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

This virtual reality panorama, which was just added to our collection of 360° panoramas, was taken along the south base of Cerro del Medio, near the Valle Grande Lightning Shack (click here to download the panorama). This structure was built during the Baca Ranch era to shelter cowboys working on the ranch during the Jemez Mountains’ monsoon season, in which dramatic thunderstorms fall upon the Valles Caldera almost every day in July for an hour or two during the early afternoon. Monsoons are a result of humid, warm air flowing northwest from the Gulf of Mexico. As the moist air ascends to New Mexico’s higher elevations, it cools off beneath the dew point and condenses into rain and hail.

Visitors to the Southwest (and, indeed, longtime residents) marvel at the spectacle of the Jemez’ monsoon season, in which it is not uncommon for the sky immediately above to be unleashing a torrential downpour, while much of the surrounding sky is bright blue. Experiencing warm raindrops falling in a verdant valley of colorful wildflowers as the bright New Mexico sun shines through the droplets from the west, producing an enchanting “liquid sunshine” effect, is one of the most magical parts of summer in the Jemez. This experience is also extremely enjoyable at one of the Valles Caldera’s magnificent hot springs.

Click here to download this panorama. There are dozens more 360° panoramas at VallesCaldera.com — click here for the full list, including a map to help you find the one you are looking for.

You need to have QuickTime (version 5.0 or above) installed to view our 360° panoramas. Click here to install QuickTime. You also need to have a high-speed internet connection, as this panorama is 2.5 megabytes. QuickTime will automatically launch when the panorama had been downloaded.

Once the panorama loads, we recommend that you enter full-screen mode (by pressing Command-f on a Mac or Control-f on a PC) for the most enjoyable viewing experience. Drag the cursor in any direction to change your perspective. You can also press the shift key to zoom in, and the Command key (Control key on a PC) to zoom out.

Click here to download another high-resolution 360° panorama of the Valle Grande — this one was taken from Highway 4 in March, as the valle was a majestic mosaic of snow and dry land.

Finally, enjoy some some views from the sky of the Valle Grande:

The Valle Grande from above the Southeast Rim
The Southwest Rim
A meandering East Fork of the Jemez River
The Valle Grande from above the South Rim

The Albuquerque Journal reported today that the Valles Caldera National Preserve’s fishing program has undergone some changes.

First of all, fly-fishermen with reservations will now be permitted to drive their own vehicles to their beats on the San Antonio River (click here for a view from the sky) on weekdays.  However, on the weekends, vans driven by Preserve employees will continue to drive anglers out to the river.

This is rather significant, as this basically affords one a private tour of the Caldera, from South Rim to North Rim, in one’s own automobile.  Prior to now the only official way a member of the general public could enjoy this treat was to be fortunate enough to win the hunting lottery, which allows winners to drive their own truck to their hunting units (click here to go to a 360° panorama of the westernmost fishing beat on the Preserve, and click here to see a pano of the portion of the river next to San Antonio Warm Springs).

Secondly, the river is now divided into four beats, between two and five miles long (last year the river was divided into ten beats, each approximately one mile long).   The previous lottery program has also been discontinued, in favor of an online reservation system.

The East Fork fishing program inaugurated last year, which allows folks to fish the East Fork of the Jemez River as well as the Jaramillo Creek for $50 ($40 for children) on a first-come-first-served basis, will continue.  San Antonio River fishing costs $35 ($25 for children).  Click here to see a view from the sky of the confluence of the East Fork of the Jemez River and the Jaramillo Creek in the Valle Grande.

Fishing reservations can be made on the Valles Caldera National Preserve web site by clicking here.

The Valles Caldera National Preserve announced that it has awarded its 2009 grazing contract to a team that includes New Mexico State University, Jemez Pueblo and the New Mexico Beef Cattle Performance Association. See this Associated Press story in the Santa Fe New Mexican, and see this story in the Los Alamos Monitor.

Among four unsuccessful bids was a widely publicized proposal by conservation group WildEarth Guardians to graze 3-5 head of cattle on the Preserve for $50,000.

The winning contract calls for the team of ranchers to graze between 500-1500 “animal units” on the Preserve this summer, depending on forage conditions. The Preserve would collect $52 per unit. [An “animal unit," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is “one mature cow of approximately 1,000 pounds and a calf up to weaning, usually 6 months of age, or their equivalent.” See this USDA page for more information]

Depending on forage conditions, based upon these figures, this contract will earn the Preserve between $26,000 and $78,000 this year.  At the rate of $52 per animal unit, the ranchers would have to graze at least 962 animal units in order for the Preserve to collect the same amount of revenue that WildEarth Guardians proposed to contribute for the privilege of grazing less than half-a-dozen head of cattle.

Last summer, the Preserve earned $58,000 from a private rancher in Las Vegas, NM, who grazed 1,960 head of cattle on the old Baca Ranch.

The Preserve is stressing the unique, innovative nature of this grazing contract. “The primary objective of the proposal is focused on the development of a high altitude performance testing facility for virgin bulls and replacement heifers,” according to New Mexico State University’s Manny Encinias. “There is a nationwide market demand for progressive genetics that meet industry standards for performance and also have an ability to thrive at high elevations. Before the Trust accepted our proposal there was no high altitude facility in the U.S. where seedstock could be objectively evaluated on a 100% forage-based diet. Now we have one.”

However, WildEarth Guardians and the Valles Caldera advocacy group Caldera Action were quoted in the Associated Press objecting to the Preserve’s decision, due to several issues, including the damage to rivers and streambeds that grazing cattle has caused on the Preserve, and to the relatively small percentage of funds that cattle grazing generates relative to the Preserve’s annual budget.

“In this case, I think the rejection of our bid underscores the need for Congress to revisit the mission of the preserve itself,” said Bryan Bird of WildEarth Guardians.

WildEarth Guardians and Caldera Action also have argued that the grazing program falls short of helping the preserve become financially self-sufficient. Bird said reaching the goal might be impossible and perhaps not desirable.

“We would not ask that Yellowstone pay its own way,” he said. “This is a national treasure like any of our others in the West. I think as taxpayers we realize we may have to pay for its management and its worth that to keep it protected.”

However, the Valles Caldera National Preserve again stressed the need for innovation in order to try to achieve success for the Preserve.

“Sure there’s going to be bumps along the road and mistakes made by all parties involved but the biggest mistake that anyone can make is to be afraid of making one,” said Valles Caldera National Preserve Spokesman Terry McDermott.

The ranchers hope to have cattle on the Preserve by June 1.

Dozens of new aerial photos of the Valles Caldera have been added to our “Views from the Sky” page. Initially, this page simply featured photos taken from a single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft on a low-altitude private flyover of the Valles Caldera on August, 28, 2001, during the first full summer of ownership of the Baca Ranch by the American People.

We have just added another section to that page, entitled “High-Altitude Views From the Sky.” This section features photos from three separate commercial airline flights from Albuquerque to Denver, a flight that offers stunning views of the Jemez Mountains. If you have the opportunity to take this flight, be sure to ask for a window seat on the left-hand side of the aircraft for the closest views of the Valles Caldera (or a seat on the right for the flight south from Denver to Albuquerque).

Below are some samples of some of our new photos. Incidentally, if you have any of your own views from the sky, photos from space, 360° panoramas, or other photos you’d like us to post on VallesCaldera.com, email us here.

Click any of the photos below to enjoy a full-size view.

In this spectacular winter shot of the Valles Caldera from the southwest, the Valle Grande is visible, overlooked by Garita Peak (the North Rim), Cerro Pedernal (to the upper-right, world-famous from the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe), and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (background).

This is a high-altitude view of the oldest of the Caldera’s ring fracture domes, in order of eruption. From the left: Cerro del Medio, Cerro Abrigo, Cerro Santa Rosa (Cerro de Trasquilar is barely visible to the right), Cerro San Luis, and Cerro Seco.

This is a view of virtually the entire Valles Caldera from the east. At left is the Valle Grande; to its right is Valle Toledo; above that is the Valle San Antonio.

Redondo Peak, the Valles Caldera’s resurgent dome, towers over the Jemez Mountains in this view from the southeast.

We have also added dozens of low-altitude Views from the Sky.  Above is a view from atop the North Rim of the Caldera, looking south. The dome in the middle of the photo is Cerro Santa Rosa. To its left is Cerro Abrigo. The valley on the left is Valle Toledo, with Valle San Antonio on the right.

An unsigned editorial entitled “$50,000 Equals How Many Animal Units?” was published in the Albuquerque Journal on Monday, May 4, 2009, in response to news that WildEarth Guardians has bid $50,000 to graze 3-5 cattle on the Valles Caldera National Preserve this summer (see this post for more information about the group’s bid).  Below is a portion of the editorial:

Since 2000 the Valles Caldera National Preserve has been required by Congress to maintain a “working ranch.” It’s also required to be financially self-sufficient by 2015. That’s a tough — some might say impossible — balancing act.

So the decision of the Valles Caldera Trust to dismiss out of hand any grazing proposal with fewer than 500 animal units —cows plus calves — seems short-sighted. Especially one that offers $50,000 to run “three to five cows” on the 89,000-acre Jemez Mountain property.

So far the preserve’s grazing program and limited hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities haven’t come close to covering the bills. The Trust is considering other money-making ideas including van tours and a luxury lodge.

Bryan Bird, public lands director for WildEarth Guardians, says “dollar for dollar, our offer is the best taxpayers can ask for. Water and wildlife are the highest value the preserve can offer, and we want to protect those priceless resources for all New Mexicans. We’re willing to pay for that.”

However, it is unclear if the Trust has necessarily rejected WildEarth Guardians’ proposal outright. On May 1, 2009, the Albuquerque Journal stated that “the Trust says it won’t consider proposals with fewer than 500 ‘animal units’ of livestock.”

But the Associated Press reported on the same date that a Trust spokesman said that the figure of 500 as a minimum is not necessarily inflexible.

The minimum number is a guarantee for a livestock producer and helps them decide if it is worth bidding, said Terry McDermott, the preserve’s communications director.

It doesn’t preclude accepting a bid to graze fewer cows, he said.

WildEarth Guardians, a Santa Fe-based conservation organization, has submitted a $50,000 bid to graze 3-5 head of cattle on the Valles Caldera National Preserve this summer.  See this Associated Press article from the Santa Fe New Mexican, and see this article in the Albuquerque Journal.

The Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 mandates several goals, including that that the Preserve be operated as a working ranch, and that it also strive for financial self-sustainability.  With this in mind, the Valles Caldera Trust annually accepts public bids for the right to graze cattle on the Preserve each summer.

WildEarth Guardians’ bid tries to adhere to the working-ranch mandate, while seeking to provide the highest amount of revenue possible for the Preserve, and also aiming to reduce the environmental destruction of cattle grazing to a minimum.  In the past, such negative effects on the Preserve from cattle grazing have included the erosion of Caldera streambanks and interfering with the quality of recreation experiences of fly fishermen on the San Antonio River.

WildEarth Guardian’s bid states that “by keeping the preserve nearly free of livestock, you provide more meaningful opportunities for countless members of the general public to engage in recreation, scientific study and aesthetic enjoyment.”

“Dollar for dollar, our offer is the best taxpayers can ask for,” said Bryan Bird, the Wild Places Program Director of WildEarth Guardians. “Water and wildlife are the highest value the preserve can offer and we want to protect those priceless resources for all New Mexicans. We’re willing to pay for that.”

This is the third time that the group has bid to limit cattle on the Preserve.  Last year, it bid $35,000 “for the privilege not to graze on the Preserve.”  However, this was not the highest bid, which came from rancher Gary Morton of Las Vegas, NM., who grazed between 1,650 and 2,000 head of cattle on the open valles of the Preserve last summer (the New Mexican cites the low figure; the Journal cites 2,000 head).

The Valles Caldera Trust’s Request for Proposal indicates that they will not consider bids that propose grazing fewer than 500 head of cattle.  However, the Valles Caldera Preservation Act stipulates no minimum requirement.

The Trust insists that cattle grazing is not harmful to the Valles Caldera National Preserve.  Terry McDermott, spokesman for the Trust, said that the grazing recommendations are made by Preserve scientists.  “We would not be grazing if it was harmful to the Preserve,” McDermott said.

See our “Contact” page for information about how to contact New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, local newspapers, and members of the Valles Caldera Trust.