Taos Pueblo does not publish photographs of Blue Lake, and that closure is treated as part of what the 1970 return actually restored.
Taken without consultation
In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt placed Blue Lake and the surrounding watershed, land Taos Pueblo considered central to its origin and religious life, inside the newly created Carson National Forest, without the Pueblo's consent and without compensation, opening it to public recreational use for the following six decades.
A restoration, not a purchase
After decades of lobbying, Congress passed legislation in 1970 returning some 48,000 acres, including Blue Lake itself, directly to Taos Pueblo as land held in trust, one of the earliest and most complete land restitutions to a Native nation in United States history, notable for returning the land itself rather than offering financial compensation as most comparable claims had been settled.
Access stays closed
Since the return, Taos Pueblo has kept the lake and surrounding area closed to non-tribal members, permitting entry only for tribal religious purposes on a schedule the Pueblo itself controls. The Pueblo does not publish details of the ceremonies conducted there, treating the closure itself, not just the land title, as integral to what makes the site sacred, and outside accounts of the site accordingly describe its history and status rather than its ritual content.