diff --git a/mesa_geo/raster_layers.py b/mesa_geo/raster_layers.py
index 98406b6c..a39c7b15 100644
--- a/mesa_geo/raster_layers.py
+++ b/mesa_geo/raster_layers.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 import itertools
 import math
 import uuid
-from collections.abc import Iterable, Iterator, Sequence
+from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable, Iterator, Sequence
 from typing import Any, cast, overload
 
 import numpy as np
@@ -533,7 +533,11 @@ def to_image(self, colormap) -> ImageLayer:
 
     @classmethod
     def from_file(
-        cls, raster_file: str, cell_cls: type[Cell] = Cell, attr_name: str | None = None
+        cls,
+        raster_file: str,
+        cell_cls: type[Cell] = Cell,
+        attr_name: str | None = None,
+        rio_opener: Callable | None = None,
     ) -> RasterLayer:
         """
         Creates a RasterLayer from a raster file.
@@ -542,9 +546,10 @@ def from_file(
         :param Type[Cell] cell_cls: The class of the cells in the layer.
         :param str | None attr_name: The name of the attribute to use for the cell values.
             If None, a random name will be generated. Default is None.
+        :param Callable | None rio_opener: A callable passed to Rasterio open() function.
         """
 
-        with rio.open(raster_file, "r") as dataset:
+        with rio.open(raster_file, "r", opener=rio_opener) as dataset:
             values = dataset.read()
             _, height, width = values.shape
             total_bounds = [
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 0c0f1751..df22e10b 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ dependencies = [
   "geopandas",
   "libpysal",
   "rtree",
-  "rasterio",
+  "rasterio>=1.4b1",
   "shapely",
   "pyproj",
   "folium",