The city of Albuquerque and the Petroglyph National Monument have crafted a new cooperative management agreement that will improve the law enforcement capabilities of park rangers.
Once the agreement is signed next week, rangers will be able to cite people for smaller violations and impose tougher fines on people caught breaking the law at one of the city's most popular attractions.
Matt Schmader with the city's parks and recreation department says the agreement has been in the works for a few months.
The previous five-year agreement expired last week. Environmentalists and others were concerned about protection of the monument's rock art.
But Schmader says that at no time has there been any lapse in protection or operations.
Bordering the city's west side, the monument contains thousands of petroglyphs as well as geologically important sites.