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

As the National Park Service continues its two-month reconnaissance study assessing the feasibility of assuming management of the Valles Caldera and administering it as a National Park Service preserve, stakeholders of the Caldera have been studying the twenty NPS preserves to learn about the qualifications and experience of the National Park Service in managing land under preserve status [please note that the Albuquerque Journal has reported that there are eighteen NPS preserves, and it had therefore been reported as such on this web site.  However, depending on your criteria, there are up to twenty units of the National Park Service that could be considered NPS preserves].

The twenty national preserves managed by the National Park Service total 23.3 million acres (36,549 square miles), and include mountains, calderas, deserts, estuaries, prairies, seashores, lava fields, and battlefields.  The Valles Caldera’s 89,000 acres would constitute 0.3% of the total land area that is currently managed under preserve status by the National Park Service.

Clearly, the National Park Service (whose 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”) has expertise with hosting a large number of visitors at its national preserves.  According to National Parks Traveler, the 20 NPS national preserves hosted a total of 4,386,749 visitors in 2006.  The Valles Caldera Trust, on the other hand, reported 17,000 visitors to the Valles Caldera last year.  In other words, the annual number of people who currently visit the Valles Caldera represents less than one-tenth of one percent of the total number of visitors that NPS preserves have the experience of hosting.

As mentioned in the prior post on VallesCaldera.com, 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 United States’ first NPS National Preserves –  Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve, and Texas’ Big Thicket National Preserve — were established in 1974.

America’s newest national preserve, Great Sand Dunes National Preserve in Colorado, was established in 2004, and has a truly unique historical connection to the Valles Caldera, since part of the land that forms the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve was originally the Baca Location No. 4.  This was the fourth of five floats of land that the heirs of Don Luis María Cabeza de Baca were permitted to claim by an act of Congress in 1860 to compensate them for their original disputed grant in Las Vegas, NM that they were forced to abandon.  The Valles Caldera National Preserve consists of most of the Baca Location No. 1, the first of the five locations that the Bacas chose.

In the survey below, there is general information as to the character of each Preserve, as well as information on the permissibility of hunting, grazing, and off-roading, data on visitation, land size, as well as a link to each preserve’s official web site.

Sources: National Park Service, nps.gov, each NPS preserve, nationalparkstraveler.com.  Photos courtesy of the National Park Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, Alaska

Aniakchak is a 6-mile-wide, 2,000-foot-deep caldera formed by the collapse of a 7,000-foot mountain caused by a massive eruption 3,500 years ago.  Its most recent volcanic activity came in 1931.  Given its remote location and notoriously bad weather, Aniakchak is the least visited of all 359 units of the National Park System (60 people visited the park in 2006).

Hunting is allowed in the Preserve portions of Aniakchak.

The area was proclaimed a national monument on December 1, 1978, and established as a national monument and preserve on December 2, 1980.  The national monument is 137,176 federal acres and the preserve is 465,603 acres, of which 439,863 are federally managed.

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve was established to protect a portion of the Bering Land Bridge, which connected Asia with North America 13,000 years ago and provided the route over which humans first migrated from Asia to North and South America.

There are no roads into the preserve.  Access to the preserve is by bush planes or boats during summer months and by ski planes, snowmobiles or dog sleds during the winter.  The preserve’s western boundary lies 42 miles from the Bering Strait and the fishing boundary between the United States and Russia.

Unlike in some other national preserves, ATV-riding is not allowed in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve.  Hunting is permitted, however.

The preserve, which is 2,698,919 acres in size, was originally established on December 1, 1978, as Bering Land Bridge National Monument.  On December 2, 1980, its designation was changed to a national preserve.  In 2006, the preserve hosted 356 visitors, making it the fourth-least visited of all 359 units of the National Park System.

Continue reading ‘A tour of the Valles Caldera’s potential sister National Park Service preserves’

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.

This weekend, the Albuquerque Journal published a column by freelance writer and guide Dave Menicucci, who examines what sort of management the National Park Service might put in place if it takes control of the Valles Caldera and administers it as National Park Preserve, as it is currently studying at the request of New Mexico’s U.S. Senators, Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall.  Menicucci also examines some of the 18 National Park Service preserves nationwide and how they tackle public access, grazing, and hunting:

The acquisition of the Valles Caldera in 2000 was a triumphal accomplishment of New Mexico’s congressional delegation.  But its management model has failed to deliver the intended results.  Clearly New Mexico’s two senators have decided that a fundamental management change is needed.  The question yet unanswered is exactly what kind of management model should be implemented.

If the existing 18 NPS National Preserves are used as indicators for what to expect, then Valles Caldera fees would be substantially reduced, access procedures will be simplified, and recreational activities will be expanded…  If this conversion were realized, it would eliminate the trustees and related staff and replace them with a professional, public-land administrator.

Menicucci also looks at three other options for administering the the Valles Caldera: the National Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and a modification of the existing management model.  Click here to read this op-ed.

As New Mexicans eagerly await the results of a two-month “reconnaissance” study assessing the potential for the National Park Service to take control of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has recommended to President Barack Obama the names of three individuals for the President’s consideration to fill the three open slots on the Valles Caldera Board of Trustees, according to the Los Alamos Monitor: Ray Powell, Melissa Savage, and Ken Smith.

The Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 states that the Valles Caldera National Preserve is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees, seven members of which are appointed by the President of the United States to staggered, four-year terms, with each Trustee supposedly having a specific field of expertise.  The two remaining trustees, the Supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forest and the Superintendent of Bandelier National Monument, are ex-officio members of the Board by virtue of their positions.

Once President Obama submits his appointments, the board would be left with four appointees of former President George W. Bush, along with the three potential Obama appointees and two ex-officio members.  The current appointed Trustees, whose contact information can be found here, are as follows (with their area of expertise and final year of their term in parentheses): Chairman Steve Henry (wildlife management, 2011), Vice-Chairman Edward Tinsley (financial management, 2011), Secretary Ray Loretto (state and local government, 2013), and Virgil Trujillo (livestock management, 2013).  Dan Jiron, Supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forest, and Jason Lott, Superintendent of Bandelier National Monument, round out the current Board.

Here is some information on the potential new members of the Valles Caldera Board of Trustees:

Ray Powell became the second executive director of the Valles Caldera National Preserve in 2004 before resigning in 2005.  Subsequently, he served as the New Mexico Commissioner for Public Lands from 1993 to 2003. Powell unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary for the same office in 2006, and has indicated that he will enter the race again in 2010.

Melissa Savage is the Executive Director of the Santa Fe-based Four Corners Institute, whose goal is to partner “with local communities in the Southwest to conserve our natural places and ensure that the use of the environment is socially equitable and ecologically sustainable.”  Savage is also a retired professor of geography at UCLA. [Savage's photo was unable to be obtained]

Ken Smith is the Chair of the Environmental Studies Program and an Associate Professor of Forestry and Geology at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN.  He is also a former director of the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University, which is “a statewide effort that engages government agencies, academic and research institutions, land managers, and the interested public in the areas of forest and watershed management.”

Visitors to the Valles Caldera this summer have posted vivid descriptions online of their experiences in the scenic crown jewel of New Mexico.

Several participants in the Caldera Marathon, which took place on June 13, have posted their thoughts. The marathon route (click here for a map), which fluctuates in elevation from 8,100 to 10,000 feet, basically circumnavigates Redondo Peak (see a view from the sky of Redondo). It begins at the Banco Bonito Staging Area, where weekend equestrian and mountain biking are offered, and heads east through the ponderosa pine forest before turning to the west to Redondo Meadow. There, the route climbs up road VC03, the Redondo Canyon Road, and as the elevation approaches 10,000 feet, the route heads east along the Redondito High Road (VC0301), for spectacular views of the North Rim of the Caldera (see a 360° panorama of this vista along the marathon route). On the east side of Redondo, the route descends along the Valle Grande and the Ranch Headquarters buildings (see a view from the sky of Ranch HQ), before passing through a verdant valley formed by South Mountain on the left and Redondo on the right. The route then traverses El Cajete Crater (see a 360° panorama of El Cajete) before finishing up where it began.

One marathoner from Rio Rancho, NM, took to his blog to describe his epic 26.2 mile adventure on “Adventures in Clydeology,” noting the joy of being able to explore an area which is normally off-limits:

There are few times per year when the Valles Caldera opens its gates and when it does it is like a visit to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

He waxes poetic on the beauty of the scenery he saw during his high-altitude endeavor:

The course, despite its difficulty, is absolutely stunning this time of year; large open meadows with wild flowers, tall pines flanking dirt roads creating a cathedral feeling, white barked aspen in small groves, sweeping mountain top vistas and herds of elk browsing in green fields and drinking from lazy streams.

Runner Lawton Grinter of Crested Butte, CO, provides a detailed, lengthy, and exciting mile-by-mile narrative of his first marathon.  He was particularly grateful for the encouragement provided by the volunteers who worked at the aid stations during the race, particularly the enthusiastic ones at Mile 21, noting the “huge boost mentally” provided by the “2 great volunteers there ringing cow bells and clapping.” He also notes the helpful gentleman at Mile 15, who “jumped up with a 1 gallon water jug in his hand, and as if reading my mind he said, ‘Do you want me to pour this over your head?’” Of course, Grinter obliged.

On June 7, geologist Kirt Kempter led an all-day geology tour of the Valles Caldera. Along with Dick Huelster, Kempter is the author of “Valles Caldera: Map and Geology History of the Southwest’s Youngest Caldera,” which you can buy by clicking here. The blog Casa Coniglio has some spectacular photos of the scenery and flora that were witnessed that day.

Phil Springer, of Rio Rancho, recounts his day this summer fly fishing on the San Antonio River (see a view from the sky of the San Antonio) with his wife and great-grandchildren. He applauds the new policy, instituted this year, of allowing anglers to drive their own vehicles out to the San Antonio, instead of being driven to the river in Preserve vans. He also relates how, after lunch, he and he his twelve-year-old great-grandson “seemed to catch fish for the remainder of the day almost in unison,” and lost count of how many they caught. In a separate entry on his blog, he describes fishing on the East Fork of the Jemez River at Las Conchas and on the San Antonio River at La Cueva, both of which are points located within the Valles Caldera, but outside of the National Preserve, in the Santa Fe National Forest.

You can reserve a spot on an official National Preserve recreation activity by clicking here.  Be sure to check out VallesCaldera.com’s Visitor’s Guide to learn more about some of these activities, as well as many other pursuits in the portions of the Valles Caldera that are outside of the Preserve.