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

We saw the following report on the “New Mexico Fan Page” on Facebook:

GOT TROUT? Here’s the latest from Valles Caldera – Largest caught last week: 20-inch brown on the San Antonio and a 13-inch rainbow on the East Fork. Best reports are on black beetles, black ants, red humpy, and hoppers. Fishing costs for San Antonio Creek or East Fork Jemez are $35/adult and $25/youth. Weekends are filling up fast, so book your spot today! Text “TROUT” to 67664 for the latest availabilities.

Exciting reports of large fish caught on New Mexico’s supervolcano would no doubt ordinarily bring happiness to the New Mexico angler. However, the reported access fees for the public to fish the Caldera largely price out most working New Mexicans. If a family of two adults and two children wanted to spend the day fishing the broad, montane-grassland valles of the Caldera, it would set the family back $120.

Compare this to the average price of a major league baseball ticket, which this season has been identified by Team Marketing Group as $26.91. If the same family wanted to buy four tickets to a major league ballgame, it would spend an average of $107.64, which is more than $12 less than the price of accessing the Jemez Mountains’ taxpayer-owned national preserve.

Access fees that price out the average New Mexican family at the Valles Caldera National Preserve and are more steep even than our corporate-controlled national pastime are one reason why the local public, pueblos, newspapers, elected officials, and other organizations — as well as the Valles Caldera National Preserve Board of Trustees itself — have overwhelmingly endorsed ditching the Trust “experiment in land management” at the Caldera and replacing it with National Park Service leadership.

In response to the above fishing report on Facebook, an apt comment was left behind by Paul McCarty, who wrote:

Pricing out the locals?

Followed by Lawrence Wade, who stated:

They were pricing out the locals long time ago. Only thing I don’t miss about home: [as] soon as something gets popular, the mystical “they” price gouge until they kill the golden goose. I deeply care about my home state. If I [didn't] I wouldn’t try to change things for the better.

Seemingly biting the hand that feeds him, the executive director of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, Gary Bratcher, was quoted in the Santa Fe New Mexican on Friday publicly criticizing the Valles Caldera Board of Trustees’ newly announced support for legislation currently in the U.S. Senate that would transfer control of the Preserve to the National Park Service. The members of the Board of Trustees serve as Bratcher’s supervisors.

According to an article entitled “Valles Caldera board supports Park Service takeover,” by Staci Matlock of the New Mexican, “Bratcher said he serves at the will of the board, but as a former executive in the private sector, he believes the Valles Caldera Trust model is still worth a try, especially in an era of shrinking federal budgets. He said last year the board proposed changes to the legislation that would have made it easier to meet the mandates. ‘I had really hoped during this amount of time we would get changes in the original act and get a good recovery in the cost for the public,’ he said. ‘Even the way the legislation is written, we were making inroads. We were improving public access and reducing the amount of public taxpayer funds needed. If this bill passes, the whole model remains unproven.’”

Bratcher also publicly called out the Board for not informing him in advance that Chairman Raymond Loretto was going to endorse a Park Service takeover in testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks last week.

According to the New Mexican, “Bratcher, the trust’s executive director, said he didn’t know the board was going to support the legislation. ‘I was not advised by anyone on the board,’ he said, ‘and I don’t think that anyone on the staff was advised that this was going to be their testimony.’”

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees responded to the criticism by his employee in the New Mexican: “Loretto said that a majority of the four presidential appointees currently on the board decided to support S. 564, but didn’t vote on it until after the last public meeting held April 19. ‘We only found out we were to testify before the committee last week,’ said Loretto, a former governor of Jemez Pueblo. ‘We had to make a decision.’ Loretto said the trust staff has done a great job, but with the trust destined to dissolve in 2015 without further congressional action, ‘we need to start transitioning, regardless of which agency it goes to. It comes down to an emotional decision we had to make.’”

Closer examination of Bratcher’s assertion that the Board of Trustees had proposed changes to the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 that would have “made it easier to meet the mandates,” is appropriate. In a letter to Congress from Oct. of 2009, Bratcher, asserting that “the requirement that the Trust be financially self-sustaining is impossible to achieve,” insisted that this legislative requirement be “removed and/or modified.” In other words, instead of proposing substantive changes to the original legislation to ensure that he could help achieve the mandate of financial self-sufficiency, he simply proposed that this goal be taken away so that it wouldn’t have to be achieved at all.

Bratcher has a record of making blatantly false and misleading statements in the media during his tenure as the Preserve’s executive director. In March of 2010, he was quoted in an article in the Albuquerque Journal as stating about the Preserve, “What will you cut out if you (a federal agency) take over?” [Executive Director Gary Bratcher] asks, then answers: “Everything but hiking and camping. That’ll be it.”

Of course, this is a whopper of a lie to the taxpaying public — the legislation before Congress specifically calls for hunting, fishing, and grazing, as well as a science and education program. The editors of the Albuquerque Journal publicly lambasted Bratcher for his obviously misleading statements the next day, including his false declaration that there would be no science program if the Park Service took over the Caldera, calling them “less than convincing,” “hard to believe,” and “laughable.” According to the Journal editorial from last year:

But the preserve managers’ argument that unique educational and scientific programs will not be available if the Park Service (or the U.S. Forest Service) takes over is less than convincing.

Showing off the preserve’s new educational and scientific center in Jemez Springs recently, executive director Gary Bratcher said stargazing with big telescopes, for example, might not be allowed under some other agency’s jurisdiction. Nor, Bratcher said, might class-loads of students, which the new center can host for overnight or even weeklong stays, be able to learn science hands-on by collecting data on the preserve and analyzing it in the center’s state-of-the-art lab.

That’s hard to believe — we recall Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, as just one example, hosting a bevy of state astronomy fanatics who treated park visitors to just such a night of stargazing.
…
Bratcher characterized the trust’s programs as “special,” apparently because the trust maintains strict control over access to the Valles Caldera. Agencies like the Park Service can’t do that, says Bratcher, so their programs aren’t going to be as special. Somebody should remind Bratcher that lack of public access has been the No. 1 complaint about the trust’s management of the preserve.
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Bratcher also characterized the trust management as light on its feet and flexible. That’s laughable. The trust wasn’t even flexible enough to recognize the good financial deal offered recently by a national environmental group, which would have paid many times the going rate to lease the preserve’s grazing rights for the opportunity not to run cows.

The trust certainly hasn’t been flexible enough to figure out ways to increase opportunities for public access to the hiking, skiing, camping and sightseeing crowd, either. And that’s the main reason for the public sentiment that’s fueling the crusade to turn preserve management over to someone else.

Bratcher’s misleading assertions don’t stop with his misstatements to the press. In the Preserve’s most recent annual report to Congress, Bratcher falsely proclaimed in his “Executive Director Perspective” letter that there exists “strong public support” for management of the Preserve under his direction. However, as he is well aware, evidence shows the exact opposite to be true:

A legislative clash regarding the future of the Valles Caldera has emerged in Washington as two bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would have starkly different outcomes for the Jemez Mountains: one would transfer the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service, while another would entirely eliminate all federal appropriations for the Valles Caldera if it remains as part of the Department of Agriculture, placing the Preserve’s viability in immediate danger.

The first bill, reintroduced yesterday from the previous Congress by New Mexico’s U.S. Senators, Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, would dissolve the Valles Caldera Trust and designate the Valles Caldera National Preserve as a unit of the National Park system. The legislation, S.564, once again titled the “Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act,” was read on the floor of the U.S. Senate yesterday and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which Bingaman chairs.

The Bingaman-Udall legislation, which you can read by clicking here, is identical to the marked-up Valles Caldera-NPS transfer bill that was unanimously approved by the Senate Energy Committee last August after the committee held hearings. Last year’s bill died in December after it was inserted as the keynote item into a large omnibus public lands bill that never came up for a vote in that month’s lame-duck session of Congress.

If it passed, the Valles Caldera would not become a national park. Rather it would be America’s 21st national park preserve, a designation designed to give certain NPS units an exemption from the Park Service’s usual rules that prohibit hunting and fishing — traditional activities on the Caldera that are explicitly protected in the Bingaman-Udall legislation.

The second Valles Caldera-related bill introduced in the Senate this month — S.475, the “Enacting President Obama’s Recommendations for Program Termination Act,” introduced by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R), would halt all federal appropriations for the Valles Caldera Trust (among many other federal programs) immediately. The bill states that “no Federal funds may be expended for the Valles Caldera of the Department of Agriculture,” and “any funds appropriated to or unobligated by the program shall be rescinded and returned to the Treasury.” Bingaman and Udall’s bill would thwart Coburn’s bill in the context of the Caldera by removing the Preserve from the auspices of the Agriculture Department. Coburn’s bill has been read on the Senate floor and has been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Bingaman and Udall announced the reintroduction of their legislation in a joint news release yesterday:

The Senators today introduced legislation that directs the Park Service to take over management of the Valles Caldera in a way that protects the Preserve’s natural and cultural resources. Hunting, fishing, and cattle grazing would be permitted under the bill. Additionally, the measure strengthens protections for tribal cultural and religious sites and ensures access by pueblos to the area.

Bingaman and Udall first introduced their legislation last year, following a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that said the Preserve is at least five years behind schedule in the development of an effective management control system and that the requirement to achieve financial self-sustainability by 2015 is the Trust’s biggest challenge and will be difficult to achieve.

A separate National Park Service study, which was requested by Bingaman and Udall, determined the Valles Caldera meets the high criteria for inclusion in the National Park System as a National Preserve. In particular, the report highlighted the nationally significant geologic resources found in the area.

“The Valles Caldera is one of the most spectacular places to visit in New Mexico. I believe it belongs within the National Park Service, which has a long history of managing our nation’s most special natural resources,” Bingaman said.

“By utilizing the resources and skills of the National Park Service, I believe the Valles Caldera National Preserve will continue to prosper as a natural wonder full of significant geology, ecology, history, and culture,” Udall said. “Park Service management is the next critical step in preserving this national treasure for future generations. I look forward to working with Senator Bingaman and all the stakeholders who care about the Caldera to accomplish this important goal.”

The first calls to bring the Valles Caldera into the National Park System were in 1899. In four separate studies throughout the next century the Park Service found that the area was suitable for protective status under its management. But it wasn’t until 2000 that Bingaman, former Senator Pete Domenici and then-Representative Udall were successful in acquiring the property for $100 million. The law also established an experimental management framework where a Board of Trustees would manage the Preserve as a working ranch with public access, with the goal of becoming financially self-sustaining by 2015.

Last year, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the legislation, clearing it for full Senate consideration. Unfortunately, there was not enough time in the session to consider it. The bill will once again be referred to the Energy Committee, which Bingaman chairs.

The newly-reintroduced Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act stipulates the following:

• Hunting and fishing “shall be permitted” under NPS management of the Caldera
• Grazing of livestock “may” be allowed to continue, “to the extent the use furthers scientific research or interpretation of the ranching history of the Preserve”
• Immediately upon passage the Secretary of the Interior will have sole management responsibility of the Preserve. Within 180 days of passage, the Valles Caldera Trust will be terminated, at which time the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 will also be repealed (but this 180 period can be extended if the Secretary of Agriculture “determines that the termination date should be extended to facilitate the transitional management of the preserve”). During the 180-day interim period, “the Preserve shall remain open to public use”
• The NPS “may coordinate the management and operations of the Preserve with the Bandelier National Monument”
• A comprehensive management plan (which has never been prepared by the Trust) will be produced within three years
• The preserve’s universally-acclaimed science and education program will be continued until the aforementioned management plan is prepared, at which time the NPS will establish a new science and education program
• The feasibility of creating a Caldera Rim Trail (inside only the boundaries of both the Preserve and Santa Fe National Forest — not on portions of the Caldera Rim owned by Santa Clara Pueblo) will be studied within three years of passage
• The NPS may establish a science and education facility outside of the boundaries of the preserve (enabling the continuation of the VCNP’s science and education center in Jemez Springs)
• No roads or motorized buildings will be allowed to be constructed, nor will motorized access be allowed, on the Preserve’s many volcanic domes above 9,600 feet in elevation or 250 feet below the top of the dome, whichever is lower, except for administrative purposes or emergencies
• The NPS will ensure the protection of traditional and cultural sites in the Preserve (as well as access to these sites by pueblo members) and may “temporarily close to general public use one or more specific areas of the preserve to protect traditional cultural and customary uses”
• The boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest will be modified to exclude the preserve
• All Trust employees will be retained for at least 180 days after the passage of this legislation, at which time the NPS may hire them on a noncompetitive basis for comparable positions at the Valles Caldera or elsewhere in the NPS or Forest Service in New Mexico

Here are some links to news coverage of the Bingaman-Udall legislation:

Santa Fe New Mexican: “Local News In Brief — N.M. senators renew Valles Caldera proposal”

Albuquerque Journal North: “Senators Make Another Push”

Valles Caldera National Preserve staff conducted three public meetings within the past week in which they unveiled:

• Alternatives for a proposed public use and access plan (PUAP) that would expand public access to the Preserve

• Alternatives for landscape restoration and management for the Preserve in the context of the Southwest Jemez Mountains Collaborative Forest Restoration Project, a $40 million grant that was awarded by the Department of Agriculture to the Preserve and the Santa Fe National Forest last year

The public use and access plan alternatives focus on a vital question to the future of the Preserve: where to construct a permanent visitor center. One alternative features a visitor center at the current location of the Banco Bonito Staging Area, which would rule out any scenic vista from the building, but would remove any potential eyesore caused by a visitor center being built in the Valle Grande. Another alternative (the “Entrada del Valle” option) features a visitor center in the vicinity of the existing “Missing” movie set in the Valle Grande, and a final alternative (the “Vista del Valle” option) would have the new building constructed on a slope above and to the south of Highway 4, 1.5 miles to the east of the current Preserve gates.

The “Entrada del Valle” option would be “uniquely suited to use photo-voltaic development to return 100 percent of its energy needs — including an electric-powered fleet — back to the existing power grid,” according to the VCNP.

All plans call for the removal of the current Valle Grande Staging Area next to Cerro la Jara, and an end to the current interim recreation program.

The PUAP alternatives also deal with another key issue regarding public access: whether the public should be permitted to drive private vehicles around the interior of the Preserve, or if a shuttle service (similar to that which currently exists at the Caldera) ought to serve as the primary means for visitors to access the backcountry of Northern New Mexico’s collapsed volcanic crater.

However, according to information presented by Preserve staff at last week’s public meetings, many key issues with regard to public access issues will not finalized by these alternatives. Documentation distributed at the meetings indicates that many future actions would be guided by the public’s preferred alternative, but “may require additional site-specific planning and analysis prior to implementation.” These actions include:

• Transportation system
• Shuttle system or parking
• Campgrounds
• Recreation facilities: trailheads, fishing access, picnic areas, and overlooks
• Trail system
• Additional non-motorized access: providing additional points of non-motorized access along the Preserve’s perimeter
• Additional staging/visitor contact areas
• The development of equestrian facilities and programs
• The development of primitive education and ecotourism

You can learn about the newly-unveiled public use and access planning alternatives (and provide feedback on them) at the official government Valles Caldera National Preserve web site by clicking here. Preserve management will be accepting comment from members of the public regarding their opinions on these various options at their site through March 31.

Additionally, the public is invited to submit comments regarding the Preserve’s alternatives for the restoration and management of the natural resources throughout the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The range of alternatives includes taking no action, as well as two alternatives geared toward restoring and managing forest, grasslands, shrubland and riparian resources. You can learn about (and comment on) these alternatives by clicking here.

During the most recent meeting of the Valles Caldera National Preserve Board of Trustees, one of the two newest members of the Board, Ken Smith, asked Preserve staff if they envisioned a day when members of the public could purchase an annual permit that would allow pedestrian access from any point along the perimeter of the Preserve.

Preserve Manager Dennis Trujillo responded that there would be liability concerns with regard to such a plan. However, Smith, a professor of forestry who, among other areas, has managed the University of the South’s lush, 13,000-acre forest, responded to Mr. Trujillo that in his experience of managing large tracts of private land, he had not experienced any problem with liability from public access.

Will Preserve managers respond to such concerns by members of the Board of Trustees (as well as members of the community) and truly begin to allow increased public access to the taxpayer-owned Valles Caldera National Preserve as we approach the 2011 summer recreation season?

Matt Gagnon, a student at the University of New Mexico who is pursuing a graduate degree in geography, is conducting a thesis study regarding folks’ perceptions of, and aspirations for, recreation access to the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The study is titled “Management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve: the Recreationist Perspective.” 

One aspect of his study consists of the enviable task of spending parts of his summer in the Jemez Mountains and asking people — both visitors and locals — to fill out a survey that quantifies what they’d like in terms of future management of the Preserve in terms of recreation offerings and access.

His survey can also easily be filled out online. Anyone with an interest in outdoor recreation on the Preserve can fill it out. The anonymous survey shouldn’t take respondents more than ten minutes.

Please take some time and fill out this survey. Not only will it assist a grad student with his thesis, but it will contribute a great deal of insight to what the public wants in terms of future management of our National Preserve.

Mr. Gagnon’s cover letter describing his study can be read here.

You can fill out the survey by clicking here.

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’