Valles Caldera is a hidden jewel of New Mexico's high country. A huge dormant field of volcanoes in the Jemez Mountains west of Santa Fe includes sparkling streams, miles of hiking, unusual volcanic features, and herds of wild turkey and elk. And its current administration is unworkable.
It's time to right a Reaganistic wrong created by Pete Domenici, New Mexico's former Republican senator. It's time to abandon the myth of a self-sustaining public land, financed through outrageous fees and restrictions on recreation. It's time to open public land to all of the public. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, it's time to write a bill.
The Baca Ranch was a privately held cattle ranch until 2000, when it became the Valles Caldera National Preserve. One of Congress' dumber compromises, between those who felt that the federal government owned too much of New Mexico and those who wanted to see the land accessible to all, created the Valles Caldera National Preserve: a publicly held land, run by a trust made up of political appointees, with a goal of becoming financially self sustaining by 2015. At the time, it was hailed as an experiment of free market principles applied to public land use.
How has that experiment worked out? The official website puts its best face on: "We keep the numbers of visitors small for any activity so you’ll feel like you have the place to yourself. Don’t expect big crowds, a shortage of parking, or a shop full of trinkets. Instead, we offer a chance to get out and really experience a sense of solitude that we hope will leave you refreshed and relaxed." The number of visitors is kept small by, among other things: requiring reservations for hikes, limiting hikes to weekends only, and charging 10 dollars per person for hiking and 35 dollars per person for fishing. High Country News asks: Whose Valles Caldera is it? and answers: "You have to pay to play in the preserve or be politically connected to get in." Even the trust's board admits (p.1 of 19 pg pdf) that "It is time to be candid and realize that, as currently written, the Valles Caldera Preservation Act is unworkable." (emphasis added) Adjacent Bandelier National Monument draws 250,000 visitors/year (12 dollar entry fee per vehicle), but VCNP is lucky to see 17,000 paying visitors/year.
Senators Bingaman and Udall asked the National Park Service to study the feasibility (how hard would it be?) of adding Valles Caldera to the NPS. The suitability (is it worthy of being in the NPS system?) question was answered with a resounding Yes! as long ago as the 1890s when Pajarito National Park was first proposed. (If you're wondering why this land is unique, the photo shows a rhyolite lava resurgent dome within a 13 mile wide collapsed caldera similar to the one that created Yellowstone National Park.) A brand new NPS study (34 pg pdf) reaffirms the suitability and now finds that the site is feasible.
Because Valles Caldera was a private working cattle ranch, it's not pristine wilderness. Neither were the Great Smokies or Shenandoah, both heavily logged before becoming national parks. WildEarth Guardians, a Santa Fe-based organization, has coordinated volunteer efforts to remove cattle fences, as have the Boy Scouts and other service organizations. A Kossack participated last fall -- click here for an inspiring story with great pix. The NPS feasibility study concludes that resource degradation can be reversed and baseline (original) conditions restored.
The Valles Caldera Trust's response has been to resist transfer to the NPS, give up on financial self sufficiency, and look for other ways to make money. The Trust contracted with a private consultant who has proposed hotels including a 20-unit luxury hunting lodge, semi-permanent "glamorous camping" sites, and other revenue enhancements. The Trust defends its low visitor number by, in part, explaining that the entire preserve has to be closed for ten weeks a year for hunting season. In short, it's Reaganism at its worst -- elitism at the expense of the public while a few private contractors profit. (In its defense, the Trust has done some restoration and taken other positive steps.) The taxpayers of America have already paid once for the land. They deserve to enjoy what they've bought, not have it further restricted.
Senators Bingaman and Udall have received the report they requested. I hope that a bill will follow shortly. Valles Caldera deserves no less.