The Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act (S.3452), which would transfer control of the Caldera to the National Park Service, is a candidate for inclusion in an omnibus lands bill this fall, according to the Federal Parks and Recreation Bulletin, a biweekly publication for federal employees of parks and recreation areas. An omnibus bill is a piece of legislation that packages together multiple measures into one. From the Bulletin:
Two important outdoor bills took major steps forward last week, raising the possibility they will be eligible for an omnibus lands bill this fall. Assuming of course an omnibus lands bill is assembled.
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The Senate Energy Committee, which usually assembles the ingredients for an omnibus measure, has not yet begun to put together a new omnibus, but that doesn’t mean one will not be prepared. The ultimate call will be made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).Obvious candidates for the omnibus are a bill to transfer the Valles Caldera area in New Mexico to the Park Service, as well as measures to designate wilderness and trails in central Idaho, to extend a popular federal land sales bill, to designate a national park in Delaware (the state has none now), designate a handful of national heritage areas, and much more.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act was introduced in the Senate on May 27. Hearings on the bill in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee were held on June 30.
