[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1210 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1210

To authorize the acquisition of the Valles Caldera currently managed by 
   the Baca Land and Cattle Company, and to provide for an effective 
     management program for this resource within the Department of 
    Agriculture, and consistent with land management to protect the 
             watershed of the Bandelier National Monument.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 24, 1997

 Mr. Bingaman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the acquisition of the Valles Caldera currently managed by 
   the Baca Land and Cattle Company, and to provide for an effective 
     management program for this resource within the Department of 
    Agriculture, and consistent with land management to protect the 
             watershed of the Bandelier National Monument.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the Valle Grande/Valles Caldera 
Preservation bill.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress of the United States finds the following:
            (1) The lands managed by the Baca Land and Cattle Company 
        which comprise most of the Valles Caldera in central New 
        Mexico, represent a unique land mass, with significant 
        scientific, cultural, historic, recreational, ecological, and 
        productive values, including:
                    (A) The Valles Caldera is one of the world's 
                largest resurgent lava domes, testing by the United 
                States Geological Survey of the Valles Caldera 
                indicates significant geothermal activity;
                    (B) The land was originally granted to the heirs of 
                Don Luis Maria Cabeza de Vaca as part of a settlement 
                by the United States of their Spanish land grant claims 
                to the Village of Las Vegas, New Mexico, under the 1848 
                Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, (Act of June 21, 1860, an 
                Act to Confirm Certain Private Land Claims in the 
                Territory of New Mexico, Section 6). Generations have 
                used this land to raise sheep, cattle and horses, and 
                as a timber supply. Archaeological evidence of this use 
                in the form of old logging camps, and other artifacts 
                is important to a historical knowledge of territorial 
                New Mexico. In addition, these lands have been used 
                since the 1940s for numerous films about the American 
                West, and the various film sets remaining on the 
                property are a significant part of the history of the 
                American film industry;
                    (C) The careful husbandry of the land by the 
                Dunigan family, the current owners, including selective 
                timbering, limited grazing and hunting, and the use of 
                proscribed fire, have preserved a mix of healthy and 
                nearly pristine range and timber land with significant 
                species diversity which could be used as a model for 
                sustainable land use; and
                    (D) The incredible natural beauty and splendor of 
                these lands, and their proximity to large municipal 
                populations could provide numerous recreational 
                opportunities for hiking, fishing, camping, cross-
                country skiing, and hunting.
            (2) The current owners have indicated that they wish to 
        sell the land, creating an opportunity to acquire these lands 
        into public ownership and allow for public access and enjoyment 
        of these lands for the first time since 1860.
            (3) The Baca Land and Cattle Company Lands are bordered by 
        the Sante Fe National Forest and the Bandelier National 
        Monument. They also contain the headwaters for the Jemez and 
        San Antonio rivers.
            (4) These lands should be acquired expeditiously so that 
        the American people will not lose the opportunity presented by 
        this resource to potential subdivisions.
            (5) As these lands have different potential uses with 
        different resulting impacts on water and land resources, an 
        appropriate set of authorities is needed to allow the 
        Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to 
        jointly develop a jurisdictional mechanism for best use and 
        preservation of these lands.

SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF LANDS.

    The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service is 
hereby authorized to acquire all of the rights, title, and interests in 
the lands shown and described as Baca Location No. 1, on the plat 
entitled ``Independent Resurvey of the Baca Location No. 1,'' made by 
L.A. Osterhoudt, W.V. Hall and Charles W. Devendorf, U.S. Cadastral 
Engineers, June 30, 1920-August 24, 1921, under special instructions 
for Group No. 107 dated February 12, 1920, in New Mexico, by purchase 
through appropriated funds or funds which may be later made available 
by Congress from the sale of lands or assets administered by the Bureau 
of Land Management or the General Services Administration, by exchange 
of lands, or by donation: Provided, That such acquisition be on a 
willing seller basis, and on terms mutually acceptable to the current 
owners and the Secretary.

SEC. 4. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS: SANTA FE NATIONAL FOREST; BANDELIER 
              NATIONAL MONUMENT.

    The Secretary of Agriculture acting through the Forest Service, and 
the Secretary of the Interior acting through the National Park Service 
(the Secretaries), shall jointly develop a plan to adjust the 
boundaries between the Santa Fe National Forest and the Bandelier 
National Monument to provide consistent land management to protect the 
watershed of the monument. The Secretaries shall submit this plan to 
Congress within 120 days of the acquisition of the Baca Location No. 1 
by the Secretary of Agriculture.
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