VallesCaldera.com – The independent news source about the Valles Caldera

Bandelier National Monument, directly adjacent to the Valles Caldera, will host a grand reopening celebration of its visitor center on Wednesday, August 25, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The public is welcome at the reopening, and entry to the park is free all day on the 25th. The center had been closed for more than a year for construction of improvements, including a new theater. According to Bandelier’s web site, planning for the revamp was ten years in the making.

New museum exhibits that will be featured in the retooled visitor center include a new 12-minute, high-definition park film, panoramas of backcountry sites, topographic displays, ecosystem profiles, and priceless artifacts.

The reopening will include Zuni dancers, craft demonstrations, tours of the new museum exhibits, a viewing of the new park film, as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3:00 pm.

Bandelier has a presence throughout the internet. Click the links below to visit its sites:

Web: http://www.nps.gov/band/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BandelierNPS?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/bandelierNPS
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/BandelierNPS

The Valles Caldera Trust will conduct a public meeting in Jemez Springs in the evening on Thursday, Aug. 12 to receive public comments on their “Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Long-Term Landscape Restoration and Management Plan To Restore and Manage the Forest, Grassland, and Riparian Ecosystems of the Valles Caldera National Preserve.”

You can read this 1,860-word notice by clicking here.

Who: Valles Caldera Trust
What: Public meeting to discuss its proposed ten-year landscape restoration and management plan
When: Thurs., Aug. 12, 5:30 -8:00 PM
Where: VCNP Science and Education Center, 90 Villa Louis Martin, Jemez Springs

The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) today released a draft environmental impact statement regarding its new Travel Management Plan, which includes five alternatives for managing where the public can drive motorized vehicles in the forest. The alternatives would eliminate between 47% and 63% of the Forest’s currently open roads (except for alternative one, which would do nothing). The SFNF also announced eight public meetings throughout Northern New Mexico in August to receive public comment about today’s released documents.

Also today, Daniel Jirón, the supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forest, announced that he is leaving his post to serve as the Deputy Regional Forest Supervisor for the Pacific Southwest Region, according to Staci Matlock of the Santa Fe New Mexican. Deputy forest supervisor Erin Connelly will serve as the interim supervisor for the SFNF. Click here to read Ms. Matlock’s article.

The Supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forest is automatically an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, so Mr. Jirón will also be departing from his position with the Preserve’s Board and will be replaced by Ms. Connelly. However, in practice, ex-officio members of the Board have had very little power relative to the politically-appointed members of the Board.

The Santa Fe National Forest manages 1.6 million acres of forest in Northern New Mexico, including most of land surrounding the Valles Caldera National Preserve, and about 20% of the geologic Valles Caldera itself.

Read the entire Draft Environmental Impact Statement by clicking here.

Access all of the documents released today by the SFNF by clicking here.

Read today’s press release from the Santa Fe National Forest (containing the five Travel Management Plan alternatives as well as details on the eight public meetings that the SFNF will conduct in August) by clicking here.

Continue reading ‘Between 47% and 63% of Santa Fe National Forest’s open roads could be closed under Travel Management Plan; eight public meetings planned for Aug.; Jirón departs as supervisor’

UPDATE: July 21, 2010 — The Valles Caldera Trust has announced that it will conduct a public meeting on Thursday, August 12th from 5:30-8:00 PM to discuss this landscape restoration and management plan, at the Preserve’s Science and Education Center at 90 Villa Louis Martin in Jemez Springs.

On Friday, a notice appeared on the Federal Register that had been submitted on July 8, 2010 by the Valles Caldera Trust, titled: “Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Long-Term Landscape Restoration and Management Plan To Restore and Manage the Forest, Grassland, and Riparian Ecosystems of the Valles Caldera National Preserve.”

You can read this 1,860-word notice by clicking here.

The accompanying summary of the notice is as follows:

The Valles Caldera Trust (VCT) a wholly owned government corporation empowered to provide management and administrative services for the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the potential impacts of a proposed Landscape Restoration and Management Plan (LRMP) which includes mechanical treatments, prescribed burning, management of lightning caused wildland fires (wildland fire use), restoration or riparian areas, closure and maintenance of roads and eradication of noxious weeds and invasive plants.

The Trust requests comments on this notice by August 18, 2010, at comments@vallescaldera.gov.

The office of U.S. Sen. Tom Udall has released a video showing the testimony of the junior senator from New Mexico last week to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. During this testimony, Mr. Udall ardently contended that National Park Service management is the best option for the future of Valles Caldera National Preserve, and called for the passage of S.3452, the Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act. Click on the video below to watch Mr. Udall’s testimony.

[PHOTO: Pueblo of Jemez Governor Joshua Madalena testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today. From committee web broadcast]

The future of the scenic crown jewel of New Mexico was publicly discussed in Washington, D.C., today, as Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) presided over a meeting of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee examining the Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act (S.3452), which would transfer the Caldera to the National Park Service. During the hearing, eight individuals who represent significant stakeholders in Northern New Mexico offered testimony regarding their positions on the legislation.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that the bill “earned widespread support” at the hearing. Click here to read the Journal article — nonsubscribers must click on the “trial access pass” button to read it. You can also watch a report on the hearing by KOAT-TV by clicking here.

Four of the eight witnesses expressed unqualified support for the legislation (Sen. Tom Udall, Los Alamos County Council Chairman Michael Wismer, New Mexico Wildlife Federation Executive Director Jeremy Vesbach, and National Park Service Deputy Director Daniel Wenk). Two witnesses — the governors of the Pueblo of Jemez (Joshua Madalena) and Pueblo of Santa Clara (Walter Dasheno) — offered conditional support for the bill. The two other witnesses, Valles Caldera Trust Chairman Stephen Henry and Harris Sherman, the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment (the official in charge of the U.S. Forest Service), did not express support.

The conditional backing offered by the pueblos during the hearing is significant because as recently as January, Jemez Pueblo Gov. Joshua Madalena publicly opposed transferring management from the Valles Caldera Trust.

A synopsis of each witness’ oral and written testimony follows, in order of appearance. Click on the name of a witness in order to download his prepared remarks.

Continue reading ‘Senate committee hears testimony on legislation to bring Caldera into Park Service; pueblos offer conditional support’

Due to the U.S. Senate’s memorial service planned in honor of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd on Thursday, the hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to receive testimony about legislation to convert the Valles Caldera into a National Park Preserve has been moved to tomorrow (Wed.), June 30 at 12:30 PM MDT.

You can watch the hearing live by clicking here.

Albuquerque’s ABC affiliate, KOAT-TV, filed a report today on this upcoming hearing, stating that “fireworks are expected in Washington Wednesday when the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee discusses the future of the Valles Caldera National Preserve.” Click here to watch this report.

The committee also released an updated witness list for the hearing. One change from the prior witness list is that Sen. Tom Udall is now scheduled to testify, replacing Barbara Johnson, the vice chair of Los Amigos de Valles Caldera. Here is the latest witness list:

Panel 1
The Honorable Tom Udall, U.S. Senate

Panel 2
Daniel Wenk, Deputy Director, National Park Service, Department of the Interior
The Honorable Harris Sherman, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture
Stephen Henry, Chairman, Valles Caldera Trust

Panel 3
The Honorable Joshua Madalena, Governor, Pueblo of Jemez
The Honorable Walter Dasheno, Governor, Pueblo of Santa Clara
The Honorable Michael Wismer, Chair, Los Alamos County Council
Jeremy Vesbach, Director, New Mexico Wildlife Federation