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

In a legislative move that could herald the endgame of the 111-year-long effort by New Mexicans for the National Park Service to protect and administer the Valles Caldera for the American people, U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced a bill yesterday that would transfer the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the Park Service.

UPDATE 5/31: This bill has been read on the Senate floor and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (which Sen. Bingaman chairs). Read this legislation by clicking here.  The bill (the “Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act,” S.3452), additionally specifies the following:

• Hunting and fishing will be permitted
• Grazing “may” be allowed “in areas of the Preserve in which grazing was permitted during the grazing season preceding the date of enactment of this act, and to the extent that 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the Valles Caldera Trust will be terminated, at which time the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 will also be repealed (but this 180 period can be extended if the Secretary of Agriculture “determines that the termination date should be extended to facilitate the transitional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”)
• The NPS will, to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate preserve operations with those of Bandelier National Monument
• A comprehensive management plan (which was never prepared by the Trust) will be produced within three years
• The feasibility of creating a Caldera Rim Trail (inside the boundaries of both the preserve and Santa Fe National Forest) will be studied within three years of passage
• 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 NPS may establish a science and education facility outside of the boundaries of the preserve (enabling the continuation of the VCNP’s new science and education center)
• All volcanic domes above 9,250 feet will be protected from the construction of roads and facilities, and they will also be protected from motorized access
• 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

Below is the joint press release issued by Bingaman and Udall (which you can also read by clicking here):

U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today introduced legislation to transfer the management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service.

The bill follows on a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) mandated by the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 and a feasibility study from the National Park Service requested by the two senators.

The GAO reports that 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. It also notes that the revenue enhancement study commissioned by the Trust estimated the need for at least $21 million for infrastructure improvements to support greater public access.

The National Park Service study, which was requested by Bingaman and Udall, determines 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 Senators’ bill directs the Park Service to take over management 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.

“The Valles Caldera is not only one of the most stunning places in New Mexico, it’s one of the most beautiful places in our country. That is why I worked so hard to bring it into public ownership,” Bingaman said. “I believe it is the perfect candidate for the National Park System.”

“For centuries the Valles Caldera has stood out as the icon of the Jemez Mountains,” said Udall. “As one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world, the vast grass-filled valleys, forested hillsides, and numerous volcanic peaks make the Valles Caldera a treasure to New Mexico, and a landscape of national significance millions of years in the making. It is clearly worthy of National Park Service status.”

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.

“Although the Valles Caldera Trust has done its best to fulfill the original legislative directives, time has shown in my opinion that this management framework is not the best suited for the long-term management of the Preserve,” Bingaman said. “I believe that the desire for increased public access balanced with the need to protect and interpret the Preserve’s unique cultural and natural resources would be best served by the National Park Service.”

“As Senator Bingaman and I take steps today to begin a transition of the Valles Caldera into the National Park System, I want to applaud the decade of work that the Board of Trustees, the Valles Caldera Trust and the preserve employees have invested in this unmatched natural resource,” said Udall. “As we look to the future, we do so with respect to the longstanding grazing, educational, and once-in-a-lifetime hunting opportunities that are cherished and valued by so many New Mexicans. By utilizing the resources and skills within the National Park Service, the Valles Caldera National Preserve will continue to prosper as a natural wonder full of significant geology, ecology, history and culture.”

The measure will be sent to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Bingaman chairs. A hearing could be scheduled as soon as next month.

News of the introduction of this legislation has already been covered widely by the media. Click below to read the media’s coverage:

Associated Press (covered here by KRQE-TV): “Valles Caldera may move to Park Service; Bill introduced Thursday”

Santa Fe New Mexican: “Local news in brief May 28, 2010; Valles Caldera transfer bill introduced”

Albuquerque Journal: “Bill Would Move Valles Caldera to Park Service; Management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve would be transferred”

New Mexico Independent: “U.S. Park Service may take over Valles Caldera preserve”

Los Alamos Monitor: “Bingaman and Udall introduce bills; Legislation would transfer Valles Caldera management to the National Park Service”

President Obama this week announced his intent to nominate Melissa Savage and C. Kenneth Smith to two of the three empty seats on the nine-member Board of Trustees of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The board now consists of four members appointed by George W. Bush, two members appointed by Obama, two ex-officio members, and one vacant seat.

This news comes ten months after it was first reported by the Los Alamos Monitor that Savage and Smith were recommended by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) to Obama to fill these two seats. One additional individual that the Monitor last year reported had been endorsed by Bingaman to join the board, Ray Powell, did not end up being nominated. This is almost certainly because Powell, the former executive director of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, is now running for New Mexico Commissioner for Public Lands (an office he had previously held for two terms). Consequently, one seat on the board will remain empty until Obama appoints someone to fill the vacancy.

According to Smith, no Senate confirmation is needed for himself and Savage to assume their places on the board — just a presidential nomination.

Below is the official announcement from the White House:

Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:
…
Melissa Savage, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the Valles Caldera Trust — 
Dr. Melissa Savage is the director of the Four Corners Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides scientific advice to communities restoring their natural environments. She is also a forest geographer with a specialty in fire ecology and the southwestern conifer ecosystems. Dr. Savage is an Emerita Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles and is now an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico.  Dr. Savage holds a M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D in Geography from the University of Colorado.

C. Kenneth Smith, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the Valles Caldera Trust
 — Dr. C. Kenneth Smith is an associate professor of Forestry and Geology at the University of the South in Tennessee.  He is active in regional water issues and serves on the board of the Sewanee Utility District. Dr. Smith previously served as the director of New Mexico’s Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM. He also spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa, conducting forest research and management projects.  Dr. Smith received his Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Florida, and his B.S. from Colorado State University.

The Valles Caldera National Preserve has opened to the public for its summer recreation season. The gates to the preserve will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m, seven days a week. Click here to learn about specific activities offered by the preserve. You can also check out VallesCaldera.com’s Visitor’s Guide for information on other activities on the Valles Caldera (outside of the preserve), as well as other attractions elsewhere in the Jemez Mountains.

One interesting aspect of administering this website is the ability to see all of the Google search queries entered by users that have led them to VallesCaldera.com. It gives some insight into what topics are on people’s minds when they’re seeking information about the Valles Caldera.

For example, the current eruptions of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland seemed to have sparked a great deal of interest in the potential for another eruption in the Jemez Mountains.  Below are some search terms that folks have entered recently into Google that have directed them here:

• how much time would we have if valles caldera erupted
• will the valles caldera erupt soon
• valles caldera what kind of disaster could it cause
• could valles caldera erupt?
• will the valles caldera erupt
• valles caldera future eruption
• valles caldera eruption possible?
• valles caldera eruption potential
• what if valle caldera erupted?
• what would happen if the valles caldera erupted?
• will the valles caldera erupt again
• when might the valles caldera erupt again

To answer some of these queries, geologists who study the Jemez Mountains suspect that the Valles Caldera (underlain by magma only 3-4 miles beneath the surface) will probably erupt again. However, it is impossible to predict when this will take place. Scientists do know that the last two eruptive events in the Jemez took place 50,000-60,000 years ago.

These events were:

1. The El Cajete eruption, between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago, the vent of which was El Cajete Crater (a panoramic photo of which can be seen here). This eruption formed Battleship Rock (a panoramic photo of which can be seen here), 4 miles north of Jemez Springs, and also covered the area with a thick layer of pumice.

2. Shortly thereafter, the Banco Bonito Flow occurred, which expelled “thick, obsidian-like lava” (Martin) on at least four separate eruptions.

One can see the output from both of these volcanic events at a roadcut on NM Highway 4 at the East Fork of the Jemez River near Jemez Falls campground. A large layer of pumice from the El Cajete eruption can be seen, topped by a layer of black obsidian from the Banco Bonito Flow. (Martin)

The eruption that formed the Valles Caldera occurred 1.25 million years ago, and expelled between 300 to 400 cubic kilometers of ash and ash flow tuff.

In terms of future activity, if there were to be an imminent eruption again, we’d know because of the occurrence of large earthquakes as well as changes in temperature in the hot springs and fumaroles of the Jemez Mountains.

You can read more about the geology of the Valles Caldera in our Geology section, as well as in our FAQ section.

Articles about the Valles Caldera’s eruptive potential can be found elsewhere online:

According to the Discovery Channel’s recent profile of supervolcanos, the Valles Caldera is “a sleeping monster in the heart of New Mexico.” Click here to read this mini-feature on our Caldera, with links to profiles of seven other supervolcanoes that this feature examined.

The science news website LiveScience has some unpleasant predictions regarding the destructive potential of a supervolcano, citing the Valles Caldera:

The eruption of a super volcano “sooner or later” will chill the planet and threaten human civilization, British scientists warned… And now the bad news: There’s not much anyone can do about it.

Several volcanoes around the world are capable of gigantic eruptions unlike anything witnessed in recorded history, based on geologic evidence of past events, the scientists said. Such eruptions would dwarf those of Mount St. Helens, Krakatoa, Pinatubo and anything else going back dozens of millennia.

The Valles Caldera National Preserve has an account on Twitter, as does the Santa Fe National Forest and Pajarito Ski Hill (although, apparently, Bandelier National Monument does not). The Valles Caldera has 61 followers on the social networking site, while Santa Fe National Forest has 354 followers and Pajarito Ski Hill has 85. You can follow any of these three Caldera-related Twitter pages by clicking on the links included above.

After a hiatus of a couple of months (coinciding with the two-month spring lockdown of the Valles Caldera National Preserve), the Preserve tweeted some newsworthy information today (in 140 characters or less):

May 12:

Summer season opens May 22. Operating hours will be 8 AM to 6:30 PM. http://www.vallescaldera.gov

May 12:

Star gazing event at the Preserve May 15 at 9 PM. Cost is $20/adult, $16/senior, $10/youth. http://www.vallescaldera.gov

An update on some recent news items regarding the Valles Caldera from recent weeks, from 8,200 feet high in the Jemez Mountains. Items from the Albuquerque Journal can only be read by non-subscribers by clicking on the “trial access pass” button in the lower left of the screen after clicking on links to the articles below:

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied federal protection for the caddisfly, which is found only in three locations, one of which is the Jaramillo Creek in the Valles Caldera (the prior link reveals a view from the sky of the Jaramillo Creek flowing into the East Fork of the Jemez River from below).

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Two Los Alamos High School students, Nathan Clements and Joe Abeyta, will be attending this month’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, CA, as a result of their work in attempting to determine the effect of cattle grazing on riparian areas of the Caldera. According to the students, as measured by crayfish populations, cattle grazing is not having a significant impact on the Caldera’s streams.

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A free fly-fishing clinic, focusing on the unique challenges of fishing the streams of the Valles Caldera, will be held on May 8 in Los Alamos.

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Former state legislator Al Castillo penned an editorial in the Albuquerque Journal urging New Mexicans to refocus efforts on conservation of our state’s land and water, urging support for Sen. Bingaman’s attempt to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which Castillo reminds readers was the source for the funds that purchased the Baca Ranch (which became the Valles Caldera National Preserve) in 2000: “Easily accessible from Albuquerque and Santa Fe, the preserve serves as a critical source for urban residents’ drinking water, as an outdoor laboratory for climate change studies, and as an extraordinary place to hunt, fish and hike.”

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The Los Alamos Monitor reported on a class conducted by Leadership Los Alamos that was recently held at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Covering topics from global warming to struggles of Preserve management, a Monitor editor also wrote an accompanying editorial describing her emotional reaction to visiting the Preserve for the first time.