens. Here is a summary of the mineralogy of some of the more uniquely colored rocks and a stab at possible quarry locations for these stones. |
Tijeras Canyon’s Role in the Civil War
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One interesting historical note about our area which you might find intriguing is that the end of the Civil War in New Mexico was fought here in Tijeras Canyon and in Albuquerque ... some of the last battles of the of Civil War were played out right here. |
Last updated 4 December 2022