The municipal government of Querétaro aims to decree two new Protected Natural Areas (ANP) in the Milenio and Bolaños zones. The Secretary of the Environment, Guadalupe Espinosa, reported that the area in Milenio, known as "Cerro Colorado," covers 18 hectares and is of high biological importance due to the presence of protected species, water runoff, and geological faults.
On the other hand, in Bolaños, there is a 42-hectare land called "Cańada Bolaños" or "El Tlacuache," which has significant runoff towards the Querétaro River. This land is already protected by the Queretano Trust for Environmental Conservation (FIQMA), but there is a desire to elevate this property and the one in Milenio to ANP status to provide them with a management program.
Guadalupe Espinosa explained that it is necessary to have a management program for the protected area that establishes clear guidelines for its preservation over time. To start the decree process, a justificatory technical study must be conducted and then submitted to a 15-day public consultation. Subsequently, it will be presented to state and federal authorities, the owners of the lands to be incorporated will be notified, and the decree will be carried out by the City Council.
In the case of Cerro Colorado, it is expected that its decree will be finalized in July, as it has the justificatory technical study, while for Cańada Bolaños, the process is about to begin, and it is estimated that its decree could take place in October. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the municipality continues to maintain a dispute over the 485 hectares of the El Zapote ejido, which seeks to be declared again as ANP after a de-incorporation order issued by a federal judge last January.
