Valles Caldera Trust Chairman Stephen Henry, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, penned an op-ed in yesterday’s Albuquerque Journal, responding to the prior week’s editorial by Dave Menicucci, “Access Issue at Valles Caldera.”
Mr. Menicucci also speculates that the primary source of controversy is public access. I disagree. Visitation on the preserve increased from about 200 a few years ago to more than 17,000 in 2008. This is an outstanding accomplishment in view of the fact the trust is required to comply with all the environmental laws and regulations on a property where these had never been addressed. This is an ongoing process and will continue to affect visitation growth and activities permitted for some time to come.
It might be useful to put these figures in context with those from other public lands in the U.S. in order to understand the frustration that exists among some New Mexicans with regard to public access, or, as Mr. Henry referred to those who have voiced their concerns about the management of the Preserve, “the squeaky wheel.”
There are 359 National Park Service (NPS) units nationwide, including 18 National Park Service preserves, which is the designation that New Mexico’s U.S. Senators have asked the NPS to consider in its study of the feasibility of assuming management of the Valles Caldera.
When compared with all 359 units of the National Park Service, the Valles Caldera National Preserve would currently have the 41st-lowest visitor count (17,000 annually), placing it in the lowest 11% of the system in terms of visitation, according to National Parks Traveler.
Among NPS national preserves, the Valles Caldera would currently have fewer visitors than all NPS preserves in the lower 48 states — only six in Alaska and one in the U.S. Virgin Islands (Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecologic Preserve) host fewer visitors.
The National Park Service’s mission is “to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” Given that it has nearly a century of experience of hosting a sizable amount of visitors to our nation’s most treasured landscapes, and considering that part of its mission statement includes the “enjoyment” of current and future generations, it seems reasonable to assume that the National Park Service would open more portions of the Caldera to recreation access, and find ways to ensure that more folks are able to visit this majestic crown jewel of Northern New Mexico.
This is also the belief of Sen. Tom Udall, who has stated that he assumes that public access would increase under the management of the National Park Service.
