New Mexico's resolution: Get more people outside in 2020

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Flanked by cactus and juniper, a pristine trail snakes through the high desert just outside New Mexico's most populated area.

Sandstone canyons carved into the northeastern side of the state make for a remote bouldering and rock climbing paradise.

And not far from the Texas border, a collection of scraggly cottonwoods and poplar-type trees is a beacon for birdwatchers hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare winged migrant.

It's not hard for Craig Johnson to boast about the pockets of potential across millions of acres of trust land that the State Land Office manages.

“New Mexico's outdoor recreation resources are truly world class," he tells The Associated Press, while noting that visitation still is less than neighboring states.

As head of the recently launched “Open for Adventure” campaign, Johnson said New Mexico's status as an underdog in the outdoor recreation world will end up being an asset as other destinations in the U.S. Southwest become more crowded.

People already are taking note as New Mexico in 2019 began ramping up efforts to get more people outside through its creation of a new division of outdoor recreation within the state's Economic Development Department. Part of the effort involves more communication among state agencies and local governments to find new opportunities.

At the Land Office, the number of recreation access permits issued in 2019 nearly tripled to more than 400, and officials with the agency say the goal is to keep building that number by identifying new recreational areas on state trust land and forming more partnerships with hiking, biking, rock climbing and other advocacy groups.

Part of the growth in interest over the last year stemmed from a collaboration between the Land Office and the Continental...