[Senate Hearing 111-753]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 111-753
VALLES CALDERA
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
TO
RECEIVE TESTIMONY ON S. 3452, A BILL TO DESIGNATE THE VALLES CALDERA
NATIONAL PRESERVE AS A UNIT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
__________
JUNE 30, 2010
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico, Chairman
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
RON WYDEN, Oregon RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
EVAN BAYH, Indiana JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan BOB CORKER, Tennessee
MARK UDALL, Colorado
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
Robert M. Simon, Staff Director
Sam E. Fowler, Chief Counsel
McKie Campbell, Republican Staff Director
Karen K. Billups, Republican Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENTS
Page
Bingaman, Hon. Jeff, U.S. Senator From New Mexico................ 1
Dasheno, Hon. Walter, Governor, Pueblo of Santa Clara, Espanola,
NM............................................................. 22
Henry, Stephen E., Chairman, Board of Trustees, Valles Caldera
Trust.......................................................... 4
Madalena, Hon. Joshua, Governor, Pueblo of Jemez, Jemez Pueblo,
NM............................................................. 17
Sherman, Harris, Under Secretary, Natural Resources and
Environment, Department of Agriculture......................... 6
Udall, Hon. Tom, U.S. Senator From New Mexico.................... 35
Vesbach, Jeremy, Executive Director, New Mexico Wildlife
Federation, Albuquerque, NM.................................... 28
Wenk, Daniel N., Deputy Director, National Park Service,
Department of the Interior..................................... 11
Wismer, Michael E., Chairman, Los Alamos County Council, Los
Alamos, NM..................................................... 32
APPENDIXES
Appendix I
Responses to additional questions................................ 45
Appendix II
Additional material submitted for the record..................... 53
VALLES CALDERA
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2010
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:32 p.m. in room
SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
chairman, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JEFF BINGAMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW
MEXICO
The Chairman. Why do we not get started with the hearing?
The purpose of the afternoon hearing is to receive
testimony on S. 3452. This is legislation that I introduced,
along with Senator Udall as cosponsor, to transfer
administrative jurisdiction over the Valles Caldera National
Preserve in New Mexico to the National Park Service.
The Valles Caldera is what is left of a tremendous volcanic
explosion that occurred over a million years ago. The eruption
left a caldera rim that surrounds more than 100,000 acres of
high altitude lands in northern New Mexico. Today the area
includes forested mountains, streams, and wetlands, expansive
grassland valleys, including the scenic Valle Grande.
The caldera also has a rich cultural history, some of which
we will hear about today from witnesses from the pueblos of
Jemez and Santa Clara, whose people remain strongly tied to the
land.
The issue of how to best protect the Valles Caldera has
been an issue of longstanding interest with the first calls to
preserve the area beginning over 100 years ago. After many
decades of effort by the Federal Government to acquire the
property, the family that owned the Baca Ranch, which
encompassed most of the caldera, indicated a willingness to
sell the property 10 years ago. Working with Senator Domenici
and the Clinton administration, we were able to pass the Valles
Caldera Preservation Act in 2000. This act authorized the
Federal Government to acquire the ranch and establish the
Valles Caldera National Preserve. The ranch was subsequently
acquired for approximately $100 million.
The law establishing the national preserve also established
the Valles Caldera Trust, an experimental management framework
under which a Presidentially appointed board of trustees would
manage the preserve for a period of 20 years. The trust was
directed to manage the preserve as a working ranch while
providing for public access and protection of the preserve's
natural and cultural resources and with the goal of becoming
financially self-sustaining by 2015.
I believe there is now general agreement that the trust
will not be able to meet the law's goal of managing the
preserve while achieving financial self-sufficiency. In
addition, the current management structure has resulted in
concerns about limited public access and relatively high fees
imposed on recreational activities, especially when compared
with recreational opportunities on nearby Federal lands.
In my opinion, the most effective way to address the
challenges facing the Valles Caldera National Preserve is to
move away from the experimental management framework and toward
a more tested public lands management structure. In my view,
the agency that can best achieve that mission of protecting the
preserve's natural and cultural resources while providing for
improved educational and recreational opportunities and
ensuring the long-term financial success of the preserve is the
National Park Service. The Park Service has a strong record of
managing our Nation's national treasures, and by all accounts,
the Valles Caldera meets the high standards for inclusion in
the National Park System.
I would like to emphasize that this proposal to transfer
management of the preserve to the National Park Service is not
meant as a criticism of the dedicated members of the Valles
Caldera Trust and the preserve's staff. There are many
achievements that they are rightly proud of, not least of which
is the trust's highly successful science and education program.
The bill that Senator Udall and I have introduced will allow
for the best management practices of the trust to be carried
forward under the management of the National Park Service.
I believe there is strong public support for National Park
Service management of the Valles Caldera, and the inclusion of
the preserve in the National Park System will ensure that the
area is appropriately protected and also that more Americans
will have the ability to enjoy this spectacular area.
Before we begin this afternoon, of course, I will call on
Senator Wyden if he has any comments.
I have a statement I wanted to put in the record in its
entirety. It is a written statement Senator Murkowski asked be
included in the record. She was not able to be here.
[The prepared statement of Senator Murkowski follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator From Alaska
I want thank Chairman Bingaman for scheduling this hearing.
In 2000 this Committee marked up and then the Senate passed the
Valles Caldera Preservation Trust Act. The Federal government expended
$100 million to acquire the Baca Ranch in New Mexico and to embark of a
federal land experiment called a Public-Private Trust not unlike the
Presido Preservation Trust in California.
The Valles Caldera Trust was designed to maintain the Baca Ranch as
a working ranch; to protect the wildlife and natural beauty of the
area; and the historic nature of the Preserve. Congress put the
preserve in the hands of a board of directors who were to manage the
area with assistance from the Santa Fe National Forest. It was hoped
that the operation would become economically self-sufficient within 20
years and if it did not the property would revert to the Santa Fe
National Forest.
Now both Chairman Bingaman and Senator Tom Udall have proposed to
terminate the experiment and to turn the 89,000 acres over to the
National Park Service. I appreciate the long standing tradition in this
body of allowing the delegation from a state to take the lead on
federal land designations within their state. As I know the Chairman
does. Just as I believe the Alaska delegation knows what is best for
federal lands in Alaska, I tend to believe that the New Mexico
delegation knows what is best for these lands.
However, I believe this hearing is important, as the Federal
Government paid $100 million for this property a little more than a
decade ago and we all have a duty to vigilantly protect taxpayer
resources, both existing and future.
I must admit that when I see the types of visitor centers and
facilities at most National Park properties, and knowing the budget
stresses the Park Service has been under, I do worry about how much
Park Service oversight of the Valles Caldera Preserve might cost. In
the end though, we must balance the costs and benefits of all of the
various administrative structures that are before us in making this
decision.
Mr. Chairman that completes my testimony and I look forward to the
rest of the hearing.
The Chairman. But I also want to express my appreciation to
all of our witnesses for their accommodation of the hearing
being rescheduled twice, including the last-minute change that
we made just yesterday. Unfortunately, 2 of the invited
witnesses for the hearing were unable to testify at this new
time this afternoon, and we have received written statements
from Governor Martinez, the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, and from
Barbara Johnson on behalf of Los Amigos de Valles Caldera.
Without objection, those statements will be included in the
hearing record as well.
We also received a letter from New Mexico Governor Bill
Richardson in support of the legislation, which will be
included in the hearing record.
I would like to conclude my brief observations by saying
that everyone who has ever been to the Valles Caldera agrees
that it is a magnificent natural, cultural, and recreational
resource.
I know this bill has presented a challenge for the Federal
agencies who are here today in coordinating their
recommendations. I hope that this does not end up as a turf
battle between agencies. From my perspective, the only issue is
what is the best way to protect the $100 million investment and
the enormous natural and cultural resources that are
represented here.
Senator Wyden, did you wish to make any statement?
Senator Wyden. No, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Why do I not call the first panel forward? It
is made up of administration witnesses: Daniel Wenk, who is the
Deputy Director with the National Park Service; the Honorable
Harris Sherman, who is Under Secretary for Natural Resources
and Environment with the Department of Agriculture; and also
Stephen Henry, who is Chair of the Valles Caldera Trust. We
very much appreciate all of you being here.
Our normal practice is to ask--first, we will include all
of your written statements in the record in full, but we would
ask if each of you would take 5 or 6 minutes and summarize the
points that you think we need to particularly understand so
that we will still have some time for questions.
Why do we not start with you, Mr. Henry, and then Mr.
Sherman and then Mr. Wenk?
STATEMENT OF STEPHEN E. HENRY, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES,
VALLES CALDERA TRUST
Mr. Henry. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be
here and discuss some of the thoughts of the board of trustees,
the Presidentially appointed board of trustees.
If I could right quick, I would like to introduce the
people that I brought with me here today.
The Chairman. Please do.
Mr. Henry. Dr. Raymond Loretto sits on the board with me as
a Presidential appointee. Mr. Gary Bratcher is the Executive
Director of the preserve. Mr. Dennis Trujillo is the preserve
manager of the preserve and has been there since its inception
almost.
Mr. Chairman, there is no sense in me talking about the
beauty and the splendor of the Valles Caldera National
Preserve. You have been there. We have been there. We know that
it is beautiful and that it has some fantastic treasures there.
We know that this was started as an experiment and that
basically the preserve became a Government corporation under
the Valles Caldera Preservation Act. We also know that that
created some huge problems as far as the startup and how a
Government corporation was supposed to operate. We had this
huge burden of being financially self-sustaining, and we are
pretty much convinced now at this point in time that even
Members of Congress and people that advise Congress kind of
thought, you know, that is going to be a real, real hard thing
to do, becoming financially self-sustaining as a U.S.
Government organization on a ranch that had no infrastructure
and that had basically 200 people a year visiting that ranch,
and now we are expected to try to put in a few thousand or
thousands of people on that place.
We have made some good progress, but there have been
periods of time when we did not make good progress. In the last
year or 2, I think even you and your staff have acknowledged
that we have done some great things in the last couple of
years.
One of the big issues is the amount of public recreation
that has been allowed on the place, and we think this is a
reflection, as much as anything, of our mandates and our need
to try to generate the revenue for the place. We have at the
present time been almost completed an environmental review of
public access and use, and we are expecting by this winter, if
we still exist, that that would be finished and we will be
ready to look at siting and planning for a bona fide visitor
center which would be the most important piece of
infrastructure that would tend to encourage the visitor use on
the property.
We have some concerns with S. 3452, I am sure you know. We
are concerned about the employees of the preserve. We are not
sure that the way the bill is worded right now that those
employees have--we are concerned that they will continue to be
employed as professionals continuing the programs that we have
already instituted and that are ongoing on the preserve. We
asked that that be looked at continually to make sure that that
kind of thing is taken care of.
The main thing I want to talk about is what I consider the
biggest issue on the preserve, and that is forest restoration.
The preserve was owned for about 100 years by private
individuals and it was clear cut and logged for 20, 30, 40
years. It is standing full right now of what we call dog hair
conifer trees, closely packed trees, 60,000 acres of them, two-
thirds of the property, 60,000 acres of very closely packed
conifer trees that are an extreme, extreme fire danger. When
you look at it at a distance, it is beautiful. There is not a
doubt in the world, but when you get to it, that is the most
dangerous situation in the entire Jemez Mountains. It has been
managed differently over that period of time than all the
surrounding mountain range which was done prescriptively not to
carry fire and not to carry diseases.
I guess I believe that the Forest Service happens to have
this experience and the expertise to be able to manage a forest
with that degree of problems for the future. In that regard, at
least for a few more years, the Forest Service needs to
continue the forest restoration work there. There is a decade
of work there still to do to bring that forest to some health.
No matter who is in charge of the preserve, you do not want to
be the guy in charge when that fire hits. It will make the
Cerro Grande fire look pretty insignificant if we have a long
dry spell and it happens.
That is it, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Henry follows:]
Prepared Statement of Stephen E. Henry, Chairman, Board of Trustees,
Valles Caldera Trust
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I am Stephen Henry, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the
Valles Caldera Trust, and I am here on behalf of the Presidentially
appointed members of the Board of Trustees to express our views about
S. 3452. The Trust supports the protection of the nationally
significant natural and cultural resources found at the Valles Caldera
National Preserve.
I will not belabor the wonderful scenic and natural values of the
Valles Caldera National Preserve. Everyone here knows it is a national
treasure. We at the Trust value that treasure, and we have devoted our
best efforts to its preservation and protection. But, unfortunately, we
inherited an abused treasure. The former Baca Ranch had been over
grazed and over logged for decades. Hundreds of miles of roads cover
the area. Geothermal developers were threatening to develop private
mineral rights. Major roads and improvements were in need of repair and
rehabilitation. Infrastructure necessary to accommodate public access
and use was almost non-existent and prerequisite environmental
compliances had never been addressed. At the same time, the public
clamored to use and enjoy this land for which the Federal taxpayer paid
$101 million.
Today, I am here to report that the Preserve is well on the way to
a comeback. With the assistance of our partners in the Forest Service,
the universities and the public, significant strides have been made at
landscape restoration. The mandates of the Valles Caldera Preservation
Act of 2000 are steadily and successfully being accomplished with
regard to wildlife management, forest and range management, public
recreation, Native American religious and cultural uses, research,
science and many others. Despite these successes, S. 3452 would
terminate the Valles Caldera Trust. We are disappointed and concerned,
particularly about the future of our employees and the many successful
ongoing programs.
We note that the Valles Caldera Preservation Act provides for the
assessment of the future viability of the Trust. In section 110, the
Act calls for providing recommendations to Congress after 18 years as
to whether the Trust should continue. In that context, we believe that
S. 3452, which assumes Park Service management is best for the
Preserve, could benefit from further analysis of the possible viable
options for long term management of the Preserve. However, the relative
merits of administration by the Forest Service, Park Service and the
Trust have never been analyzed. When viewed objectively, we believe the
Trust's accomplishments will be evident. The Trust started at ground
zero when it was established in 2000. We had a brand new organization
implementing an untested management regime on a huge property. The
Preserve has not been financially self-sustaining; however, the
challenge of that goal was recognized by many at the time of the
original enactment. The Preserve has limited revenue generating
capacity. Further, back in 2000, neither the Congress nor the Executive
Branch anticipated the costs and complications of setting up a
government corporation or the costs of making necessary capital repairs
and rehabilitation, and simply the costs of operations--all of which
are debits in the accounting on self sustainability. Parts of the
problem were inherent challenges in the enabling legislation. One
simple example concerns tort liability. Instead of treating the Trust
like any other self insured federal agency, we were compelled to spend
considerable sums buying private liability insurance. The point is that
the Trust is being held to a unique standard of financial self
sustainability. The Board believes that terminating the Trust fails to
recognize much of the progress and investments in time and money made
by the Trust in the past eight years.
Turning the discussion to the future, the issue is what management
is needed and who can best provide it. It may be that management by the
Forest Service or the Park Service will enable some administrative
functions to be assumed within a larger organization, but many
activities and operations will have to be done anyway and at probably
much the same cost.
Forest restoration is now the major management focus. It involves
putting roads to bed, erosion control, reforestation, and dealing with
the challenges posed by insects and climate change. Range management is
another challenge and includes restoration of riparian areas. We are
currently undertaking extensive research in grassland improvement in
cooperation with New Mexico State University. Public recreation,
including hunting and fishing, is always a major challenge, but we have
been getting high marks on these issues from our visitors.
In conclusion, we understand there will be a need to assess the
long term management of the Preserve and want to play our part in that
effort. We believe any changes should be considered with full public
transparency and with input from resource management experts. This
exquisite landscape and the American public deserve no less.
Thank you and I would be happy to answer any questions the
Committee would have.
The Chairman. Thank you very much. Thank you for your
excellent testimony.
Mr. Sherman, go right ahead.
STATEMENT OF HARRIS SHERMAN, UNDER SECRETARY, NATURAL RESOURCES
AND ENVIRONMENT, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Mr. Sherman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am Harris Sherman,
the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment
at USDA.
Thank you for including my written statement in the record.
First, Mr. Chairman, I just want to express our ongoing
appreciation for your interest and your support for the Valles
Caldera National Preserve. This is an extraordinary, unique
piece of property. It is important to the people of New Mexico
and to the Nation, and it commands our attention and our care.
At the outset, I also want to say regardless of the outcome
of this hearing and how jurisdiction is ultimately determined,
USDA and the Forest Service want to cooperate and be helpful in
any way we can, and we are prepared to play whatever role would
be best for the future of this property.
But as you review S. 3452 and consider management options
for the preserve, I hope that you will consider a number of the
following points that I think are relevant and important.
The first relates to the Forest Service's past relationship
to the property. The Forest Service has worked for several
decades on the preservation and the acquisition of the
property. This started back in 1990 when the Forest Service
undertook a study as to how this could be acquired and how it
could become part of a Federal acquisition. Between 1995 and
2000, the agency spent 5 years of negotiation and study in
order to successfully bring this property into the Federal
system. It involved scores of professionals, lawyers, land
managers. After negotiating a price of $101 million--by the
way, the money for this came from the Forest Service's portion
of the Land and Water Conservation Fund--the property did come
in.
Since 2000, there has also been an effort to protect the
property in terms of mineral development. The Forest Service
was very active in acquiring the geothermal resource rights
that attached to that property.
Since 2000, the Forest Service has been actively involved
working and helping the trust on a number of fronts. We have
provided technical assistance, fire preparation, fire
suppression, law enforcement, and the actual funding that has
gone into the future of this property. So I think it is fair to
say that there is a very strong commitment by the Forest
Service employees and the Forest Service family to the well-
being of this important piece of property.
Now, as to the future of Valles Caldera and the key
management decisions that lie ahead, I would agree with Mr.
Henry. I think restoration is the most essential activity that
needs to be undertaken on a sustained basis at the preserve.
Two-thirds of the preserve is in forest. It has been overlogged
and overgrazed prior to 2000. There are serious revegetation,
reforestation needs associated with the property. We need to
protect watersheds and riparian areas. We need to decommission
roads. There are something like 1,400 miles of roads on the
property, and that is going to require attention. Some of these
roads definitely need to be decommissioned. I think the Forest
Service is in a very strong and good position to do this work.
Secretary Vilsack has directed us across the board to work
on landscape scale restoration, and I think a lot of the
activities here that need to be done on the property fall
within that general framework.
I also want to say, Mr. Chairman, I think this area does
need greater emphasis on recreation and tourism, hunting and
fishing. There is clearly a demand for these things. The Forest
Service actually has a lot of experience in this area. We
manage 6 national monuments, 2 of which are also volcanic
monuments like this one. There are 21 national recreation areas
and 11 national scenic areas which the Forest Service has
responsibility for.
Another factor that I think the committee should look at is
just the efficiency of management of these lands, and I want to
direct your attention to the map over here. More than 95
percent of this 89,000-acre preserve is surrounded by national
forest. This is the Santa Fe National Forest. If we really want
to think about the importance of landscape scale management,
ecosystem management where we look at things in a holistic way
on a broader scale, I think there is something to be said about
the continuity of management and the efficiency of management
and the scale of management which I hope this committee will at
least give some attention to.
I would also like to emphasize a few small additional
points, one being that I think the Forest Service does enjoy an
excellent relationship with the 2 neighboring pueblos, the
Santa Clara Pueblo and the Jemez Pueblo. The Forest Service has
had an excellent relationship working with State wildlife
agencies throughout the country, but also in New Mexico on
hunting and fishing-related issues, which I assume will still
be part of this facility no matter who manages it.
So I hope these factors will be considered. We have great
respect for the National Park System. They clearly also would
do an excellent job managing this property. I think it is
really a question of emphasis. What issues need to be attended
to the most directly and what issues demand the greatest
attention? That really is the heart of the question I think in
front of you, as you stated earlier.
But in any respect, we do want to be helpful. We want to be
cooperative, and whatever decision is made by this committee
and by the Congress, we will clearly abide by that and support
that.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Sherman follows:]
Prepared Statement of Harris Sherman, Under Secretary, Natural
Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the
Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the Administration's view
S. 3452 the ``Valles Caldera Preserve Management Act''.
I am pleased to testify today on S. 3452 regarding the long-term
management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, one of the Nation's
preeminent scenic and natural areas. The Valles Caldera Preserve
Management Act would repeal the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000
(2000 Act) abolish the Valles Caldera Trust, terminate the Preserve's
inclusion in the National Forest System and turn over administration of
the land to the National Park Service (NPS). This legislation gives us
the opportunity to assess the long term management of the Preserve. The
Department supports the protection of the nationally significant
natural and cultural resources found at the Valles Caldera National
Preserve and have worked with the Trust to accomplish these goals over
the past several years. We would like to work with the committee to
determine the management structure that will provide the highest level
of protection and care for the unique resources that are found within
the Valles Caldera. However, given the historical and ecological
importance of these lands and the work that is required to restore
them, there are various jurisdictional options for the long-term
management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve that could be
considered.
There is no debate about the outstanding natural resources of the
88,900-acre Preserve with its extraordinary flora, fauna, water, and
geologic resources. Its spectacular scenic values are among the finest
in the National Forest System. Geologically, the Valles Caldera is one
of the Nation's best examples of a resurgent caldera. Its
archaeological and cultural resources are of major significance to
Native American Pueblo people. The challenge before the Congress and
the Administration is how best to manage and restore the forested and
rangeland watersheds, while sustaining the traditional uses of a
working ranch and the majesty of a National Preserve for the Nation.
role of the forest service
To assess appropriate future management, some history may be
helpful. In 2000, at the hearings for the original Valles Caldera
Preservation Act, the Forest Service was complimented as the ``unsung
heroes'' in the great effort to preserve and protect what was then
referred to as the Baca Ranch. That accolade is as valid today as it
was ten years ago. Beginning in 1990, the Forest Service engaged the
ranch owners, the Dunigan family, in what turned out to be a decade
long effort to acquire the Baca Ranch. In 1993, the Forest Service
cooperating with interested parties including the National Park
Service, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and affected Indian tribes
completed a major study, the Report on the Study of the Baca Location
No. 1 which provided the scientific and public policy underpinnings for
Federal acquisition of the Ranch in 2000 (PL 106-248). From 1995 to
2000, the Secretary of Agriculture assigned resource managers and used
Department of Agriculture legal expertise to negotiate the purchase of
the Baca Ranch for $101 million. The acquisition of the Baca Location
No. 1 by the Federal government also resulted in the expansion of the
Bandelier National Monument in the upper watershed of Alamo Creek as
authorized by Public Law 105-376. The acquisition of the Preserve also
permitted the Secretary of Agriculture to assign to the Pueblo of Santa
Clara rights to acquire at fair market value approximately 5,045 acres
of the northeast corner of the Baca Location No. 1 in the Santa Clara
Creek watershed to promote watershed management within the Santa Clara
Indian Reservation. More recently, significant effort and expense has
been invested in acquiring privately owned geothermal rights. With some
exceptions, the Administration can report today that due to the efforts
of the Forest Service and the Department of Justice, the Federal
government is now in possession of title to the Preserve and the land
is permanently protected from private development.
addition to the national forest system--valles caldera national
preserve
Upon the enactment of the 2000 Act on July 25, 2000, the Valles
Caldera National Preserve was added to the National Forest System and
the boundary of the Santa Fe National Forest was adjusted to include
the National Preserve. Hailed as a new experiment in public, multiple-
use land management, the nearly 89,000 acre National Preserve, formerly
known as the Baca Location No. 1, was assigned to a nine-member Board
of Trustees responsible for the protection and development of the
Valles Caldera National Preserve. The President of the United States
appoints seven members and two Federal employees are ex-officio members
who serve by virtue of their positions as Forest Supervisor of the
Santa Fe National Forest and Superintendent of the Bandelier National
Monument. The Trust is the managing board for the National Forest
System lands that comprise the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The
Preserve employees report to an Executive Director, who is overseen by
the Trust Board members. Funding for the Preserve comes from the annual
Forest Service appropriation, which is $3.5 million for FY 10 and from
revenues generated by the Preserve for entry and use. In fiscal year
2009 the Trust generated approximately $650,000.
Because the Valles Caldera National Preserve is part of the
National Forest System, it has the ability to draw upon the
considerable resources of the Forest Service. The Deputy Areas for
National Forest Systems, Research and Development and State and Private
Forestry, as well as Business Operations support and assist the Trust
and Preserve managers with services and expertise needed to manage the
Preserve. The Southwest Region and the Rocky Mountain Research Station
support the Preserve managers through special assignments; such as on-
the-ground consultations and specific disciplinary investigations or
services. Santa Fe National Forest and Cibola National Forest employees
with a wide array of skills are within a short driving distance of the
Preserve and are available for immediate consultation on management
direction or service program delivery. Wildland fire suppression and
management resources, including equipment and personnel, are directly
provided to the Preserve as part of the Santa Fe National Forest
mission. Over the last decade, the Forest Service has worked closely
with the Trust to assist with National Preserve operations, including
archaeology, forestry, law enforcement, infrastructure, technical
assistance, resource management and wildfire suppression. The Forest
Service also provides the Trust with administrative assistance in
financial services and property management.
maintaining a working ranch, while managing a national preserve
The debate a decade ago was over how to best manage the newly
acquired Baca Ranch. The consensus then was that the land should be
preserved as a working ranch where fishing, hunting, grazing, and some
limited timber management might be retained. Then Congressman Udall
noted in the hearings in March, 2000, that a working ranch would permit
both cattle and wildlife to thrive on the land and traditional New
Mexican families should have the opportunity to join others who had
previously been able to use the land. The concept of a working ranch
was widely endorsed. Over the past decade the Trust, with the
assistance of the Forest Service, has implemented the concept of the
working ranch.
The October 2009 report ``Valles Caldera'' by the Government
Accountability Office found that the Trust had made progress in
rehabilitating roads, buildings, fences, and other infrastructure, had
created a science program, experimented with a variety of grazing
options, taken steps to manage its forests, expanded recreational
opportunities, and taken its first steps toward becoming financially
self-sustaining. However the Trust is at least 5 years behind the
schedule it set for itself. Through FY2009, the Trust lacked a
strategic plan and annual performance plans and it had not
systematically monitored or reported on its' progress. The Trust's
financial management has also been weak and the Trust is challenged to
become self sustaining by the end of FY2015. The GAO recommended that
the Trust work with the relevant Committees to seek legislative
remedies as appropriate for the legal challenges confronting the Trust
forest and rangeland restoration
It is important to note that restoration and resource management
issues are already being managed by the Forest Service on approximately
895,000 acres of National Forest System lands in the Jemez Mountains
surrounding the Preserve and on the Preserve's Southeast corner
adjacent to Bandelier National Monument. The connectivity of the
forests, rangelands and waters in the Jemez Mountains of central and
northern New Mexico allows for the continuity of natural resource
management and for efficient restoration practices to be implemented on
a landscape scale. The Forest Service is well positioned to provide
landscape and restoration management in the Jemez Mountains, as
envisioned by the Administration's priorities for maintaining and
enhancing the resiliency and productivity of America's forests.
The paramount priority for the Preserve is to continue and increase
watershed restoration work across the Preserve and the surrounding
National Forest System lands. The land's long history as a ranch where
timber and mining activities occurred degraded much of the landscape.
In addition, drought and insect activity threatens the forest and makes
catastrophic fire a major challenge. Restoration work in this regard
has been initiated and environmental and watershed assessments for
developing future restoration projects are in process.
Some of this restoration work has and will continue to deal with
roads. When the Baca Ranch was purchased there were approximately 1,400
miles of logging roads on the land. Initially, it was determined that
the existing road system and surface design could not be used to
support recreational opportunities, administration and management or
uses such as grazing.
To date, approximately 875 miles of the 1,400 have been inventoried
and once the inventory is completed a determination would be made on
the number of miles of road required for management of the Preserve.
Through forest restoration efforts, the existing roads that are
unneeded for future management would then be closed, decommissioned or
obliterated. Presently, the Trust, with the assistance of the Forest
Service, has upgraded over 18 miles of road to all-weather gravel
standards so they are usable for passenger vehicles and are more
environmentally stable. To enhance safety and public viewing of the
preserve, the kiosks, scenic turnouts, and a new gate have been
installed. In addition, the entry to and exit from New Mexico Highway
4, the main access road to the preserve, has been reconfigured to meet
traffic and road safety requirements.
Rehabilitating deteriorating infrastructure such as buildings,
roads and water systems has proven to be an expensive and time-
consuming endeavor. Many of these obligations will need to be addressed
in any future management regime for the Preserve.
approaches to grazing management
Given that the 2000 Act requires maintaining the Preserve as a
working ranch, grazing has been a central activity. Over the years, the
grazing program's objectives, scope, and size have changed repeatedly,
in response to annual scientific assessments of forage availability, as
well as shifting directives from the Board. The ultimate goal is to
manage the Preserve's livestock operations for multiple aims,
including, environmental benefits, local community benefit, research,
and public education.
the development and expansion of recreational opportunities
For the public, especially New Mexicans, the Baca Location No.1 was
an intriguing curiosity. Projected on maps as a prominent rectangle of
white surrounded by National Forest System lands and on the Preserve's
Southeast corner adjacent to Bandelier National Monument, there were
great expectations by the Public for recreating and exploring the new
National Preserve. At the outset of Forest Service and Trust
management, the National Preserve was closed to public entry. Beginning
in 2002, the Preserve was opened to public recreation which was
confined to guided hikes or van tours. Over the next several years,
access to the Preserve for varied summer and winter activities was
allowed, including but not limited to access for fishing, hunting,
hiking and various other recreational activities provided by outfitters
and guides such as horse drawn wagon and sleigh rides, stargazing and
viewing, group tours and birding.
Given the successful history of Forest Service efforts, its
commitment to the Preserve and the National Forest System stewardship
of the vast majority of lands surrounding the Preserve, management by
the Forest Service is a viable option for the Preserve's future there
is ample national precedent for Forest Service administration of such
lands. The agency currently manages 38 Congressionally designated
areas, including 21 National Recreation Areas, 6 National Monuments (2
of which are national volcanic monuments), and 11 National Scenic
Areas. For example the Santa Fe National Forest is managing the 57,000
acre Jemez National Recreation Area established to conserve the
recreational, ecological, cultural, religious and wildlife values of
the Jemez Mountains.
The Preserve presents many resource management challenges that must
be addressed and accounted for if any change in management is
considered. The largest elk herd in New Mexico has to be carefully
managed in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
The land needs to be restored after decades of grazing and logging use.
Indeed, for the Secretary of Agriculture, restoration of forest and
rangelands watersheds is one of the highest management priorities.
Under the Forest Landscape Restoration Title of the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303), which established the
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund (CFLRF), the Valles
Caldera National Preserve, Santa Fe National Forest, the Nature
Conservancy and the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration
Institute have developed a proposal for a cross jurisdictional planning
process to implement a landscape-scale forest restoration strategy in
the Jemez River Watershed. A key collaborator for this proposal, among
many, is Bandelier National Monument. To achieve the goals of
restoration and resiliency under the CFLRF active management
prescriptions utilizing timber and forest vegetation harvesting and
removal, prescribed fire, road closures and obliteration, as well as
controlled livestock herbivory, would be required to achieve restored
and resilient forest and watershed ecological conditions. However,
under the CFLRF funding is limited to lands administered by the Forest
Service.
congressional request for reconnaissance study by the national park
service
At the request of New Mexico Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall
(June 24, 2009), the National Park Service performed a reconnaissance
study of the National Forest System lands comprising the Valles Caldera
National Preserve for its inclusion in the National Park System. We
recognize that the Secretary of the Interior could also be an
appropriate steward of the National Preserve and the Forest Service
will work cooperatively with all parties to achieve the best outcome
for the National Preserve.
If it is the decision of the Committee that permanent Trust
management of the Preserve is not in the public interest and the land
is ultimately managed by the Park Service, the Forest Service or some
other arrangement, then we would request a thorough and orderly
transfer of responsibilities from the Trust. In the interim, we should
assure adequate funding for continued operations. In that respect, I
note the Administration is recommending continued funding of the Trust
at $3.5 million for FY 2011.
This bill would repeal the Valles Caldera Preservation Act (VCPA),
in which Congress authorized the acquisition of a fractional mineral
interest under the Valles Caldera Preserve. Although the condemnation
action related to the mineral interest has concluded, the judgment and
some fees have not yet been paid. Accordingly, we believe that the bill
should state explicitly that it is not intended to affect the authority
for the condemnation or the amount or source of any outstanding
obligations of the United States related to the condemnation of the
fractional mineral interest under the Preserve
In closing, I would note that the spirit of cooperation would be
paramount for all agencies to work together for the thoughtful
stewardship of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, regardless of the
Congresses' decisions regarding administrative jurisdiction.
This concludes my testimony, and I would be happy to answer any
questions.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Mr. Wenk.
STATEMENT OF DANIEL N. WENK, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL PARK
SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Mr. Wenk. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to
appear before the committee to present the Department of the
Interior's views on S. 3452 to designate the Valles Caldera
National Preserve as a unit of the National Park System and for
other purposes.
S. 3452 would designate the Valles Caldera National
Preserve in New Mexico as a unit of the National Park System,
transferring administrative jurisdiction of the preserve to the
Secretary of the Interior. It would authorize grazing, hunting,
and fishing to continue within the preserve.
The Department supports the protection of the nationally
significant natural and cultural resources found at the Valles
Caldera National Preserve. We would like to work with the
committee to determine the management structure that will
provide the highest level of protection and care for the unique
resources that are found within the Valles Caldera.
The Valles Caldera is considered to be one of the world's
best intact examples of a resurgent caldera, and it is of
significant size and configuration to allow for long-term,
sustainable resource protection and visitor enjoyment. The
geologic features of the preserve retain a high degree of
integrity, and the preserve's unique setting of expansive
grasslands and forests provides outstanding scenic values and
an array of opportunities for public recreation, reflection,
education, and scientific study.
The national significance of the geological resources of
the Valles Caldera was formally recognized in 1975 when the
area was designated as a National Natural Landmark.
Additionally, the Valles Caldera was the subject of site
investigations and new area studies that were completed by the
National Park Service in 1939, 1964, 1977, and 1979. The
National Park Service completed an update report on the
National Park Service 1979 new area study in December 2009 at
your and Senator Udall's request. All these studies found that
the Valles Caldera was nationally significant, suitable, and
feasible for designation as a unit of the National Park System.
If added to the National Park system, Valles Caldera would
be managed in accordance with the 1916 Organic Act and other
acts that have guided the National Park Service for nearly 100
years, ``to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such
manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the
enjoyment of future generations,'' with recognition that the
bill allows for continued, sustainable grazing, hunting, and
fishing.
The Valles Caldera is a spectacular landscape containing
nationally significant resources that are worthy of
preservation and protection. We look forward to working with
the committee, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Valles Caldera
Trust to determine the best way to care for these resources and
to allow for their enjoyment by all Americans.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be
pleased to answer any questions that you or other members of
the committee may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Wenk follows:]
Prepared Statement of Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director, National Park
Service, Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today to present the Department of the
Interior's views on S. 3452, to designate the Valles Caldera National
Preserve as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
The Department supports the protection of the nationally
significant natural and cultural resources found at the Valles Caldera
National Preserve. We would like to work with the committee to
determine the management structure that will provide the highest level
of protection and care for the unique resources that are found within
the Valles Caldera.
S. 3452 would designate the Valles Caldera National Preserve
(Preserve), in New Mexico as a unit of the National Park System,
transferring administrative jurisdiction of the Preserve to the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary). The bill would repeal the Valles
Caldera Preservation Act and all assets and liabilities of the Valles
Caldera Trust (Trust) would be transferred to the Secretary. The bill
would also authorize the Secretary to coordinate management and
operations of the Preserve with Bandelier National Monument. If S. 3452
is enacted, we look forward to working with the Trust to develop a
management plan and capitalize on the proximity of Bandelier National
Monument for efficiency of operations, while applying Service First
principles of sharing resources as appropriate with the surrounding
National Forest.
S. 3452 would authorize grazing, hunting, and fishing to continue
within the Preserve and the bill would require the Secretary to ensure
the protection of traditional cultural and religious sites including
providing tribal access to the sites and temporarily closing specific
areas of the Preserve to protect traditional uses. The National Park
Service (NPS) has a long history of consultation with First Americans
in the preservation and continuation of traditional practices.
Finally, S. 3452 would require that eligible Trust employees be
retained for at least 180 days from the date of enactment and the
Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture would be authorized to hire
Trust employees on a noncompetitive basis for comparable positions at
the Preserve or other units of the National Park or National Forest
Systems in New Mexico.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve is an 88,900 acre unit of the
National Forest System located in the Jemez Mountains of north central
New Mexico. The Preserve was established by Public Law 106-248, the
Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000, and is managed by the Valles
Caldera Trust, a wholly owned government corporation established under
the Act. The Trust is charged with mixing elements of both private and
public administration while working to achieve resource protection,
public enjoyment, and financial self sufficiency goals.
The Valles Caldera is considered to be one of the world's best
intact examples of a resurgent caldera (the remains of a huge and
ancient volcano with a prominent uplift at its center, in this case
present-day Redondo Peak) and is of sufficient size and configuration
to allow for long-term sustainable resource protection and visitor
enjoyment. The geologic features of the Preserve retain a high degree
of integrity and the Preserve's unique setting of expansive grasslands
and montane forests provides outstanding scenic values and an array of
opportunities for public recreation, reflection, education, and
scientific study.
The national significance of the geological resources of the Valles
Caldera was formally recognized in 1975 when the area was designated a
National Natural Landmark. Additionally, the Valles Caldera was the
subject of site investigations and new area studies that were completed
by the National Park Service (NPS) in 1939, 1964, 1977, and 1979. An
Update Report on the NPS 1979 New Area Study was completed by NPS in
December of 2009 at the request of Senators Bingaman and Tom Udall. All
of these NPS studies found that the Valles Caldera was nationally
significant, suitable and feasible for designation as a unit of the
National Park System , and the 2009 Update Report reaffirmed the
results of the prior studies. In addition, the Forest Service, pursuant
to Public Law 101-556, also completed a study of the site in 1993,
which was cited in the Valles Caldera Preservation Act.
If added to the National Park System, Valles Caldera would be
managed in accordance with the 1916 Organic Act and other Acts that
have guided the NPS for nearly one hundred years ``to provide for the
enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave
them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations'', with
recognition that the bill allows for continued, sustainable grazing,
hunting, and fishing. The NPS has experience with these activities in
our other nineteen preserves.
Based on current expenses for Valles Caldera and the cost to
operate park units comparable in size and assets, we anticipate the
annual cost to operate and manage the park would be approximately $22
million for developmental costs and $4 million for annual operational
costs, although more complete cost estimates would be developed through
the general management plan. In addition, our 2009 Update Report
identifies 5 parcels of private property, totaling 40 acres, that would
need to be acquired. Although appraisals have not been completed, the
expected costs to acquire this private property and any transfer costs
are expected to be minimal. Funds would be subject to the availability
of appropriations and NPS priorities.
Furthermore, as noted above, this bill would repeal the Valles
Caldera Preservation Act in which Congress authorized the acquisition
of a fractional mineral interest under the Valles Caldera Preserve. We
have been advised by the Department of Justice that although the
condemnation action related to the mineral interest has concluded, the
judgment and some fees have not yet been paid. Accordingly, we believe
that the bill should state explicitly that it is not intended to affect
the authority for the condemnation or the amount or source of any
outstanding obligations of the United States related to the
condemnation of the fractional mineral interest under the Preserve.
Finally, should S. 3452 move forward in its current form, the
Department would like the opportunity to work with the committee to
discuss some of the time periods that are outlined in the bill. We are
concerned that the 30 day time periods to develop the memorandum of
agreement described in Section 3 and the interim budget in Section 4
may not be sufficient. We will be happy to work with committee staff to
address our concerns.
The Valles Caldera is a spectacular landscape containing nationally
significant resources that are worthy of preservation and protection.
We look forward to working with the committee, the U.S. Forest Service,
and the Valles Caldera Trust to determine the best way to care for
these resources and to allow for their enjoyment by all Americans.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my prepared remarks. I would be happy
to answer any questions that you or any other members of the Committee
may have.
The Chairman. Thank you and thank all of you on this panel.
I appreciate it very much.
Mr. Wenk, let me ask you first of all. When Senator Udall
and I asked for you folks to do this reconnaissance study, a
main thing we were trying to determine is whether this property
met the criteria for inclusion in the National Park System.
Could you state what your conclusion was or what the study
determined with regard to that?
Mr. Wenk. Yes, Mr. Chairman. The update to the 1979 special
resource study and, in fact, any study, examines 4 criteria.
The first criteria is national significance, and that question
was answered when it became a National Natural Landmark. This
criteria was found in all 4 studies and continued in 2009. The
second criteria is whether it is suitable for inclusion into
the system, and we determined that it was. The third criteria
is whether it is feasible, and once again, it was determined to
be both suitable and feasible. The fourth criteria is
management. Management is typically looked at whether or not
another entity is managing it. This comes down really to a
question, I think, that the Congress needs to answer in terms
of whose management is most appropriate for the area.
The Chairman. One of the issues--obviously, the leaders of
the pueblo communities near the Valles Caldera have great
concern, understandably, about the cultural resources on the
property. What is the experience that the Park Service has had
with regard to protecting of Native American cultural resources
of this type in other national parks? Is that something that
you have clear protocols for and long experience with or not?
Mr. Wenk. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. The National Park
Service protects, I believe, many of the preeminent cultural
resources in our country. A portion of the boundary of the
Valles Caldera is shared by Bandelier National Monument, which
has significant cultural resources. We take great pride in the
way we protect resources there, and literally throughout the
Nation, not just the West, as it relates to native populations.
I believe that we have the policies, the law, the regulation
and policies that makes us one of the leading organizations in
the protection of cultural resources.
The Chairman. Let me ask you, Mr. Henry. If we do not
proceed and pass this legislation, the Valles Caldera Trust
continues under its current management structure. What do you
believe the most significant challenges are for the board and
for the preserve in the coming years?
Mr. Henry. Mr. Chairman, perhaps as I maybe even already
said, the biggest issue by far is the forest and restoring that
60,000 acres, two-thirds of that property, to where it can have
numbers of people. I am concerned that when campers, bonfires,
campfires are turned lose onto the preserve--even though
anybody would try to control that access to some degree, but if
there are 3,000 or 4,000 people out on the preserve throughout
penetrating the interior for the pure enjoyment of it, which is
what we all want to do, and during many periods of time when it
is really dry, the fire danger is going to be huge. I do not
know if you can even allow for a significant part of many
years, especially as climate change is occurring and things are
going to get drier, until that forest has been restored. I
think that is a huge challenge because people are wanting to be
on it. We recognize that, but how to do it and do it right and
have their safety involved and have what is in the best
interest of that preserve taken care of is the biggest
challenge by far.
The Chairman. Has that been a significant factor in the
management decisions that your board has made in the last year
or last 2 years with regard to allowing access on the property?
Do you restrict access because of concern about endangering the
forest?
Mr. Henry. That and other issues right now, Mr. Chairman.
We have not finished the environmental planning for human
access and use, and so we are doing things on an interim basis
as approved by the Council on Environmental Quality. So until
we gather that information and we apply it and then we put that
information into our environmental planning, we are doing 2
things. We are having a lot of organized events for people to
come up there. We have hunting. Of course, it is at a time
period when the forest is not as much in danger in the fall,
but we do not allow any camping yet. We anticipate that we
will. But those would have to be under the right conditions and
the right times and the right places no matter who is managing
it. Any one of the agencies, indeed, could do that. But that is
one of the concerns.
The other concerns are those that we mentioned. We do not
think it is right. We think it is against the law to let people
have some of the things that they are asking us to do without
the environmental analysis first because once you give
something, it is hard to take it back and say you cannot do
that now because it is not going to be the right thing to do.
The Chairman. Part of the job of allowing public access and
still preserving and restoring the forest and all comes down to
a question of resources and how many people you can have doing
the management and how much money you can have to take out the
roads you do not need and put in the roads you do need and all
of that. Have you done any calculation as to what kind of a
budget you folks would need to do that the right way?
Mr. Henry. Yes, Mr. Chairman, we have. We have presented
and gone to considerable detail. We think that we need
approximately $4 million a year to run that preserve the way
that we think it needs to be run for the next several years in
addition to the revenue that we generate off of the way the
present law exists, and it provides that we do generate revenue
off of user fees.
In addition to that, though, there is capital improvement
that has to occur on that place, and we have gone through the
basic infrastructure repairs and the new capital improvements,
the visitor center primarily, in order to accommodate a
significant increase in visitors. We have come up with that
being $14 million to $16 million as a capital investment. As
far as I can tell, the only place that would come from would be
Congress.
The Chairman. All right. Thank you very much.
Senator Wyden.
Senator Wyden. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Just a couple of questions for you, Mr. Sherman. I want to
help the chairman and Senator Udall with this legislation. I
just have a couple of questions to kind of make sure I really
can think through all the implications. We are talking about
Forest Service land in New Mexico, and as chairman of the
Forestry Subcommittee, there are just a couple of areas I want
to make sure I am on top of as we look at this and then other
pieces of legislation.
Looking back over the history, you know, my understanding
is that the management approach that has been used here for
these Forest Service lands for a number of years has not been
used on any other Forest Service lands and has been unique to
New Mexico. Is that your understanding?
Mr. Sherman. Senator, I am not a student in the history of
this. I do believe that this approach was modeled after the
Presidio approach in San Francisco where a trust was
established there to run that particular piece of property. But
my understanding is this is a relatively unusual approach, but
I cannot tell you whether it has been used elsewhere.
Senator Wyden. Why do you just see if you can get us some
history? Because I looked at some of the material, and it was
all explained as being unique to New Mexico.
My understanding also is that this came into being as a
result of State-specific legislation dealing with New Mexico
and Forest Service lands. Is that correct?
Mr. Sherman. This was specific legislation that was passed
in 2000.
Senator Wyden. We are going to work with you. I intend to
work very closely with Chairman Bingaman and Senator Udall. I
think it is fairly clear we are going to have to think through
cooperatively. We are all talking about various ways to try to
come up with sensible policies for the Forest Service and still
deal with the State-specific kinds of issues. It is my
intention to work very closely with you, Mr. Chairman, and
Senator Udall.
Thank you. I look forward to working with you as well, Mr.
Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you very much. I appreciate the
testimony, and if we have additional questions, we will
certainly be in touch with each of you.
Why do we not go ahead with our second panel? This is 4
witnesses: the Honorable Joshua Madalena, who is Governor of
the Pueblo of Jemez; the Honorable Walter Dasheno, who is
Governor of the Pueblo of Santa Clara; the Honorable Michael
Wismer, who is Chair of the Los Alamos County Council; and
Jeremy Vesbach, who is the Director of New Mexico Wildlife
Federation. We very much appreciate all of you being here.
Why do we not go ahead with--of course, we will take all of
the written statements and include them in the record in full,
and we would then like each witness to summarize the main
points that we would want to hear.
How do we want to proceed with this? Governor Madalena, the
other 2 witnesses are accompanying you I gather?
Mr. Madalena. Yes, they are. They are my religious leaders
in my pueblo.
The Chairman. Why do you not start and give us your
testimony and anything that you would like them to add to that?
Mr. Madalena. Yes.
The Chairman. Then Governor Dasheno and then Mr. Vesbach.
Then do we also have Mr. Wismer? I guess he is not here. He is
still en route. I think he was not able to arrive in time for
this newly scheduled hearing.
But, Governor Madalena, thank you very much for being here
and go right ahead.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOSHUA MADALENA, GOVERNOR, PUEBLO OF JEMEZ,
JEMEZ PUEBLO, NM; ACCOMPANIED BY ADAM WAQUIE, SUPREME SPIRITUAL
LEADER, AND JOSE TOLEDO, MEMBER JEMEZ PUEBLO COUNCIL
Mr. Madalena. Thank you, Chairman Bingaman and Senator
Udall. I hope that some of my time will not be taken away. As
you know what the protocol is, as Jemez people, we like to do
an invocation and also have my religious leaders give us a few
words of wisdom as well. I appreciate that.
The Chairman. Take what time you need.
[Invocation.]
Mr. Madalena. Chairman Bingaman and Senator Udall, my name
is Joshua Madalena. I am the Governor of the Pueblo of Jemez, a
sovereign indigenous nation located in the Jemez Mountains
about 50 miles northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on S. 3452,
the Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act.
We are here to conditionally support Senator Jeff
Bingaman's bill to transfer management of the Valles Caldera
National Preserve to the National Park Service.
I have with me today Adam Waquie who is our cacique, or
supreme spiritual leader, and Jose Toledo, a member of the
Jemez Pueblo Council, former War Captain, and member of our War
Council. Each of them will offer short testimony in our Towa
language and I will translate.
The Pueblo of Jemez is one of the 19 New Mexico pueblos
with 3,400 tribal members, most of whom reside at our pueblo
village of Walatowa.
At this time, I would like to give you Mr. Adam Waquie.
Mr. Waquie. [Towa language spoken.]
Mr. Madalena. Mr. Jose Toledo.
Mr. Toledo. [Towa language spoken.] Thank you.
Mr. Madalena. We have known that the Valles Caldera is our
spiritual mother since long before we first settled in the
region. The Valles Caldera is why we migrated to the area. The
Valles Caldera is our cathedral. It is just as important for us
as the Vatican is for the Catholics and as the famous Blue Lake
is to Taos Pueblo. It is where the spirits of our ancestors
reside and it is our most important spiritual place. That is
why we never built major villages in the caldera and why we
have maintained an uninterrupted spiritual relationship with
the caldera.
For many centuries, we have lived in spiritual and
ecological harmony with the Valles Caldera. We have taken great
pains to protect its resources and its natural beauty. We were
the first stewards of the caldera, and we have never faltered
in our role as its protectors. Truly, we were and continue to
be the first environmentalists.
Today, because of our continued care for the earth, we are
able to help our 3,400 tribal members use our existing land and
resources for agriculture, grazing, wood cutting, and other
traditional uses. The critical issue for us has always been to
protect and preserve our natural resources so they sustain us
over time. We strive to ensure that everything we do is
sustainable.
But we are not just a traditional culture that looks back
with nostalgia. We have built upon our core values of
conservation to find opportunities to mesh the old with the
new, the traditional with the modern. We have a successful
heritage and cultural tourism program at the pueblo, including
a museum, and we constantly look for ways to collaborate and
cooperate with local communities to enhance the economic
opportunities for the region.
We continue to hold Indian titles to the Valles Caldera.
Indian title is the right of use and occupancy held by American
Indian tribes to their ancestor homelands and is the root of
all American real estate titles today. Indian title is a
fundamental law doctrine of Anglo-American property law that
was first acknowledged by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1810
decision in Fletcher v. Peck. The Supreme Court has repeatedly
affirmed Indian title, notably in its 1941 decision in United
States v. Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company and most recently
in its 1985 decision in County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian
Nation. In the Santa Fe Pacific and Oneida decisions, the Court
repeated that ``the Indian rights of occupancy is as sacred as
the fee simple of the whites.'' These decisions are the
governing law of Indian title today.
As President Abraham Lincoln said in an 1859 speech in
Cincinnati, ``I do not mean to say that this government is
charged with the duty of redressing or preventing all the
wrongs in the world; but I do think that it is charted with the
duty of preventing and redressing all wrongs which are wrongs
to itself.''
We note that section 3(g) of the bill withdraws the Valles
Caldera from any entry, disposal, or appropriation under the
public land laws, subject to valid existing rights. We
absolutely agree that the Valles Caldera should be withdrawn
from disposal under the public land laws and that valid
existing rights must be preserved as a matter of constitutional
law. We require and will insist on the same consideration for
the Jemez Pueblo Indian title to the caldera.
It is critical for us that our ancient and continuing
rights to the Valles Caldera not be compromised by this
proposed legislation. Our support for S. 3452 is conditional
upon the addition of language stating as follows: ``Valid
Existing Rights Preserved. This act shall not be deemed to
terminate, adjudicate or adversely affect any valid existing
rights within the Preserve, including Indian title and rights
previously established pursuant to the public land laws.''
We suggest that this language be added as a new section 5.
To avoid redundancy, we suggest that the words subject to valid
existing rights'' be deleted from section 3(g). Existing
sections 5 and 6 would be renumbered.
Our position is that our Jemez Pueblo Indian title to the
Valles Caldera must be fully respected and that the caldera
eventually be returned to our ownership and our control. We are
fully capable of managing and protecting it. We would provide
at a minimum the same level of access to hunting, fishing,
hiking, and other recreational opportunities as are enjoyed by
the public in the caldera.
We understand the funding and management problems faced by
the Valles Caldera Preserve and the valid objectives of the S.
3452. One of the original objectives of the Valles Caldera
Preservation Act of July 25, 2000 was to make the preserve
self-supporting. For a variety of reasons, it now appears that
objective cannot be met and Valles Caldera can best be managed
and protected for the time being as a unit of the National Park
System. As stated, we conditionally support S. 3452 as an
interim--as an interim--solution for management of the
preserve.
My companions and I wish to thank Chairman Bingaman,
Senator Udall, and the committee again for the opportunity to
testify on S. 3452. We would be happy to answer any questions
you may have. Thank you.
[Towa language spoken.]
[The prepared statement of Governor Madalena follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Joshua Madalena, Governor, Pueblo of Jemez,
Jemez Pueblo, NM
Chairman Bingaman and Members of the Committee: My name is Joshua
Madalena, and I am the Governor of the Pueblo of Jemez, a sovereign
indigenous nation located in the Jemez Mountains, about 50 miles
northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on S. 3452, the
Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act. We are here to
conditionally support Senator Jeff Bingaman's bill to transfer
management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park
Service.
I have with me today Adam Waquie, who is our cacique, or supreme
spiritual leader, and Jose Toledo, a member of the Jemez Pueblo
Council, former War Captain, and member of our War Council. Each of
them will offer short testimony in our Towa language and I will
translate.
The Pueblo of Jemez is one of the 19 New Mexico pueblos, with 3,400
tribal members, most of whom reside at our pueblo village of Walatowa.
The Pueblo of Jemez is an independent sovereign nation with an
independent government and tribal court system. Traditional matters are
still handled by religious authorities and societies who follow
traditions that are thousands of years old. Through perseverance, our
people have managed to preserve our traditional culture, religion, and
knowledge of our ancient traditional ways regardless of outside
pressures. We have also preserved our complex traditional language, a
language anthropologists and linguists refer to as ``Towa''. Jemez is
the only nation that speaks this language, and our traditional law
forbids our language from being translated into writing in order to
prevent exploitation by outsiders.
Our people are internationally known for arts and crafts. Pottery,
such as bowls, seed pots graffito vessels (elaborately polished and
engraved), wedding vases, figurines, holiday ornaments, and our famous
storytellers are now in collections throughout the world. In addition,
Jemez artisans also create beautiful basketry, embroidery, woven
cloths, exquisite stone sculpture, moccasins and jewelry.
[CACIQUE ADAM WAQUIE PEAKS--GOVERNOR TRANSLATES]
[WAR COUNCIL MEMBER JOSE TOLEDO SPEAKS--GOVERNOR TRANSLATES]
We have known that the Valles Caldera is our spiritual mother since
long before we first settled in the region. The Valles Caldera is why
we migrated to the area long before the arrival of Europeans in the
Americas. The Valles Caldera is our cathedral. It is just as important
for us as the Vatican is for Catholics, and as the famous Blue Lake is
to Taos Pueblo. It is where the spirits of our ancestors reside and it
is our most important spiritual place. That is why we never built major
villages in the Caldera and why we have maintained an uninterrupted
spiritual relationship with the Caldera. Our ancient Towa name for
Redondo Peak is Wavema. Wavema is the mother peak of the other volcanic
domes in the Caldera. Wavema means that we will never be in want if we
continue to live in close to her.
For many centuries we have lived in spiritual and ecological
harmony with the Valles Caldera. We have taken great pains to protect
its resources and its natural beauty. We were the first stewards of the
Caldera, and we have never faltered in our role as its protectors.
Truly, we were--and continue to be--the first environmentalists.
Because it is our cathedral, because it is the spiritual resting place
of our ancestors, there is no one more interested in seeing its natural
beauty and ecology protected forever than the people of Jemez Pueblo.
Today, because of our continued care for the Earth, we are able to
help our 3,400 tribal members use our existing land and resources for
agriculture, grazing, hunting, fishing, wood cutting and all other
traditional uses. The critical issue for us has always been to protect
and preserve our natural resources so they sustain us over time. We
strive to ensure that everything we do is sustainable.
But we are not just a traditional culture that looks back with
nostalgia. We have built upon our core values of conservation to find
opportunities to mesh the old with the new, the traditional with the
modern. We have a successful Heritage and Cultural tourism program at
the Pueblo, including a museum, and we constantly look for ways to
collaborate and cooperate with local communities to enhance the
economic opportunities for the region. We are working closely with the
Santa Fe National Forest and the Valles Caldera National Preserve to
maintain and protect the Forest as well as literally thousands of our
pueblo village, field house and other cultural sites throughout the
Forest and the Preserve.
The Jemez Nation originated from a place called ``Hua-na-tota'' in
the Four-Corners area. Our ancestors migrated to the Jemez Mountains in
the late 13th century, drawn by the spiritual importance of Wavema and
the Valles Caldera. By the time of first European contact in the year
1541, the Jemez Nation was one of the largest and most powerful of the
puebloan cultures, occupying numerous puebloan villages that were
strategically located on the high mountain mesas and in the canyons
that surround the present pueblo of Walatowa and in close proximity to
our spiritual center, the Valles Caldera. These stone-built fortresses,
often located miles apart, were frequently four stories high and
contained as many as 3,000 rooms. They now constitute some of the
largest archaeological ruins in the United States. Situated between
these ``giant pueblos'' were dozens of smaller pueblos and literally
hundreds of one and two room houses that were used during spring and
summer months as base camps for hunting, gathering, and agricultural
activities. However, our spiritual leaders, medicine people, war
chiefs, craftsmen, pregnant women, elderly and disabled lived in the
giant pueblos throughout the year, as warriors and visitors could
easily reach at least one of the giant pueblos within an hour's walk
from any of the seasonal homes.
Our current Jemez Pueblo land base consists of 89,000 acres of
tribal trust lands. Our ancestral homelands in this area cover
approximately 1 million acres encompassing most of the Jemez Mountains
and the Valles Caldera.
We continue to hold Indian title to the Valles Caldera. Indian
title is the right of use and occupancy held by American Indian tribes
to their ancestral homelands and is the root of all American real
estate titles today. Indian title is a fundamental common law doctrine
of Anglo-American property law that was first acknowledged by the
United States Supreme Court in its 1810 decision in Fletcher v. Peck.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed Indian title, notably in its
1941 decision in United States v. Santa Fe Pacific RR Co., and most
recently in its 1985 decision in County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian
Nation. In the Santa Fe Pacific and Oneida decisions the Court repeated
that ``the Indians right of occupancy is as sacred as the fee simple of
the whites.'' These decisions are the governing law of Indian title
today. The heirs of Luis Maria C de Baca received the Valles Caldera as
an original American land grant in 1858 to settle a conflict with
another grant in the area of Las Vegas, NM. The Baca heirs, and all
subsequent owners, have held the Valles Caldera subject to continuing
Jemez Pueblo Indian title.
Henry Knox, America's first Secretary of War, reported to President
Washington that:
The Indians being the prior occupants, possess the right of
the soil. It cannot be taken from them unless by their free
consent, or by the right of conquest in case of a just war. Top
dispossess them on any other principle would be a gross
violation of the fundamental laws of nature and of that
distributive justice which is the glory of a nation.
President Abraham Lincoln said in an 1859 speech in Cincinnati: ``.
. .I do not mean to say that this government is charged with the duty
of redressing or preventing all the wrongs in the world; but I do think
that it is charged with the duty of preventing and redressing all
wrongs which are wrongs to itself.''
We have never and we will never consent to losing our Indian title
to the Valles Caldera.
We note that Section 3(g) of the bill withdraws the Valles Caldera
from any entry, disposal or appropriation under the public land laws,
``subject to valid existing rights.'' We absolutely agree that the
Valles Caldera should be withdrawn from disposal under the public land
laws, and that valid existing rights must be preserved as a matter of
constitutional law. We require and will insist on the same
consideration for Jemez Pueblo Indian title to the Caldera. Just as
President Lincoln said in 1859, dispossessing us of our valid existing
Indian title rights to the Valles Caldera would be a wrong to America
itself.
It is critical for us that our ancient and continuing rights to the
Valles Caldera not be compromised by this proposed legislation. Our
support for S. 3452 is conditional upon the addition of language
stating as follows:
Valid Existing Rights Preserved.--This Act shall not be
deemed to terminate, adjudicate or adversely affect any valid
existing rights within the Preserve, including Indian title and
rights previously established pursuant to the public land laws.
We suggest that this language be added as a new Section 5. To avoid
redundancy, we suggest that the words ``Subject to valid existing
rights,'' be deleted from Section 3(g). Existing sections 5 and 6 would
be renumbered.
Our position is that our Jemez Pueblo Indian title to the Valles
Caldera must be fully respected and that the Caldera eventually be
returned to our ownership and control. We are fully capable of managing
and protecting it. We would provide at a minimum the same level of
access to hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational opportunities
as are now enjoyed by the public in the Caldera.
We understand the funding and management problems faced by the
Valles Caldera Preserve and the valid objectives of S. 3452. One of the
original objectives of the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of July 25,
2000 was to make the Preserve self-supporting. For a variety of
reasons, it now appears that objective cannot be met and the Valles
Caldera can best be managed and protected for the time being as a unit
of the National Park system. We support S. 3452 as an interim solution
for management of the Preserve.
My companions and I wish to thank Chairman Bingaman and the
Committee again for the opportunity to testify on S. 3452. We would be
happy to answer any questions you may have.
The Chairman. Thank you very much. Thank you and the elders
from your pueblo that you brought with you as well.
Before we ask questions of any witness, let us hear from
the other 2 witnesses at the witness table here.
Governor Dasheno, welcome to the committee and please go
right ahead.
STATEMENT OF HON. WALTER DASHENO, GOVERNOR, PUEBLO OF SANTA
CLARA, ESPANOLA, NM
Mr. Dasheno. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Senator
Udall. Thank you, Senator Bingaman, for this honor to come
before all of you to testify in regards to this issue.
Similarly, I would like to open up with a prayer from our
village to all of us that are here today.
[Invocation.]
Mr. Chairman, Senator Bingaman, and Senator Udall, before
we start, I would like to introduce former Governor Michael
Chevaria, who is here with me this afternoon. Certainly we
extend our prayers and wishes for a good year for all of us
from the Pueblo of Santa Clara, and on behalf of our community
or for our thanksgiving for what we have been so blessed with
with the nature and the lands that we so dearly support and
hope as our treasure to all of us.
I am here to thank you for allowing me to appear before you
to present these comments on S. 3452, the Valles Caldera
National Preserve Management Act.
I am Walter Dasheno and I am the Governor of the Pueblo of
Santa Clara, a federally recognized Indian pueblo situated 25
miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Again, I want to thank
Senator Bingaman and Senator Udall--and Senator Wyden who left
a little earlier--of New Mexico for having introduced S. 3452.
I appreciate the opportunity to be able to present the views of
the Santa Clara Pueblo on this bill as it addresses matters
that are of the most profound importance to our pueblo.
My remarks will be brief, but I do want to note that we
have submitted for the record detailed written comments on this
bill and I hope that members of the committee will have the
opportunity to address themselves to that written testimony
which I will simply summarize today.
The Pueblo of Santa Clara has had a long and multifaceted
relationship with the Valles Caldera. It has been our hunting
ground, our source of traditional materials, and most
important, a place of traditional worship for us. The many
traditional sites, trails, shrines, and ritual gatherings,
areas throughout the caldera remain vitally important and
integrally related to our traditional religious practices.
We were fortunate when Congress authorized Federal
acquisition of the caldera in the Valles Caldera Protection Act
of 2000. Santa Clara Pueblo was allowed to reacquire a portion
of its aboriginal lands that had been erroneously included in
the patent to the Baca Ranch, lands that encompassed the
headwaters of the Santa Clara Creek known to us for centuries
as Popii Khanu.
Although several pueblos utilize the caldera for
traditional and religious practices, Santa Clara is the only
tribe that directly abuts the Valles Caldera National Preserve
on the north end of the reservation--I am sorry. The south end
of the reservation.
For many reasons, we feel that we have especially
substantial interest in actions that affect the management of
the preserve.
Santa Clara generally supports the Valles Caldera
legislation but with some serious concerns. This legislation
sponsored by both yourselves, Senator Bingaman and Senator
Udall, would transfer the administrative jurisdiction of the
Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service.
The Santa Clara Pueblo has a long history with the Valles
Caldera. It has served as Santa Clara Pueblo's hunting ground,
source of traditional materials, et cetera.
Santa Clara's main points of support and concern are:
One, Santa Clara strongly supports section 3, subsection
(i), which requires the Secretary to ensure the protection of
traditional cultural sites and which grant Santa Clara rights
of access to those sites.
Two, Santa Clara strongly supports section 3, subsection
(h), the ban on development and motorized access, but asks for
an exception to allow Santa Clara members access to parts of
Popii Khanu otherwise inaccessible.
Three, Santa Clara Pueblo believes the educational programs
in section 3, subsection (d) should include teachings on the
pueblos that surround the caldera.
Four, Santa Clara Pueblo strongly opposes the caldera rim
trail provided for in section 3, subsection (k).
Five, Santa Clara asks for a provision to support the
National Park Service working with Santa Clara's excellent
forestry program on forestry management issues and specifically
asks that certain provisions of the Tribal Forest Protection
Act be applied to Valles Caldera. Santa Clara Pueblo does have
a very positive relationship with the U.S. Forest Service and
believe they can contribute very importantly to the Valles
Caldera management.
Six, Santa Clara asks that repeal of the Valles Caldera
Protection Act not affect the portions of the act that pertain
to Santa Clara which have ongoing relevance to Popii Khanu and
to the issue of mineral development.
Santa Clara is also sensitive to the fire safety issue
described by Mr. Henry. Santa Clara has experienced 3 fires,
the Oso fire, the Cerro Grande fire, and which now abuts our
reservation, the South Fork fire. This needs to be addressed
and we can help as a pueblo.
I also have some photographs that I wish to share with you,
Senator. The property that Mr. Henry described appropriately is
very concerning to all of us. It is very dense, very scary, and
is very concerning to us. The fire that is presently burning,
the South Fork fire, has been impacting our community because
there is a potential for bigger fires. The Cerro Grande fire
was probably a small fire that we have had, but this next
catastrophic fire could be even bigger than that. So it is
very, very critical that steps be made to take some issues to
correct this issue of doing some forest thinning along those
areas.
So with that, Santa Clara looks forward to working with the
New Mexico congressional delegation to ensure the preservation
of the Valles Caldera, as well as protection of the pueblo's
long interest in this extraordinary region.
Mr. Chairman, Senator Udall and Senator Bingaman, again,
thank you very much and God bless all of us.
[The prepared statement of Governor Dasheno follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Walter Dasheno, Governor, Pueblo of Santa
Clara, Espanola, NM
Senator Bingaman, Senator Murkowski, members of the Committee,
thank you for allowing me to appear before you to present these
comments on S. 3452, the Valles Caldera National Preserve Management
Act. I am Walter Dasheno, and I am the Governor of the Pueblo of Santa
Clara, a federally recognized Indian Pueblo situated about 25 miles
north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I want to thank Senator Bingaman and
Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico for having introduced S. 3452, and I
appreciate the opportunity to be able to present the views of the Santa
Clara Pueblo on this bill, as it addresses matters that are of the most
profound importance to Santa Clara. Santa Clara Pueblo's lands actually
include a portion of the former Baca Ranch, and our lands directly abut
the Valles Caldera National Preserve. More importantly, the Pueblo's
members have extensively used, occupied and managed large areas of the
Pajarito Plateau and the Valles Caldera for many centuries, since long
before the white man came to this hemisphere, and we have deep and
abiding ties to this land. It continues to be a source of materials for
traditional uses and a place of worship for us, and even though we have
lost the right we once had, to freely roam over the land and treat it
as our own, we continue to feel a deep sense of stewardship for the
land, and want to be sure that our experience and our ongoing cultural
connections with the land are given due consideration in any decisions
affecting the future of this extraordinary place.
introduction
Santa Clara Supports S. 3452. I want to say at the onset that we
generally support the bill, and we very much appreciate that Senators
Bingaman and Udall have undertaken this initiative. As I will explain
further, we are especially pleased to see that the bill includes
language attempting to accommodate the very important traditional and
cultural concerns of Santa Clara and the other Pueblo Indian tribes
located near the Caldera, but we also have a number of concerns as to
specific provisions of the bill that we do want to bring to the
Committee's attention.
santa clara's long relationship with the valles caldera.
As many of you may be aware, when Congress first passed the Valles
Caldera Preservation Act, in the year 2000, pursuant to which the
United States acquired most of the Baca Ranch, Santa Clara was
extremely fortunate that Congress made provision in that Act for Santa
Clara to reacquire the portion of the Baca Ranch that included the
upper reaches of Santa Clara Canyon, an area that we have always
referred to as Popii Khanu. This land is part of Santa Clara's
heartland, and has been used and occupied by the Pueblo since time
immemorial. Our rights in that land, along with the rest of Santa Clara
Canyon, were fully recognized by the Spanish territorial government in
the 18th century, but after the United States acquired the New Mexico
territory in 1848, American authorities essentially ignored our rights,
and the original patent to the Baca Ranch was issued in clear disregard
of those rights. Regaining full control over Popii Khanu in the year
2000 was a major accomplishment for Santa Clara.
Consequently, from its inception, we have been a close neighbor of
the Preserve, and we have worked closely with the Valles Caldera Trust,
which was created by the 2000 Act to oversee and manage the Preserve,
and with the Forest Service, which currently has ultimate jurisdiction
over the Preserve, to improve the Preserve's environment. As I will
explain, moreover, we are directly affected in a variety of ways by
actions concerning the management and operation of the Preserve, and it
is therefore a matter of real concern to us that we are able to
continue to maintain a close relationship with the Preserve's new
managers, once this bill is enacted into law.
recognition of pueblo cultural concerns in section 3(i)
Our connection to the Valles Caldera Preserve is not limited to the
area of Popii Khanu, nor is it merely a matter of natural resource
management, although that is an important aspect of our concern, as I
will explain. More importantly, Santa Clara, like several other Pueblos
located near the Preserve, maintains a vital connection with numerous
trails, sites, shrines and areas located throughout the Caldera, for
the practice of our traditional religion through ceremonies, gathering
of medicinal and ceremonial plants and other materials, traditional
hunting rituals and in many other ways. These sites are not artifacts
of ancient civilizations, but rather are places of present-day worship,
that have ongoing significance to and involvement in our religious
practices, which remain a powerful binding force within our community.
Indeed, the Valles Caldera contains a large number of sites that have
traditional and religious significance not only to Santa Clara, but to
other nearby Pueblos.
We are therefore very pleased with the language contained in
Section 3(i) of the bill, which requires the Secretary of the Interior
to ensure the protection of traditional cultural and religious sites in
the Preserve and to provide access to such sites by tribal members for
traditional cultural and customary uses, and provides for temporary
closure of parts of the Preserve to protect the privacy of those
traditional cultural and customary uses. The absence of any such
language in the original Valles Caldera Protection Act was a glaring
omission, and we welcome this belated recognition of the Caldera's
traditional and cultural significance to the Pueblos. We look forward
to working closely with Interior officials as they develop the
management plan for the Caldera, pursuant to Section 3(b)(4) of the
bill, to assure that these vitally important provisions of the law are
fully and thoughtfully implemented in that plan, and that the plan
fully carries out their intent, while maintaining appropriate respect
for the necessary confidentiality of our traditional practices.
educational program pursuant to section 3(d) should incorporate pueblo
cultural issues
But we believe that the bill needs to go further in acknowledging
the traditional and cultural importance of the Caldera to the Pueblo
tribes that surround it. For example, Section 3(d) of the bill,
referring to the science and education program that is anticipated to
be carried out at the Preserve, makes only scant reference to the
``cultural resources of the Preserve.'' In fact, the relationship of
the Caldera to the Native American cultures that surround it is as
complex, profound and significant as is the geologic history that
created the Caldera. While, of course, we, like other Pueblos, will
always insist on maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of our
traditional religious practices, much has already been published about
Native American cultural affinity to the Caldera, and we believe that
the legislation should make clear that this aspect of the Preserve--its
existence as a vital place of worship for many Pueblo religious
practitioners--should be given prominent emphasis in any educational
program designed by the Park Service for visitors to the Preserve.
Indeed, since increased public visitation to the Preserve is an
apparent goal of the bill, it becomes all the more important that
visitors to this magnificent natural landmark be fully informed of its
cultural and religious significance to the Pueblos located around it,
not only to give them a more profound appreciation of the Preserve, but
also to help assure that they will approach the land with an
appropriate sensitivity to and respect for our traditional practices
and the locations where we engage in them.
santa clara opposes caldera rim trail concept in section 3(k)
For directly related reasons, we must say that we are seriously
opposed to the proposal set forth in Section 3(k) of the bill, which
contemplates studies leading to the establishment of a Caldera Rim
Trail. While this provision appropriately attempts to accommodate Santa
Clara's concerns for the privacy of its traditional activities within
its reservation lands, as I have stated above, the fact is that Santa
Clara, like other Pueblos, has vitally important traditional sites
located throughout the Preserve, sites whose protection the Secretary
is required to ensure under Section 3(i). We believe that the concept
of a hiking trail around the rim of the Caldera is fundamentally
incompatible with the Secretary's obligation to protect and assure our
access to those sites. Such a trail would unavoidably pose a direct
conflict with traditional sites and practices, and we would urge that
that provision be deleted from the bill. If, despite our request, the
Committee decides to retain this provision, we would urge that it
include a requirement that in conducting these studies, the Secretaries
will specifically consult with the various Pueblos with respect to
their concerns about traditional and cultural shrines and other sites,
and that they will pay special attention to the requirements of Section
3(I), including ensuring that any trail that results from these studies
is routed in a manner so as to eliminate the risk of intrusion on any
area identified in those consultations as having traditional cultural
and religious importance to a Pueblo.
ban on development of peaks is important, with exceptions
We believe that the bill appropriately places off-limits to
development and motorized access the volcanic domes and other peaks
within the Preserve, in Section 3(h), but we do note that in a few
instances, Santa Clara must utilize roads that cross into Preserve
lands on Cerro Toledo and other peaks on our boundary that are above
9,250 feet in order to obtain access to portions of Popii Khanu that
are otherwise inaccessible. We believe that the exceptions set forth in
Section 3(h)(3) assure that we will be able to continue to have that
access, but we want to note that that is an important consideration to
Santa Clara and we want to be sure that those exceptions will remain in
the bill. Similarly, we wish to call attention to the importance of
Section 3(g), which withdraws the Preserve lands from entry under any
public land laws, mining laws and mineral leasing laws, especially
including geothermal leasing. It is critical that this land be
permanently protected from any further efforts by private individuals
and companies to exploit its natural resources for commercial gain.
santa clara's critical concerns regarding forestry management
In addition to having very substantial ongoing traditional and
cultural concerns as to the Preserve, Santa Clara also has a very
strong and important interest in the management of the Preserve's
forest resources, especially those located in the northeast quadrant of
the Preserve, near Santa Clara lands. Santa Clara has put together a
large, highly skilled and very active forestry department, that
maintains an ongoing, proactive program of management of Santa Clara's
forest lands--totaling nearly 45,000 acres--in order to preserve their
health and their long-term productivity. We believe that our forestry
management practices, which have been developed over the last ten
years, are second to none in New Mexico, in terms of their
effectiveness in reducing disease, promoting healthy diversity and
minimizing the danger of catastrophic fire. We would be more than happy
to show members of the Committee and their staffs and representatives
of the National Forest Service and the National Park Service the
results of our efforts. But we are painfully aware of the potential
threat posed to our lands by the fact that federal land managers have
not been able to apply the same level or intensity of management to the
heavily forested federal lands adjacent to Santa Clara's reservation.
Twice in the last twelve years, Santa Clara's forest lands have been
devastated by catastrophic fires that began on adjacent federal lands,
once in 1998 by the Oso Complex Fire, which burned about 3150 acres of
our land on the north side of Santa Clara Canyon, and more importantly
in 2000, by the Cerro Grande Fire, which began as a controlled burn at
Bandelier National Monument, but quickly spread through portions of the
City of Los Alamos and burned 40,000 acres of highly overgrown Santa Fe
National Forest lands before wiping out more than 7000 acres of Santa
Clara forest. Since the Cerro Grande disaster, while doing our best to
restore the burned areas, including the planting of approximately 1.7
million new seedlings, we have redoubled our efforts to see that our
unburned forest lands are maintained in such a way that any fire that
reaches them will be more manageable and less likely to result in the
total destruction of the forest, through controlled burns, thinning
projects, understory removal and other advanced forestry techniques.
I mention this to explain why we have a very acute interest in the
management and condition of the forest lands in the northeast quadrant
of the Preserve, adjacent to Popii Khanu. We already have a good track
record with the Forest Service in working on projects on Preserve
forest lands. We have been involved in several fire control and
suppression and habitat restoration projects within the Preserve in the
last several years, and we thus have substantial familiarity with the
area already. We believe that in general, the condition of much of that
area is just as problematic as were the conditions in the areas of the
Santa Fe National Forest that stoked the ferocity of the Cerro Grande
Fire. For example, areas of the Preserve near Santa Clara's lands are
heavily overstocked, with up to 4000 tree stems per acre (most less
than five inches in diameter), rather than the 150-200 per acre that
reflects a healthy forest. In addition, we see evidence on the Preserve
of spruce budworm disease and other unhealthy conditions. These
conditions directly threaten Santa Clara's adjacent lands, especially
Popii Khanu and the rest of Santa Clara Canyon, one of the most
pristine and ecologically intact watersheds in New Mexico, as well as
the health of vast areas of the Preserve that would be affected by tree
kills or catastrophic fires in the upland areas. We would very much
like to do what we can to help reduce those threats on the Preserve
lands.
We have very recently been reminded that these threats are by no
means hypothetical. Just three weeks ago, lightning started a fire
along the South Fork of Polvadera Creek, just to the northwest of Popii
Khanu, that became known as the South Fork Fire. That fire quickly
spread to thousands of acres just north of the Preserve boundary and
Popii Khanu, and a Santa Fe National Forest spokesperson acknowledged
that there was ``tons of fuel'' in the area for the fire to feed on.
That fire spread to nearly 17,000 acres before being largely contained.
Our crews have been assisting in fighting the fire, and thankfully, it
did not pose a serious threat to any Santa Clara lands. But the danger
plainly is there.
santa clara's repeated efforts to assist in managing preserve forests
When we first acquired Popii Khanu, in 2000, we and the Forest
Service exchanged mutual Conservation and Access Easements, covering
approximately 370 acres of Santa Clara land and nearly 1200 acres of
Preserve land along our common border. The easements generally limit
public access, prohibit construction of most types of improvements,
restrict tree removal and ground-disturbing activity, and in other ways
preserve the natural environment on both sides of the border. They also
contain various provisions intended to protect Pueblo traditional
practices in both easement areas. The Pueblo proposed including in the
easements more detailed language regarding forest management practices
in the easement areas, but the Forest Service was unwilling to agree to
that language. Regardless, the easements contain important provisions
regarding use of the easement areas, and we do believe that S. 3452
should contain language making clear that nothing in the bill would
supersede or otherwise limit any provision of the Conservation and
Access Easement granted by the United States to Santa Clara with
respect to the easement area on the Preserve side of the boundary.
Another opportunity for Santa Clara to become involved in
management of the Preserve's forest lands arose in 2004, when Congress
passed the Tribal Forest Protection Act, now codified at 25 U.S.C.
Sec. 3115a. That Act permits a tribe to request the Secretary of
Agriculture to enter into an agreement with the tribe by which the
tribe could engage in management activities on Forest Service lands
adjacent to tribal lands, when those federal lands have direct ties to
the tribal community, in situations where the condition of the Forest
Service lands poses a fire, disease or other threat to the tribal
forest lands and they are in need of restoration activities. We have
submitted a request pursuant to this Act to the Santa Fe National
Forest for such an agreement with respect to Santa Fe National Forest
and Valles Caldera National Preserve lands adjacent to Santa Clara
lands, and we had hoped to be able to finalize an appropriate agreement
in the very near future. This would enable us to bring our forest
management skills directly to bear on the adjacent federal lands,
including forest lands within the Preserve, on a long-term basis, both
to improve those lands and also to reduce the threat that they pose to
Santa Clara's lands.
tribal forest protection act should continue to be applicable to
preserve
But the Tribal Forest Protection Act does not apply to lands under
the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. We are extremely
concerned, thus, that S. 3452 in its present form would jeopardize our
ability to enter into a cooperative management agreement under the
provisions of the Tribal Forest Protection Act to help improve the
condition of Preserve forest lands, and thereby protect our lands from
the threats posed by their current condition. We therefore would very
much urge the Committee to include in the bill language that would make
the provisions of 25 U.S.C. Sec. 3115a directly applicable to the
Preserve lands, or at least those lying within six miles of the
boundary of Santa Clara's Popii Khanu land. We believe that with our
demonstrated skills in proper forest management, we could do much to
greatly improve the health of the forested lands on the Preserve.
Indeed, we would very much appreciate the opportunity to enter into a
broader co-management agreement with the Park Service that would allow
us to work with the Service on forestry and other natural resource
issues throughout the Preserve. Somewhat similar agreements have been
authorized in New Mexico between the Pueblo of Sandia and the Forest
Service for the west face of the Sandia Mountain, and between the
Pueblo of Cochiti and BLM for management of the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks
National Monument. We are well aware of the extent of understaffing in
the Park Service, as in many other federal agencies, and we genuinely
believe that our resources, skills and experience could be of
significant value to the Park Service in helping to protect the health
and the long-term security of this important property.
santa clara opposes repeal of vcpa provision re popii khanu lands
Finally, we have a very specific concern as to Section 5 of the
bill. Section 5 effectuates the repeal of the Valles Caldera
Preservation Act, simultaneously with the termination of the Valles
Caldera Trust that was established by that Act. The Preservation Act,
at 16 U.S.C. Sec. 698v-2(g), provided the authority for Santa Clara to
acquire Popii Khanu, and it also contains provisions establishing that
those lands are held in trust by the United States for Santa Clara and
are declared to be part of the Santa Clara reservation. We are
concerned that the repeal of these provisions of the Preservation Act
might give rise to an implication that the Pueblo's Popii Khanu lands
are no longer part of its reservation or are no longer held in trust by
the United States, and in other respects could jeopardize their current
status. Additionally, Sec. 698v-2(g)(3) states that if the minerals
underlying Popii Khanu were ever acquired by the United States, they
would not be developed without the Pueblo's consent. The United States
has in fact now acquired the remaining mineral interest, along with the
minerals underlying the Preserve, in a condemnation action that was
just concluded last year. We definitely want the prohibition against
development of those minerals without Pueblo consent to remain on the
books. We therefore urge that Section 5 of S. 3452 contain language
making clear that the provisions of 16 U.S.C. Sec. 698v-2(g) are not
repealed, but will continue in full force and effect notwithstanding
the repeal of the remainder of the Act.
conclusion
Again, we very much appreciate the opportunity to present the views
of the Pueblo of Santa Clara, and we will be happy to continue working
with the Committee and its staff in an effort to see that our views are
reflected to the full extent appropriate in the final version of this
Act. Further, we look forward to working closely with the National Park
Service and others within the Department of the Interior in the
development of the management plan for the Preserve, and we hope, for
the long term, as partners in the management of the Valles Caldera
National Preserve.
Attachment
proposed amendments to s. 3452
1. Page 6, line 10: delete ``and'', and insert thereafter the
following:
(iii) provides for research into Native American cultural and
traditional practices and beliefs concerning the Valles
Caldera, but in a manner that recognizes and respects the
confidentiality of such practices and beliefs, and provides for
means of enlightening visitors to the Preserve as to its
cultural significance to Native American groups; and
Page 6, line 11: change ``(iii)'' to ``(iv)''.
2. Delete subsection 3(k) in its entirety, from Page 10, line 6,
through Page 11, line 4.
In the event the Committee declines to delete this subsection, we
may have suggested language to add that would at least partially
address our concerns.
3. Insert new subsection 3(k) (or 3(l), if existing 3(k) is not
deleted), reading as follows:
(l) FORESTRY PROTECTION AGREEMENTS--Upon request of any
Indian tribe whose forest land abuts the Preserve, which
request would meet the requirements of 25 U.S.C. Sec. 3115a(c)
if the Preserve land were Forest Service or Bureau of Land
Management land, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement or
contract with such Indian tribe for comanagement of Preserve
forest lands, in accordance with the standards and procedures
of 25 U.S.C. Sec. 3115a, treating the Preserve lands as if
they were Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management land for
purposes of such standards and procedures.
4. On page 14, line 17, insert new subsection (c), reading as
follows:
(c) STATUS OF SANTA CLARA LANDS UNAFFECTED-- Notwithstanding
the repeal made by subsection (a), the fee title lands acquired
by the Pueblo of Santa Clara pursuant to the Valles Caldera
Protection Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 698v-2(g)), and any mineral
estate underlying such lands, including any portion of such
mineral estate subsequently acquired by the United States
pursuant to 16 U.S.C. Sec. 398v-2(e), shall continue to be
deemed to be held in trust by the United States for the benefit
of the Pueblo of Santa Clara, and to be part of the Santa Clara
Indian Reservation, and no portion of such mineral estate
underlying such lands shall be developed without the prior
express written consent of the Secretary of the Interior and
the Pueblo of Santa Clara.
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Governor Dasheno. Again,
I think we will go ahead and hear from the remaining 2
witnesses and then have questions of all of the panel members.
Mr. Vesbach, why do you not go right ahead?
STATEMENT OF JEREMY VESBACH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW MEXICO
WILDLIFE FEDERATION, ALBUQUERQUE, NM
Mr. Vesbach. Thank you, Chairman Bingaman, Senator Udall.
Thank you for inviting me to testify today.
I am Jeremy Vesbach, Director of the New Mexico Wildlife
Federation, our State's oldest and largest sportsmen
organization. I am here to testify in support of S. 3452, the
Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act.
The Valles Caldera is one of only 3 super volcanoes in the
U.S. and one of our most spectacular landscapes. In addition to
its unique geology and cultural history, the caldera is of keen
interest to hunters and anglers due to its elk herd and high
mountain trout fishing. Hunters and anglers everywhere
celebrated when the Valles Caldera was purchased by Congress
and protected for the people 10 years ago.
However, at that time, the decision to try out an
experimental management system based on the Presidio in San
Francisco was also implemented. Under this experiment, Valles
Caldera is managed by a wholly owned Federal Government
corporation known as the Trust and overseen by a board of
political appointees who are charged with maximizing revenue to
cover expenses. Very quickly, those of us who hunt and fish
learned, perhaps earlier than members of the general public,
that this system was not going to work for the average citizen.
The first hunting season in 2002 was highly anticipated as
the first chance the general public would ever have to go
hunting in this jewel of the West, but that anticipation turned
sour for hunters when the trust announced it would be charging
access fees of $10,000 to $12,000 for some of the bull elk
hunts. Never before had we seen a plan to charge hunting access
fees on public land so high that it would exclude 99 percent of
citizens from being able to hunt. Not only did this strike
hunters as unfair. This was a marked departure from the basic
American tenet that wildlife belongs to the people and hunting
opportunity is allocated equally for everyone.
That elk hunting plan ran afoul of State law, but the trust
tried several times since then to implement exclusive access
fees for elk hunting and has even tried to change State
wildlife law.
Today the trust is charging $1,950 to access the caldera
for nearly half of the wild turkey hunts, and there is no State
law to prevent this.
If hunters got disillusioned early, I believe the rest of
the public soon followed. Today while neighboring Bandelier
National Monument hosts approximately a quarter of a million
visitors per year, Valles Caldera, an equally spectacular
place, hosts just 17,000. Access fees for fishing are
substantially higher than comparable public lands, but despite
these lower visitor numbers and higher access fees, the budget
earmarked from Congress each year is still much higher than
comparable public lands that serve substantially more visitors.
Local businesses are missing out on the expected economic
benefits. Citizens are frustrated with the lack of access.
Furthermore, the priorities of the board of trustees have
fluctuated greatly as new political appointees take the reins.
It has been 10 years. The public is frustrated. The trust
is a highly unpopular plan to commercialize Valles Caldera, and
simply put, 10 years later, the way forward is clear. It is
time to take a new path and implement a tried and true
management system that we know will work so that we can restore
this land to the people who own it.
Our State Senate nearly 2 years ago passed a memorial with
overwhelming bipartisan support asking the congressional
delegation to look at 3 options for new management of Valles
Caldera: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest
Service, or the U.S. Park Service.
The New Mexico Wildlife Federation supported this approach
and asked that whichever agency turned out to be the best
choice for all the unique needs of Valles Caldera, that hunting
and fishing opportunities be guaranteed to continue and be
brought within reach of the average citizen to enjoy as a
family. We have a petition that was signed by 893 local hunters
supporting this position, and nearly 500 more local hunters
wrote individual letters to the congressional delegation.
I believe that you have approached this question in a
deliberative, open, and fair manner over the course of nearly 2
years and have come up with the only logical conclusion for the
future management of Valles Caldera. Hunting is an important
cultural activity but also an ecological necessity at Valles
Caldera. S. 3452 recognizes that reality and states that
hunting and fishing shall be permitted.
The National Park Service preserve is a model that has been
applied in many places since 1974, most recently at the Great
Sand Dunes National Preserve in Colorado which shares some
unique history with Valles Caldera. The approximately 18
national preserves around the U.S. provide a model that we
agree makes a good fit for the very high visitor demand and
strong public desire for appropriate people management to
ensure the caldera is not overrun or damaged by overuse.
Furthermore, the caldera shares a common border with Bandelier
National Monument, which means the National Park Service has
existing infrastructure already close at hand for interpretive
work and for the science and education programs the public
would like to see expanded.
S. 3452 ensures hunting and fishing opportunities at the
caldera will always be within financial reach of all citizens
and will bring the wildlife management back in line with the
great American tradition of hunting equality. S. 3452 is the
answer the public has been asking for and will restore the
caldera to the people who own it.
I strongly urge Congress to pass the Valles Caldera
National Preserve Management Act. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Vesbach follows:]
Prepared Statement of Jeremy Vesbach, Executive Director, New Mexico
Wildlife Federation, Albuquerque, NM
Chairman Jeff Bingaman, ranking member Lisa Murkowski, and members
of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. I'm
Jeremy Vesbach, Executive Director of the New Mexico Wildlife
Federation (NMWF), our state's oldest and largest sportsmen
organization. NMWF was founded in 1914 by the famous sportsman/
conservationist Aldo Leopold, and helped lead the way to restoration
and sound management of our big game herds and other wildlife species
that we enjoy today. NMWF today represents over 10,000 hunters and
anglers.
I am here today to testify in support S. 3452, the Valles Caldera
National Preserve Management Act introduced by New Mexico's Senators,
Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall.
The Valles Caldera is one of America's most unique and spectacular
landscapes. It is one of only 3 supervolcanoes in the United States and
the oldest of the three. Only the Yellowstone supervolcano is larger
and Valles Caldera has often been referred to as ``New Mexico's
Yellowstone.'' If you ever go there you will quickly realize that this
is an accurate description of this beautiful landscape and national
treasure.
In addition to its unique geology, the Valles Caldera also has a
long and valuable cultural history that continues today, and this great
valley is of keen interest to hunters and anglers due to its
outstanding elk herd and high mountain trout fishing. For generations
upon generations hunters have found success and inspiration in the
Valles Caldera, and hunters and anglers everywhere celebrated when the
land was purchased by Congress and protected for the people in 2001.
However, at that time Congress also put in place at the Valles
Caldera an experimental management system based on the Presidio in San
Francisco, California. Under this experiment, Valles Caldera is managed
by a wholly owned federal government corporation (the Trust) overseen
by a board of political appointees, known as the Board of Trustees and
charged with maximizing revenue to cover expenses. Very quickly, those
of us who hunt and fish learned, perhaps earlier than other members of
the public, that this system was not going to work for the average
citizen.
The first hunting season in 2002 was highly anticipated as the
first chance the general public would ever have to go hunting in this
jewel of the west. But that anticipation quickly turned sour for local
hunters when the trust announced it would be charging access fees of
$10,000 to $12,000 for some of the bull elk hunts. All the other bull
hunts were to be raffled where some individuals could buy hundreds of
dollars worth of chances, getting much higher odds to hunt than those
citizens of average means. Never before had we seen a plan to charge
hunting access fees on public land that would exclude 99 percent of the
people from hunting.
Never before had we seen preferential treatment for those of
greater financial means to get the best hunts or better chances for
hunting on public land. Not only did this strike hunters as unfair,
this was a marked departure from the basic American tenet in the North
American Model of Wildlife Management that wildlife belongs to the
people, and hunting opportunity in our great Nation is equally
available for all our citizens.
If hunters were disillusioned early, the rest of the public was
soon to follow. Today while neighboring Bandelier National Monument
hosts approximately a quarter of a million visitors per year, Valles
Caldera--an equally spectacular place--hosts just 17,000 annual
visitors. Access fees for a half-day of fishing are substantially
higher than other public lands. Yet, despite these low visitor numbers
and high access fees, the budget appropriated from congress each year
is still nearly $1 million higher than comparable public lands that
serve a much greater visitor load. Local businesses are missing out on
the expected economic benefits, citizens are frustrated with the lack
of access. Furthermore, the priorities of the Board of Trustees have
fluctuated greatly as new political appointees take the reins. When I
or other members of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation are out tabling
at hunting or fishing shows or talking with local hunters, one of the
most frequent issues raised by hunters and anglers was the need to
change the system at Valles Caldera--and not let any other public lands
be managed this way.
After that first experiment in 2002, where the Trust charged ultra-
high access fees to hunt on public land, some astute leaders at NMWF
determined that it was actually a violation of state law--and NMWF was
able to stop that system, but only temporarily.
In 2008, under more pressure to raise money, the Trust presented a
new plan to the State Game Commission in which it would charge $7,500
or more for elk hunting access fees on the best hunts. Following a
massive outcry from hunters, our State Game Commission refused to
cooperate with the plan. The Trust then went to our state legislature
in 2009 and tried to change state law so that they would be able to
charge these exclusive access fees. The state legislature rejected this
proposal, but it was disturbing to many of us that an experimental and
wholly owned federal government corporation, overseen by presidential
appointees and funded by congress, had tried so hard to change New
Mexico state law regarding wildlife.
The Trust has retained the plan to charge ultra-high access fees
for a portion of the elk hunts and there are ways that the Trust could
implement these exclusive hunting fees without state approval. In fact
the Trust's ``Revenue Enhancement Plan'' also involves construction of
a 20-unit luxury hunting lodge on our public land that would only be
available for those able and willing to pay the exclusive access fees.
The Trust's revenue enhancement plan also included other massive
developments of the Valles Caldera, much of it geared towards a lower
number of very high-paying visitors. Despite public outcry, the Trust
said it would move forward with the plans. This is the point when the
Trust presented a choice for the American People: either move forward
with a plan to commercialize one of our great national treasures and
make it a playground geared towards an elite few, or change the
management system entirely.
Today, the only other type of hunting currently allowed on Valles
Caldera is wild turkey hunting. On nearly half of the turkey hunts on
Valles Caldera, the Trust is charging almost $2,000 each for our
citizens to access their own public land to go turkey hunting.
Unfortunately, there is no state law to stop this. S. 3452 will end
this system of preference and exclusiveness on Valles Caldera.
Imagine if this model were applied to other of our nation's great
treasures, and only those of the greatest financial means were able to
enjoy the best opportunities on our great publicly owned places? This
is not what our public lands are for, and understandably our State
Senate nearly two years ago passed a memorial on a vote of 32-3 with
overwhelming bi-partisan support, asking our congressional delegation
to look at three options for new management at Valles Caldera--the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Park
Service--and transfer management of the Valles Caldera over to the
professional natural resource agency best designed to fit all the
unique needs.
NMWF strongly supported this approach and asked that whichever
agency turned out to be the best choice for Valles Caldera, that
hunting and fishing opportunities be guaranteed to continue and be
brought within financial reach of the average citizen to enjoy with
their family. Those of us most familiar with Valles Caldera believe
that hunting is an absolute necessity and integral to the overall
management and health of the land, in addition to its cultural value.
S. 3452 recognizes these realities. It guarantees that hunting and
fishing shall continue, and will restore this land to the people--all
the people.
I believe our Senators have approached this question in a
deliberative, open and fair manner over the past two years and have
come up with the only logical conclusion for the future management of
Valles Caldera.
Hunters, anglers and professional natural resource managers have
asked that hunting and fishing be mandated to continue and S. 3452
guarantees that.
Citizens are clamoring for more opportunity to experience the
Preserve, but are also saying loudly and clearly ``don't let it be
over-run,'' and, ``don't let it be loved to death.'' Citizens are
extremely concerned that the Caldera could be destroyed by over-use.
The National Park Service (NPS) is best equipped in New Mexico to
provide appropriate ``people management'' to protect a place with
incredibly high visitor demand from over-use while also opening it to
one and all. The NPS is already managing large numbers of visitors at
Bandelier National Monument, which shares a common border with the
Valles Caldera.
The cultural and geological history of the Valles Caldera is unique
in the world. Citizens want to see the science and education programs,
a positive legacy started by the Trust, to be expanded. Citizens want
interpretive work on the Valles Caldera ready to serve visitors and
explain the unique natural and cultural heritage of the Caldera. All
these demands fit best within the mission of the NPS, which is already
doing this same type of work at neighboring Bandelier National Monument
and can expand and share resources from Bandelier.
The National Park Service Preserve is a model that has been applied
in many states since 1974, most recently at the Great Sand Dunes
National Preserve in Colorado. The approximately 18 NPS Preserves
around the U.S. provide a model we have investigated and we agree is a
good fit for the variety of needs that must be met at the Valles
Caldera.
For all these reasons I believe that Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom
Udall have made the only logical and appropriate choice for the people
of New Mexico and the nation to fully experience, enjoy and protect
this great national treasure. It is time to put Valles Caldera fully in
the hands of the people, while ensuring its value for future
generations. I urge Congress to pass S. 3452.
The Chairman. Thank you very much for your testimony.
Mr. Wismer is the Chair of the county council in Los
Alamos, New Mexico. We very much welcome you here. Go right
ahead.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL E. WISMER, CHAIRMAN, LOS ALAMOS COUNTY
COUNCIL, LOS ALAMOS, NM
Mr. Wismer. Thank you, Chairman Bingaman, Senator Udall. It
is a pleasure to represent the community of Los Alamos in these
hearings and to provide testimony relative to S. 3452.
I am here today to tell you that or to testify to you that
the community of Los Alamos and its surrounding neighbors
strongly support inclusion of the Valles Caldera in the
National Park Service as set forth in S. 3452.
In addition to the cultural and natural resources of
national significance, it offers an academic research
opportunity that promises benefit for both present and future
generations.
As you know, the Los Alamos community shares a border with
this unique site. We are both proud and protective of the
Valles Caldera. Those of us like myself who have been able to
gain limited access to these 89,000 acres to hike, bike, hunt,
fish, and photograph its beauty are eager to return and share
our experience. At the same time, there is a general
understanding that access must be managed so that the assets
that make this landmark so special are protected.
The permanent preservation and professional management of
the preserve would benefit not only New Mexico but also the
Nation at large. Inclusion of the preserve in the National Park
System would draw a national audience to enhance the area's
recreational activity and increase visitation, resulting in
support for northern New Mexico tourism and tourism within the
county.
I wish to express to the committee members that our
community held a number of very actively participated-in public
sessions. We held listening sessions throughout the community.
In April, the county government passed a resolution unanimously
supporting this S. based on the input from the community. There
is widespread support in Los Alamos for this decision and this
bill.
The preserve's proximity to Bandelier National Monument
presents a unique opportunity to consolidate management of the
2 areas and generate cost savings. Joint management of these 2
park sites will serve to enhance communication and integrate
management programs that require a regional approach such as
fire management, law enforcement, and emergency response.
With respect to the issue of fire management, which is of
concern to all of us in northern New Mexico, we would also
encourage continuation of the efforts that the Valles Caldera
Trust has initiated relative to the Title IV of the Omnibus
Public Land Management Act of 2009 which established the
collaborative forest landscape restoration program, of which
the Valles Caldera Trust has partnered with the Santa Fe
National Forest to achieve grants for one of the stated
purposes of that legislation, which is to facilitate the
reduction of wildfire management costs. We would encourage
consideration as the assets are assumed into the National Park
Service, should this bill come to fruition, that that effort be
continued and that liaison with the Santa Fe National Forest
continue.
We believe the National Park Service's 94 years of land
planning and management experience qualifies them to ensure the
preserve's continued viability, protect local cultural
heritage, and promote appreciation and access to this precious
site by current and future generations.
We support--we strongly support--your effort to enact new
legislation that assigns management of the preserve to the
National Park Service, making this the 19th preserve in the
National Park System.
Thank you, Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Wismer follows:]
Prepared Statement of Michael E. Wismer, Chairman, Los Alamos County
Council, Los Alamos, NM
Thank you, Chairman Bingaman, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members
of the Committee for the opportunity to be here today. I appreciate the
opportunity to discuss S.3452 to designate the Valles Caldera National
Preserve (``Preserve'') as a unit of the National Park System.
The Incorporated County of Los Alamos, New Mexico (the ``County'')
strongly supports the Preserve's inclusion in the National Park System
under the management of the National Park Service as set forth in S.
3452. In addition to the cultural and natural resources of national
significance it offers, the Preserve also abounds with recreational,
educational and academic research opportunities that promise to benefit
both present and future generations.
The Los Alamos community shares a border with this unique site. We
are both proud and protective of the Valles Caldera. Those of us who
have been able to gain limited access to these 89,000 acres to hike,
bike, hunt, fish or photograph its beauty are eager to return and share
our experience. At the same time, there is a general understanding that
access must be managed so that the assets that make this landmark so
special are protected.
The permanent preservation and professional management of the
Preserve would benefit not only New Mexico but also the nation at
large. Inclusion of the Preserve in the National Park System would draw
a national audience to enhance the area's recreational activity and
increase visitation, resulting in support for Northern New Mexico
tourism and tourism within the County.
Although the Preserve currently contains 35 miles of designated
trails and supports a spectrum of recreational activities, visitation
rates for the area have remained below those typically expected for an
area of this size and significance, as indicated by recent NPS
findings. Management by the NPS could expand unrestricted public access
and provide for facilities essential to public enjoyment. Increased
public use of, and appreciation for, the Preserve will result in
increased demand for recreation and convenience goods and related
services, thereby positively impacting the Los Alamos, Jemez Springs
and the Northern New Mexico economy, stimulating growth in the area,
and creating sustainable economic development. Importantly, the
Preserve's size will ensure continued support for both public enjoyment
and sustainable resource protection into the future.
Enhanced public access to the Preserve is also likely to uphold its
educational, cultural and scenic values. This relatively unspoiled
resource would further expand and enhance the diversity of volcanic
sites represented by other parks in the National Park System, as one of
the best intact examples of a resurgent caldera in the world. Further,
the Preserve uncovers a unique cultural history with many sites of
special significance to Native American communities. There are
currently 485 documented historic and archaeological sites in the
Preserve. In addition, the Preserve has set up important facilities
that educate visitors and the community that must be continued such as
the new Science Education Center in Jemez Springs.
On March 4th and 9th the County Council held public hearings on the
Valles Caldera. Key issues raised by the community include the need to
protect the Preserve while providing access and the need to continue to
permit historical hunting and fishing privileges. Further, many people
expressed the importance of providing recreational access for hiking,
camping and biking access traditionally allowed by the National Park
Service.
On April 6th of this year, following weeks of extensive vetting
with the public and the two formal public hearings, the County Council
unanimously approved a resolution recommending the transfer of
management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve from the Valles
Caldera Trust to the National Park Service under the U.S. Department of
the Interior--to be managed as a preserve.
Congress has designated just a handful of preserves under the
National Park Service, including New Mexico's own White Sands National
Monument. As confirmed by the Park Service's own assessment, the Valles
Caldera's size, configuration and relatively unspoiled landscape of
mountain forests and grassland valleys ensure long-term public
enjoyment and sustainable resource protection--making it a perfect fit
for the National Park system.
Furthermore, the Preserve's close proximity to the Bandelier
National Monument presents a unique opportunity to consolidate
management of the two areas and generate cost savings. Joint management
of these two park sites will serve to enhance communication and
integrate management programs that require a regional approach, such as
fire management, law enforcement, and emergency response.
As shown in the Updated Report on the NPS 1979 New Area Study,
published a couple of months ago, the Preserve contains nationally
significant resources, is suitable for inclusion in the National Park
System, and can feasibly be managed by the NPS. Further, there is
demonstrated public interest and support for transferring the
Preserve's management to the NPS. Thus, the Preserve meets the required
criteria for inclusion in the National Park System.
We urge Congress to expedite the transfer of management of the
Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service so that
the NPS can offer responsible public access without legislative
constraints as part of a temporary plan, while conducting its
comprehensive, public planning process for the future.
We believe that the National Park Service's 94 years of land
planning and management experience qualifies them to ensure the
Preserve's continued viability, protect local cultural heritage, and
promote appreciation of and access to this precious site--by current
and future generations.
We support your effort to enact new legislation that assigns
management of the Preserve to the NPS, making this the nineteenth
preserve in the National Park System.
The Chairman. Thank you very much for your testimony.
Let me defer to Senator Udall at this point to make his
opening statement. He was not able to be here. I think he was
presiding over the Senate when we started the hearing. So why
do you not go ahead with that and then go ahead with your
questions? I will come after you.
STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL, U.S. SENATOR
FROM NEW MEXICO
Senator Udall. Thank you very much, Senator Bingaman.
You are correct. I wanted to be here from the beginning,
but I was presiding over the Senate. I was unable to find a
substitute.
But it is wonderful to arrive and, Senator Bingaman, always
a pleasure to work with you on a piece of legislation. Your
staff has been remarkable, and your committee staff.
All the witnesses today, thank you for your testimony.
Today we are gathered to discuss the future of one of New
Mexico's and our Nation's finest treasures, the Valles Caldera.
I would like to acknowledge those--I have acknowledged our
witnesses here but also acknowledge those who are not
participating directly in the hearing but have contributed and
continue to contribute suggestions on improving the legislation
under consideration today, most especially the employees of the
Valles Caldera Trust, many of whom have submitted suggestions
and worked with my staff and Senator Bingaman's staff to
improve the bill. The direct knowledge of the landscape, the
resources, and the workings of the caldera that these
individuals hold is fundamental to making this the best
possible legislation for the long-term sustainability of the
preserve. I greatly appreciate the efforts of the trust's staff
to work with congressional staff on this legislation.
I also greatly appreciate the years of dedicated service
that these individuals have given to the Valles Caldera and the
management experiment that they have been a part of. I know
that the work of these trust employees is a labor of love and I
applaud their dedication to the natural wonders of the caldera.
Should this legislation become law, I look forward to
continuing to work with those currently employed by the trust
to ensure a smooth transition to the Park Service.
An icon of the Jemez Mountains, the Valles Caldera is 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 with humility that we take on the great
responsibility of determining the best course of management of
the area.
Volcanic activity began in the Jemez Mountains about 10
million years ago. This activity reached a climax about 1.5
million years ago with a series of eruptions that dropped
hundreds of meters of volcanic ash for miles surrounding the
caldera and gave the surrounding area its distinctive
landscapes of pink and white tuff overlaying the black basalt
of the Rio Grande rift.
For generations innumerable, the Valles Caldera has been a
part of the life of the pueblo tribes of northern New Mexico,
and we saw that exhibited today in our 2 pueblo Governors'
testimony, Governor Madalena and Governor Dasheno. Today the
caldera continues to have important cultural and religious
significance, something that must and will be respected and
protected should the preserve move into the management of the
National Park Service.
With the heavy mandate of self-sufficiency looming over the
annual struggle to get sufficient funding for the caldera,
Senator Bingaman and I have proposed a new direction for the
caldera, and as a new unit of the National Park Service, the
National preserve will have a sustainable future with greater
access to the public. Since 1939, the National Park Service has
conducted numerous studies of the Valles Caldera. In each, the
Park Service consistently deemed the area of significant
national value because of its unique and unaltered geology and
its singular setting. In the legislation under consideration
today, the Secretary of the Interior is directed to continue
the longstanding grazing, education, and hunting programs that
so many New Mexicans value as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
By utilizing the resources and skills within the National Park
Service, I believe the Valles Caldera National Preserve will
continue to prosper as a natural wonder full of significant
geology, ecology, history, and culture.
We have already heard from the witnesses, and Senator
Bingaman, I will maybe ask a question or 2 and then I am
looking forward to your questions and looking forward to the
answers.
The Chairman. Go right ahead.
Senator Udall. Governor Dasheno, in your testimony you
mentioned the coordination that the Pueblo of Santa Clara has
had with the Forest Service in the forests that border the
pueblo lands. I have actually, I think, been up there with you
on those lands when we worked on the original idea of having
your religious lands when the Baca purchase was made, that they
become a part of your pueblo and the Lannan Foundation, I
think, facilitated that.
Could you describe this coordination and how the pueblo was
able to coordinate such agreements with the Forest Service?
Mr. Dasheno. Senator, let me just give you another piece of
information that just recently happened. As you are aware,
there is the South Fork fire going on in New Mexico, and it
abuts our reservation to the north. The fire team was supported
through the efforts of a type 2 team under the leadership of
Clay Templin, who is the manager for the fire team from Arizona
in the southwest area. They brought in a team to provide all
the things that we identified, cultural protection, watershed
protection, and coordination and support through our efforts
with the Pueblo of Santa Clara. This was truly a team effort
that took place, and they addressed all of these issues that we
talked about, cultural resources protection, advice, all those
things that require fire management.
So it started not just at this point, but in the past we
have had arrangements with the Forest Service to help us do
some tree thinning projects. We have had opportunities where we
coordinate management agreements on what we feel are concerns
as far as partnerships. As a matter of fact, we have a
management agreement called the Valles Caldera Protection Act
which somewhat protects the cultural and the forest resources
that we have. As late as this morning, we met with the Forest
Service and we talked about a new agreement that we would like
to introduce that gives us more latitude and more flexibility
and working in partnership and doing some major thinning
efforts because right now, as I mentioned in my oral testimony,
there are literally thousands of acres of forest lands that
need to be thinned out. In talking with our local district
manager, he said that they would support our efforts. We talked
to the area manager, they would support our efforts.
So, Senator Bingaman, our history with the Forest Service
goes back many, many years. So all I can say is that they have
done good projects with all of us, and as late as this year,
through funding assistance under ARRA, they funded a major
project to do some work for us and with us in the Santa Clara
Pueblo area. So that is the relationship that we have had with
the Forest Service.
Senator Udall. Thank you, Governor Dasheno.
Governor Madalena, can you describe for the committee the
difficulties that the Jemez Pueblo has had over time in
accessing the religious and cultural sites in the Valles
Caldera and was the pueblo able to access religious sites and
conduct ceremonies when the caldera was in private ownership
which preceded the preserve? Is there any need for more access
to the caldera than currently exists under the trust?
Mr. Madalena. Thank you, Senator Udall. I think one of the
things that we all need to understand is we, as Jemez people,
one of the most important things that we cherish is the Valles
Caldera. The Valles Caldera, like I said in my testimony, is
the mother who we are. It sustains us and has sustained us for
thousands of years. Wavema is the heart of our people. It is
the Redondo Peak, as you call it. It is what gives us life. It
is what gives us strength. It is what gives us courage. It is
what gives us our identity.
Earlier we talked about fire and the fire restorations and
thinning. You folks see it as a fire. We see it as destruction
of our herbal gathering areas, destruction of our cultural
properties, destruction of our headwaters because the Rio
Jemez, the headwaters, is within the Valles Caldera. It has
sustained us and that is why we cherish it and consider it a
cathedral.
I think one of the most important things that we also need
to understand is that when that destruction happens, the water
flows down into the pueblo that has been contaminated by the
fire and we consume it. We irrigate our fields with the water
that has been contaminated. So thinning is a big concern.
Restoration is a big concern.
Like I stated, we support the bill under numerous
conditions and we also have filed our testimony with a longer
version to you folks.
For centuries, our elders, our ancestors suffered a great
deal when it came under private ownership. We were not allowed
to practice our way of life, practice our tradition and
culture, what gives us our identity. We have our freedom of
religion that continued to be violated and violated and
violated, and our people continued to suffer. When our
traditional ways and values are violated and we no longer
practice our way of life through our dances, sing in our own
language, our people suffer because we as Indian people,
especially as Jemez people, when we do our dances, we are also
praying for all of you folks. We are praying for the world.
As time came, you folks call it property. We call it our
mother. It continued to be transferred from one entity to the
next, and one of the things that we kept saying as the Jemez
people is that we have gods, we have kachinas, we have the
spirits that are within the caldera that you folks continue to
transfer from one entity to the next. You continue to anger the
gods, the kachinas, the spirits. When we die as Jemez people,
our spirits will live among the Valles Caldera continuing to
bless my people and all of you. So as the Valles Caldera
transfers from one property to the next, I think the greatest
thing that happened was at that point in time and juncture was
it was transferred to the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
We support the Valles Caldera. We have had a great
relationship with the Valles Caldera. They have allowed us to
do our dances, to do our songs, to do our rituals, do our
ceremonies within the preserve. But we as the Jemez people
continue to look in the future for our children and their
children and their children because we will continue to stay
here. We will stay. We will live in Jemez. The Jemez Mountains
will always be the Jemez Mountains. The preserve will always be
our mother. We will always do our dances and songs and our
rituals on the caldera as we have done for hundreds and
thousands of years.
The National Park Service, as you understand, is a concern
because the National Park Service are about bringing the public
into an area where they have no understanding. They do not
understand what we know and how we cherish and how we worship
this area. The National Park Service bring in the public and we
are talking about hundreds and thousands of people where our
ancestors are living, where we have tribal cultural properties
by the thousands. So it is a concern for the Jemez people. For
the Jemez living in Walatowa today, by force we live in
Walatowa. If we had a choice, we would continue to roam in the
Jemez Mountains today. We hope that 1 day that we can go back
to our mother. We all cherish our mothers. We want to go back
home.
But we have also got to talk about today and the future,
its protection. We conditionally support the bill, but we also
support the Valles Caldera Preserve because they have done a
wonderful job in supporting our needs. I was told recently that
this bill will allow you Jemez people to no longer do your
worshipping in the dark. You have admitted that you are
allowing or have pushed Jemez to worship in the dark and that
we will no longer worship in the dark and that will worship in
the light. It should have been that way from time immemorial as
we had done before the European contact in the area.
So my answer to all of your questions is that we will do
what is in the best interest for the pueblo of Jemez for our
people, and we are doing it also for our ancestors. Our
ancestors continue to ask for those lands to be returned, but
they were denied, as I stated earlier, even with the access.
We have an excellent working relationship as well with the
Jemez ranger district. The Forest Service has also done a
wonderful job to meet the needs of the Jemez people. But
always, always, Senators, there is always a funding issue. I
believe the Valles Caldera was already set up to fail in the
beginning because of the limited amount of funding that was
provided to them and for them to sustain themselves the best
way they could, and they did the best they could.
But we also as the Jemez people have got to take a look
at--as stated earlier, I want to make sure that the herbs, the
medicine that is within the Valles Caldera also be protected
for the Jemez people because we will continue to consume those
medicines and those herbs for thousands of years that we will
continue to live in those areas. We are going to stay. We are
staying.
So, Senator Udall, I hope I answered your questions.
Senator Udall. Thank you, Governor Madalena. I want to
thank both Governors and the religious leaders that came from
Jemez to be here with us and the blessings that they brought
upon this committee hearing.
You have raised clearly some very important issues. We want
to work with you on those issues in this legislation, as we
have been doing leading up to this hearing and as will happen
subsequent to the hearing.
So with that, Senator Bingaman, let me just thank you once
again for allowing me to participate in this. You have been an
excellent partner. I think we have worked on this for many,
many years. So I am finished with my first round here, and if
we have time, maybe I will ask a few additional questions.
The Chairman. Thank you and thanks for the good work you
have done on this and all the other joint efforts we undertake
here.
Let me just ask each of the Governors a question. Governor
Dasheno, one of the interactions that Santa Clara Pueblo has
with the Park Service is with Bandelier National Monument. As I
understand it, the Park Service has a tribal outreach program
where they have affiliated pueblos that work with them in
connection with Bandelier Monument.
Have you had experience with that? Do you think that has
worked? Do you think something like that is useful? If this
were to become part of the responsibility of the Park Service,
should that occur here as well?
Mr. Dasheno. Senator Bingaman, certainly we look forward to
what will be done. Of course, as part of this process, one
recommendation that we will make is to possibly look at an
opportunity to be part of the management team. We talk about
Federal agencies, but I feel that tribal government should be
part of the management team to be part of what recommendations
would be developed.
Just Monday before I came, I met with the superintendent
from Bandelier, and we talked specifically on this question.
What do we do should transfer occur with the Valles Caldera? We
have an agreement in place, but I suggested to him that I want
to go beyond that. I want to develop a long-term partnership in
terms of what we do and what we look at, programs such as
interpretation, programs such as accessibility, programs such
as cultural protection, programs such as farm management,
programs such as exchange programs where we have some of our
tribal people to be trained in how to manage these types of
resources.
So, Senator Bingaman, I do support what you are suggesting,
and we have talked about that with the superintendent as of
this past Monday. So we already have an existing agreement in
place, but we are going to expand that not specifically just
because of Valles Caldera but because of what relationship I
feel we need to become better partners with the National Park
Service because there are issues that we face. We have had a
good relationship. We do not necessarily always agree, but we
do not necessarily always disagree either. So I feel that this
is a challenge for all of us to begin to become better partners
in this process.
But I also feel that the Forest Service should also be a
part of this partnership because of the Tribal Forest
Protection Act. There are issues that are in place that need to
be considered.
So with that, Senator Bingaman, I certainly appreciate what
you are doing. Obviously, our concerns are to work with both of
you and to see what we can do to make sure that all of these
issues are encompassed in this partnership between Federal,
State, and local communities and local governments, including
ourselves. This truly could become a partnership that includes
and expands into co-management. We talked about co-management
as an issue. So there is co-management that could be introduced
to expand on what the plan is going to be for the future. I
realize that it is going to take up to 3 years to develop a
plan and to incorporate an implementation package. So I hope
that when it becomes a reality, that we will be at the table
with all of you and all of us working together.
Thank you very much.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Governor Madalena, let me ask you about the provisions in
current law, as well as in the proposed bill, related to
development or motorized access particularly on Redondo Peak
but other of the volcanic domes and peaks in the preserve as
well. As I understand it, current law really has some
protection in there above 10,000 feet with regard to Redondo
Peak but nothing with regard to other peaks and domes in the
Valles Caldera.
What are your thoughts on those restrictions and whether
they are adequate in what we have proposed or whether they
should be different?
Mr. Madalena. Chairman Bingaman, I believe that one of the
issues that we had discussed previously in our meetings is that
Jemez' recommendation was to lower the elevation and protect
all of the peaks and all of the domes within the Valles Caldera
because all of them are sacred to the Jemez people, and we
continue to go on these domes and peaks to worship and pay
tribute to our spirits. I think one of the things that I had
made a recommendation to you folks was for the Jemez people
that the elevation be dropped down to the base of each peak,
and I believe that your compromise or in the bill it states it
was dropped down to 9,250, which also protects the other domes
in the area which we really do appreciate.
I think one of the things that we are very concerned is
motorized vehicles are not allowed above 9,250. Our concern is
the National Park Service will bring in hundreds of thousands
of people and not understanding Jemez' way of life and our
culture and the tribal cultural properties that are within the
thousands in those areas will be desecrated. Right now, the
Jemez people believe that we also need to implement or amend
the bill to add that no hiking be allowed above 9,250 with
respect to the Jemez and all of the cultural properties that we
have in these areas. We wish that the domes themselves, the
peaks would be protected down to the base because from the top
down to the base are medicinal herbal gathering areas when we
do our religious activities. So it concerns us greatly that
these areas will be trampled by people out of curiosity as
western civilization is always curious about the first people,
the Native Americans, especially the pueblo people, the Jemez
people. So those are the areas that really concern us.
With respect to the bill, I would like for the Jemez to
continue to be consulted and continue to be on the table when
these discussions are going to be spoken. I think that was the
request before, but I do believe that I stated earlier we have
testimony that we filed, a longer version, and many concerns
that we have within the Valles Caldera.
So one of the things that we totally do not want is access
to these domes and peaks, especially during the times when we
close these areas because we will definitely close these areas
because the curiosities are always around taking photographs.
It is of great desecration to do that.
The western civilization is always curious on how we live
our lives and how we practice our way of life.
We continue to provide offerings and tribute to the great
spirits so they can continue to provide us with sustenance and
also we are always paying tribute on behalf of you Senators and
the United States of America from President Obama, Congress, to
all of the communities within what we call the United States of
America.
Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Senator Udall, did you have additional questions?
Senator Udall. I wanted to ask Chairman Wismer. You know,
your county has interacted with Bandelier National Monument,
and you have experience with that. Based on the county's
interaction with the Park Service at the monument, what kind of
difficulties or successes would you expect to experience with a
new unit of the Park Service at the Valles Caldera?
Mr. Wismer. Thank you, Senator, for that question.
Yes, we have engaged in many aspects with the staff of the
Bandelier National Monument and with their superintendent.
Based on the hearings that we had and the very vocal public
input that we had, I would answer that question by saying we do
not anticipate very many problems at all. In fact, Senator, we
would believe that the requirement that is put in the
legislation for consultation and collaboration with the public
and the pueblos will satisfy the need to work with them. We
have discussed the potential management plan that they would
put together and how we could most likely take part in that
management plan because it affects many of our citizens and the
access that they require, and they have been open and
receptive.
Our citizens have also underscored the scientific
management principles that are being used at the Valles Caldera
currently now by the staff, and the Bandelier staff has
embraced a lot of the work that is being done on the preserve
as it is now and that is very satisfactory to our community.
So we anticipate a strong bond and a strong relationship as
this process moves forward of initial opening by the Bandelier
National Monument and then the subsequent 3 years to put
together a management plan that is done in collaboration and
open communication with the entire community.
Senator Udall. Thank you.
Director Vesbach, do you believe that the bill as written
gives adequate protection for continued hunting and angling in
the Valles Caldera under the management of the Park Service?
Mr. Vesbach. Senator Udall, we do believe that. That was a
critical consideration for our support of the bill, and we
believe that the language does guarantee that hunting and
fishing will be permitted on the preserve. Like I said, that is
an ecological necessity in addition to being an important
cultural activity. We have also looked at other national
preserves out there and feel that they are a good model. Big
Thicket, the first one, has recently expanded their hunting
opportunity, and I think as hunters engage with the Park
Service, the Park Service will find that this is a real
necessity on the preserve.
Senator Udall. Have your members had good experiences with
other units of the Park Service in terms of hunting and
angling?
Mr. Vesbach. We spoke with the Colorado Wildlife
Federation, for instance, with Great Sand Dunes National
Preserve, the latest one. They said, yes, there has been good
interaction there. That unit has a national park that you have
to go through to get to the preserve, and that caused some
issues, but the preserve designation itself--what their thought
was if they had made more of it a preserve, it would have been
better. The preserve portion everybody was happy with.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much. Thank you to all the
witnesses today. Thanks again, Chairman Bingaman.
The Chairman. Thank you all very much. It has been useful
testimony, a useful hearing. Thank you again for rearranging
your schedules to be here on short notice. I very much
appreciate that.
We will leave the committee record open for a week, and so
we would ask if you have any additional comments or ideas or
suggestions that you would like to submit to the committee,
please try to do so by the end of business next Wednesday if
possible or by the end of next week. There will still be time.
But we appreciate you all being here, and we will try to
take your good suggestions and take those into our thinking as
we try to proceed forward.
That will conclude our hearing. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 4:07 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
APPENDIXES
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Appendix I
Responses to Additional Questions
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Responses of Hon. Walter Dasheno to Questions From Senator Murkowski
Question 1. In your mind, who would be the best steward of the
Valles Caldera, the Park Service, the State, the Forest Service, or
would you prefer to see the land turned over to the Pueblos jointly
manage?
Answer. We believe that the Park Service is well-suited to manage
the Preserve but as we stated in our testimony, we believe that
involving Santa Clara in co-management of the forested lands would, in
our view, greatly improve the quality of management of those lands.
Question 2. Do you believe the Park Service will continue both
grazing and hunting on the Preserve into the future?
Answer. We expect that the Park Service will manage the Preserve in
accordance with its best judgment as to preservation of the natural
resources there. How that will affect specific activities we are unable
to say.
______
Responses of Daniel N. Wenk to Questions From Senator Bingaman
Question 1. As a result of significant logging when the land was in
private ownership, the forests in the Preserve are in need of
significant restoration work. Can you describe the authority and
experience the National Park Service has to apply to forest restoration
treatments in the Valles Caldera?
Answer. The National Park Service (NPS) and Bandelier National
Monument have a broad range of experience in forest and vegetation
restoration using best available science, monitoring and evaluation,
and adaptive management to achieve approved land management goals.
Forest vegetation restoration programs within Bandelier involve
collaborative efforts from all levels of NPS and focus on ecological
restoration for the long term.
Bandelier continues to use mechanical treatments (thinning),
prescribed fire, and managed fire for ecological benefits. All of these
efforts are in collaboration with park staff, other interagency
partners, and the local community and decisions are directly related to
the fire ecology program. Bandelier staff have experience with
landscape-scale ecological restoration treatments, initiating the
scientific and archeological study of erosion and unnatural fire
conditions on its mesa top landscape consisting of approximately 4,700
acres of pinion juniper woodlands. Bandelier and Santa Fe National
Forest personnel also have a collaborative fire ecology monitoring
program to enable landscape-scale adaptive management related to
vegetation maintenance and restoration.
Question 2. My understanding is that Bandelier National Monument
has participated in the development of a collaborative forest
restoration proposal that has been nominated by regional officials from
the Forest Service and Department of the Interior for possible
selection under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program
(Title IV of P.L. 111-11). A portion of the landscape that is proposed
for restoration treatments is within the Valles Caldera National
Preserve. If the Preserve is transferred to the National Park Service,
could the Park Service implement the portion of the proposal on the
Preserve?
Answer. The NPS can implement forest restoration at the Valles
Caldera National Preserve (Preserve) if assigned responsibility for
that task. The Preserve contains approximately 45 percent of the total
acreage of the Southwest Jemez Mountain project submitted by the Santa
Fe National Forest and Valles Caldera National Preserve under the
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLRA) Program. The
proposal was one of ten selected nationally for funding on August 13,
2010 by the Secretary of the Agriculture. The U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) funded $392,000 for 2010 (for activities on both the Santa Fe
National Forest and Valles Caldera Preserve) and anticipates up to $35
million in funding over the next ten years. Representatives from
Bandelier National Monument have been partners with the USFS, the
Preserve, and others in collaboratively developing the strategy for
forest restoration.
The NPS is a strong supporter of the CFLRA proposal as currently
drafted. Directed toward establishing forest ecological health,
including return of a natural fire regimen, the project envisions a
cooperative effort among land management partners that would improve
treatment effectiveness while reducing costs. Because wildland fire
recognizes no boundaries, restoration of forest ecosystem health and
reduction of the potential for destructive wildland fire will be
important management goals if the Preserve is transferred to NPS.
If S. 3452 is enacted, the NPS would have to develop a funding
strategy for forest restoration at the Preserve. Projects are chosen
competitively based on merit-based criteria.
The potential for carrying out forest restoration at the Preserve
under NPS management, as well as the timing of such an effort, would
not be known until the transfer was completed and initiation of project
fund requests was undertaken.
Responses of Daniel N. Wenk to Questions From Senator Murkowski
The purchase of the Valles Caldera cost the federal government $100
million in 2000. Both in 1979 and in 2009 your agency concluded that
the Baca Ranch would make a good National Park property. Now Senators
Bingaman and Udall have introduced a bill to transfer the lands to your
agency.
Question 1. Can you give me an estimate on the amount of funds the
Park Service has expended on the Valles Caldera Preserve since 2000 in
hard appropriated funding as well as services-in-kind work?
Answer. The National Park Service is a member of the Ecology Group
(Group), comprised of staff from various federal agencies, that has
contributed significant amounts of in-kind work to the Preserve since
2001. The Group collaborates with and contributes to ecological
research on the Preserve, including surveying and helping build an
extensive riparian exclosure; maintaining a Preserve-wide rain gauge
network; mapping prairie dog, beaver, and willow populations; fencing
rare bog birch clumps; scouting and field-collecting hundreds of fire-
scarred tree-ring samples; coordinating and collaborating on the
Preserve's fire program; tracking elk and turkey populations; and
helping with a study of elk calf mortality. Because the Preserve is
directly adjacent to Bandelier National Monument, these projects add to
the information used by the National Park Service in its management of
the Monument. Although it is hard to assess a contributed dollar amount
for just the NPS, the agency has contributed an estimated $30,000 of
in-kind work over the past decade.
Prepared by the NPS Intermountain Regional Office's Planning
Division, in conjunction with various partners, including the Valles
Caldera Trust and the USFS, the Update Report on the NPS 1979 New Area
Study, completed by NPS in December of 2009 at the request of Senators
Bingaman and Tom Udall, cost NPS approximately $22,000 in employee time
and travel.
Question 2. Can you give me an estimate on the cost of bringing the
property up to Park Service standards, including the cost of new
infrastructure such as a visitor's center, etc.
Answer. Based on current expenses for the Preserve and the cost to
operate comparable NPS units, we anticipate the annual cost to operate
and manage the Preserve would be approximately $4 million for annual
operational costs, although more complete cost estimates would be
developed through a General Management Plan. The initial cost to
develop infrastructure, which may include a visitor center, a
maintenance facility, trails, roads and parking, exhibits, could be
about $22 million, but would depend largely on the planning process and
the public's input into that process.
Question 3. Can you compare and contrast the Santa Fe National
Forests fire fighting capabilities with that of the Bandelier National
Park's fire fighting capabilities?
Answer. Bandelier National Monument shares fire management
capabilities and has agreements in place with the Santa Fe National
Forest, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Los Alamos National Lab, New
Mexico State Forestry, and other partners in the Santa Fe Zone to
utilize interagency resources during fires.
The structure of Bandelier's fire management division is somewhat
different from the Santa Fe National Forest. In addition to suppression
resources, Bandelier hosts aviation, fuels management, a wildland fire
module, and a fire ecology program, which supports a fire effects crew.
The fire ecology program and fire effects crew are key contributors to
basing our fire management objectives on science-based adaptive
management. These functions all reside within Bandelier's Division of
Fire Management and help integrate fire management activities within
the monument and on an interagency basis.
For the past 10 years, Bandelier National Monument has been a key
player in the Santa Fe Zone. Bandelier National Monument manages the
Santa Fe Zone Interagency Fire Center heliport. The type 3 contract
helicopter and the interagency 10-person crew that serve the Santa Fe
Zone are assigned to this facility.
Question 4. Can you compare the fire fighting capability of the
Forest Service to that of the National Park Service's fire fighting
capability?
Answer. Federal wildfire response requires an interagency and
intergovernmental response, and therefore comparisons of the two
agencies' capabilities are difficult to make. Both the NPS and the USFS
are members of the National Wildland Fire Coordinating Group which
establishes standards for firefighters and firefighting assets. NPS
assets meet these national standards and training, as do all assets
from DOI agencies and the USFS. In number, NPS firefighting assets are
only a fraction of the of the USFS assets; however, all of the land
management agencies work across boundaries on an interagency basis.
That coordination is critical to wildland fire management and safety.
______
Responses of Harris Sherman to Questions From Senator Murkowski
Question 1. Can you give me an estimate on the amount of funds the
Forest Service has expended on the Valles Caldera Preserve since 2000
in hard appropriated funding as well as services-in-kind work?
Answer. Public Law 106-248 enacted on July 25, 2000 authorized
Forest Service interim management of the Valles Caldera National
Preserve (VCNP). There were no appropriations in 2000 for the VCNP.
Since 2001, Congress has appropriated nearly $30 million ($29, 893,000)
to the Forest Service for the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The
annual appropriations for the VCNP cover personnel salary and
operations, including Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigation
patrols for the VCNP.
The Santa Fe National Forest funds wildland fire prevention and
suppression for the VCNP, which includes prevention, detection, initial
attack and extended attack fire operations. Since 2005, the Santa Fe
National Forest has spent just over $1 million ($1,016,820) for
wildland fire suppression operations for the VCNP. Further detail is
provided in the answer to question 2.
Question 2. Since the Forest Service became responsible for fire
fighting on the Preserve how much has it cost the Forest Service to
provide those services?
Answer. All of the wildfire suppression costs on the VCNP are
covered by the Forest Service. These costs can vary depending upon
annual fire severity conditions. For example, in FY 2005 there were 15
lightning-caused fires on the VCNP suppressed at a cost of $795,200.
These fires include the Valle Fire that required a Type II Incident
Management Team. Since FY 2006 to date, there have been approximately
27 small fires that have burned a total of approximately 63 acres and
have cost approximately $221,620.
The VCNP is included in the aerial fire and smoke detection flights
conducted by the Santa Fe National Forest. The Forest Service assesses
no charges to the Preserve, Bandelier National Monument or any of the
adjacent jurisdictions for these flights. The hourly flight rate for a
detection flight is $1,100 per hour. These flights also cover Pueblo
(Tribal), Department of the Interior (BLM lands and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service refuges) and privately-owned forest and range lands
(New Mexico State Forestry jurisdiction) within or adjacent to the
Santa Fe National Forest.
Question 3. Can you compare and contrast the Santa Fe National
Forest's fire fighting capabilities with that of the Bandelier National
Park's fire fighting capabilities?
Answer. The Santa Fe Fire Dispatch Zone is comprised of Federal,
State and county/municipal wildland fire management agencies. The
Federal component is comprised of the Santa Fe National Forest, the
Bureau of Land Management New Mexico State Office, the National Park
Service Bandelier National Monument, the BIA Northern and Southern
Pueblos, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wildland fire
suppression resources are shared across the dispatch zone. The Santa Fe
Zone Dispatch Center (located at the Supervisor's Office for the Santa
Fe National Forest) provides all of the wildland fire dispatch coverage
for Bandelier National Monument as well as the VCNP. None of the
dispatch center costs are apportioned to other agencies.
The Santa Fe National Forest also fully funds an exclusive use Type
3 helicopter contract (the helicopter is not a National resource and
can only be dispatched regionally or nationally, if requested) as well
as the 7-person crew. Through an agreement with the Forest Service, the
Bandelier National Monument provides 3 personnel for the helicopter to
ensure 7-day coverage. At peak fire season, Bandelier National Monument
has 18 fire personnel, and the Santa Fe National Forest has 104 fire
personnel. From the surrounding Northern New Mexico communities, the
Santa Fe National Forest can also staff up to 4 Southwest Fire Fighter
20-person crews for local or national suppression needs.
Question 4. Can you compare the fire fighting capability of the
Forest Service to that of the National Park Service's fire fighting
capability?
Answer. Comparisons of firefighting capability are difficult
because Federal wildfire response is interagency in nature and Federal,
State, Tribal, and local wildland firefighting agencies work
cooperatively across jurisdictions when responding to wildland fires.
Firefighting assets are highly mobile, and wildland fire agencies share
assets to increase operational efficiency and best serve the public.
Employees from both the Forest Service and the National Park Service
(NPS) serve on national and regional incident management teams. Forest
Service crews and other assets, including aircraft, are routinely
deployed as interagency assets on NPS and other Department of the
Interior (DOI) fires; likewise, DOI assets are deployed to fires on
National Forest System lands.
For FY 2010, Congress appropriated to the Forest Service $675
million for Wildland Fire Management Preparedness, $998 million for
Wildland Fire Management Operations--Suppression, $71.3 million for
National Fire Plan State Fire Assistance, $9 million for National Fire
Plan Volunteer Fire Assistance, and for $413 million for FLAME\1\
Suppression Reserve.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Federal Land Assistance Management Enhancement Act P.L. 111-88
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Forest Service provides the majority of aviation assets; the FY
2010 Wildland Fire Management appropriation supports contracts for 19
air tankers, 2 single engine air tankers (SEATS) and on a call-when-
needed contract, 1 very large air tanker (DC-10) as well as 1 transport
jet (737-200). Supporting the air tankers are 15 lead planes, 14 of
which are on contract, as well as 127 helicopters.
The FY 2010 Wildland Fire Management appropriation funds 400 fire
prevention specialists, 67 type 1 hotshot crews (1,340 personnel), 320
smoke jumpers and 10,480 full time fire fighters as well as 950
wildland fire engines.
A direct comparison of fire fighting capability between the Forest
Service and the National Park Service is difficult to make because the
Department of the Interior's Wildland Fire Management budget is not
assigned by bureau. However, the FY 2010 appropriations for the
Department of the Interior provided $290.5 million for preparedness,
$258.8million for suppression operations, $7 million in rural fire
assistance, and $61 million for FLAME Suppression Reserve.
______
Responses of Stephen Henry to Questions From Senator Murkowski
The 2000 Valles Caldera Preservation Act said: ``The Valles Caldera
Trust shall terminate at the end of the twentieth full fiscal year
following acquisition of the Baca ranch under section 104(a).'' The
Valles Caldera Preservation Act as passed in 2000 also called for the
Trust to turn the lands over to the U.S. Forest Service in the event
the Trust failed to meet the goal of financial self-sustainability.
Question 1. We are now slightly over half-way into the 20 year
experiment, in your estimation is it pre-mature to pull the plug on the
experiment?
Answer. The Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 established the
Valles Caldera Trust and gave it 20 years to meet the many and varied
management mandates of the law. Yet, under S. 3452, that mandate is
being terminated at the half way point. We and many others are asking--
why? If the pending bill were a reaction to mismanagement or resource
diminishment, such precipitous an action might be justified. However,
the opposite is the case. The land comprising the Valles Caldera
National Preserve is currently being managed better than any time in
the last century. The Trust is addressing short and long term resource
management needs, and providing opportunities for public enjoyment of
the scenic and recreational values of this incredible area.
Proponents of the bill give little credit to the Trust for this
incredible accomplishment by its professional staff and members of the
Board of Trustees appointed by the President. It seems to be forgotten
that the 2000 legislation was expressly intended as an experiment in
Federal land management. There was a consensus at the time that
restoration of the land within the context of a working ranch was a
worthy endeavor. We all knew it would be hard and would take time, but
no one at the time recognized the difficulties of starting up an
entirely new government organization, or of dealing with the costs and
extent of infrastructure needs. However, after eight years of Trust
management, the execution of multiple plans and programs are underway
through coordination and collaboration with the Forest Service.
We recognize that the intent of the Act has not been fully met at
this midpoint. No one expected that it would be. However, to stop the
experiment at this moment discontinues many of the successful practices
and activities of the Trust. It may also require the receiving agency
to start anew with environmental planning at a point when these are
well under way and nearing completion under Trust management.
Since introduction of the bill, we have heard thousands of people,
both in New Mexico and across the Nation, speaking as individuals and
organizations, who believe it is premature to ``pull the plug'' on the
fine work of the Valles Caldera Trust. The letters and commentary
represent a broad spectrum of professional land managers, hunters,
anglers, hikers, our recreational visitors, educators, students, Native
Americans and their pueblos, livestock producers, and environmental
activists. We believe the experiment envisioned by the 2000 Act is
working. If Congress were to address the specific needs the Trust has
already identified, it would better promote the efficacy of the
experiment. To do otherwise is simply an unjustified rush to judgment.
Question 2. The law also called for the Trust to be turned over to
the Santa Fe National Forest if the Trust could not become economically
self-sufficient--which agency--the Park Service or the Forest Service
would be the best managers of the Preserve?
Answer. The 106th Congress designated the Valles Caldera National
Preserve as a component of the National Forest System, subject to a
special management regime. This recognized the vital role and
responsibilities of the Forest Service in the preservation of this
land. It was and is the Forest Service that successfully negotiated the
purchase of the land, and did the original resource assessments
necessary to garner public and Congressional support for its
acquisition. It is the Forest Service that staved off geothermal
development and ultimately acquired the outstanding mineral rights in
the land. And it has been the Forest Service that has provided much of
the technical expertise in forest management, law enforcement, and
organizational development that has brought us to the point where we
are today.
The Preserve is surrounded on approximately 80% of its entire
boundary by hundreds of thousands of acres under Santa Fe National
Forest management. This surrounding forest land has been scientifically
and prescriptively managed for decades. The management issues facing
the Preserve are those for which the Forest Service is uniquely able
and qualified to meet. It has the scientific expertise, long standing
management experience, manpower, and equipment required for managing
the forest landscape. For example, the Preserve contains up to 60,000
acres of thin-diameter and closely crowded timber as forest re-growth
resulting from decades of clear-cut logging and essentially no
scientifically applied management. This is considered by most forest
management experts as the number one priority and challenge for the
near future, a job that should take at least 10 years. Failure in this
endeavor will severely limit public access and use in the future
because of resultant major, possibly catastrophic wildfires.
Many proponents of a park contend that visitor use, access, and
interpretation of the resources and the landscape must be the current
and predominant uses of the Preserve. While this public use is a vital
component of the overall management of the area, we believe that
protecting a healthy forest and ecosystem is the greatest and most
immediate management challenge. To fail in this poses the number one
threat to public recreational and enjoyment.
Unfortunately, we believe the current rush to enact the pending
legislation glosses over these vital issues. The Forest Service has not
been given the opportunity to present its case. Even the Park Service
study prepared last year specifically avoided addressing the question
of the best management regime. Given the Forest Service's management
history to date, its expertise at managing national recreation areas
and national monuments, and its control of the huge expanse of land
surrounding the Preserve, the choice of the Forest Service as a
permanent agency manager should be given equal billing to the Park
Service. We have previously suggested that if Trust management is to be
terminated, then a two year study of the Preserve's management needs
should be prepared, and it should identify the various ways the Park
Service and Forest Service would meet those needs.
______
Responses of Hon. Joshua Madalena to Questions From Senator Murkowski
The people of your Pueblo have dealt with the Baca Ranch, the Santa
Fe National Forest and to some extent the Bandelier National Park over
the years and before Anglo ownership and management of the Ranch your
people lived and ran cattle on the lands.
Question 1. In your mind, who would be the best steward of the
Valles Caldera; the Park Service, the State, the Forest Service or
would you prefer to see the land turned over to the Pueblo's to jointly
manage?
Answer. Jemez Pueblo believes that Jemez Pueblo is the best steward
and manager for the Valles Caldera. The Baca Ranch lies within the
aboriginal Indian title area (traditional use area) of Jemez Pueblo.
The Baca Ranch, also known as the Baca Location, was an original grant
from the United States to the heirs of Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca in
1858 to resolve an overlapping Spanish grant conflict in the vicinity
of Las Vegas, New Mexico. Jemez Pueblo exclusively used and occupied
these lands since time immemorial and established aboriginal Indian
title prior to the Baca Grant. The heirs of Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca
received the grant subject to continuing Jemez Pueblo Indian title.
Buttz v. Northern Pacific Railroad, 119 U.S. 55 (1886) (conveyance of
fee from federal government subject to unextinguished Indian right of
occupancy), United States v. Santa Fe Pacific RR Co., 314 U.S. 339
(1941) and County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation, 470 U.S. 226, 235
(1985). Indian title is a fundamental doctrine of Anglo-American
property law.
In our testimony before the Committee on S.3452, we stated our
exclusive Indian title to the Valles Caldera and requested that the
federal government return control of the Caldera to the Pueblo. This
time of transition for the Valles Caldera National Preserve is an ideal
opportunity to transfer the Valles Caldera and its management burden to
Jemez Pueblo, rather than increase the federal management burden and
expense of maintaining the Preserve by transferring it to the National
Park Service. As compared to the Pueblo itself, we do not believe that
either the Forest Service, the National Park Service or the state of
New Mexico are the most appropriate or the most effective managers of
the Valles Caldera. We are not proposing multi-pueblo joint management
of the Valles Caldera because we hold exclusive Indian title. We are in
the process of contracting and preparing an economic feasibility and
management study detailing how Jemez Pueblo would manage and operate
the Valles Caldera.
While other Pueblos have some spiritual interests in the Caldera,
which Jemez Pueblo is committed to respect, use by other Pueblos has
always been permissive and consistent with Jemez Pueblo's Indian title.
See, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas v. United States, 2000 U.S.
Claims Lexis 287 at 39. No other Pueblo can demonstrate continuing
Indian title to the Caldera.
Santa Clara Pueblo received approximately 10,000 acres of the Baca
Location at the time the United States purchased the Caldera from the
Dunnigan family in 2000. San Ildefonso Pueblo waived all of its Indian
title land rights wherever located in the Pueblo de San Ildefonso
Claims Settlement Act, P.L. 109--286--Sept. 27, 2006. If Jemez Pueblo's
exclusive Indian title is respected, joint Pueblo management involving
several Pueblos is not appropriate. Jemez Pueblo is prepared to
control, manage and protect the Valles Caldera pursuant to its
continuing Indian title and its ancient tradition of stewardship and
protection of the resources and natural environment of its ancestral
lands.
As noted in our June 30 hearing testimony, we support S.3452 as a
means of resolving immediate funding problems for the Valles Caldera
National Preserve, conditioned, however, upon the inclusion of language
preserving all valid existing private rights in the Valles Caldera,
including specifically our own aboriginal Indian title.
Question 2. The bill calls for continued hunting and grazing on the
Preserve but would allow the Park Service to shut down either or both
if they so chose. Do you believe the Park Service will continue both
grazing and hunting on the Preserve into the future?
Answer. We cannot predict what policies the National Park Service
may adopt governing grazing, hunting and fishing in the Valles Caldera
under Park Service control. We are concerned that subsection 3(e);
governing grazing, is more restrictive than current Valles Caldera
National Preserve policies in that it limits grazing to specific areas
where grazing was allowed last year only. Presumably, not all areas
where grazing may be viable were actually grazed last year. Section
3(f) gives the Secretary wide discretion in the management and
permitting of hunting and fishing in the Preserve, although this is
essentially unchanged from statutory authority under the Valles Caldera
Preservation Act of 2000. Since the management mandates of the Valles
Caldera Preservation Act are significantly different from the
management policies of most national parks, we are concerned that
National Park Service management of the Valles Caldera could be more
restrictive than current management as to both Jemez Pueblo and the
general public.
If Jemez Pueblo regained control of the Valles Caldera, we would
provide a program intended to maximize public access for hunting and
fishing, consistent with preservation of sustainable populations of
fish and wildlife.
______
Responses of Hon. Perry Martinez to Questions From Senator Bingaman
At the request of Chairman Jeff Bingaman, and on behalf of the
Pueblo de San Ildefonso, this email responds to the list of questions
relating to S. 3452, as follows:
Question 1. In your mind, who would be the best steward of the
Valles Caldera; the Park Service, the State, the Forest Service or
would you prefer to see the land turned over to the Pueblos to jointly
manage?
Answer. The Pueblo de San Ildefonso prefers that the Valles Caldera
be jointly managed by the Pueblos closest to the Valles Caldera. These
include the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, Pueblo of Santa Clara and Jemez.
The Pueblo de San Ildefonso also supports joint management of the
Valles Caldera among the Park Service and the Pueblos closest to the
Valles Caldera. If such joint management is not feasible, the Pueblo de
San Ildefonso would support management of the Valles Caldera by the
Park Service, provided that the Park Services provides meaningful
consultation to the surrounding Pueblos.
The key to any management is adequate resources, and as noted in my
July 1, 2010 Statement on S. 3452, the Pueblo de San Ildefonso
continues to have concerns that adequate funds be appropriated for
staff and support services so that the Valles Caldera can continue to
be available to our Pueblo members and the public, while protecting the
natural environment.
Question 2. Do you believe the Park Service will continue both
grazing and hunting on the Preserve into the future?
Answer. While the Pueblo de San Ildefonso would like to see the
Preserve stay as pristine as possible, the Pueblo would support access
to the Valles Caldera in a way that minimizes injury to the lands. For
example, if the Preserve is opened up to hunting, the Pueblo de San
Ildefonso would prefer that hunting be limited to any Pueblo member.
The Pueblo de San Ildefonso expects meaningful consultation by the Park
Service before a decision is made to permit public hunting on the
lands.
Concerning grazing, the Pueblo de San Ildefonso has witnessed over
a century of over-grazing on this land. Any grazing on this land should
be consistent with the concepts of sustainable grazing so that the land
is able to grow and restore itself even with increased human and animal
access. The Pueblo de San Ildefonso expects that a decision to open up
the lands to grazing not be made, unless the Park Service first
consults with the appropriate Pueblos.
Thank-you for the opportunity to respond to these questions.
Appendix II
Additional Material Submitted for the Record
----------
Valles Caldera Trust,
Board of Trustees,
Jemez Springs, NM, July 6, 2010.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, 304 Dirksen Senate
Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Bingaman: Thank you for the opportunity to testify at
the hearing on June 30, 2010. On behalf of the presidentially appointed
members of the Board of Trustees, we ask that this letter be placed in
the record as a supplement to our testimony. The hearing brought out
several issues which we believe need to be addressed in the mark-up of
the bill.
Staff of the Valles Caldera Trust
The staff of the Valles Caldera Trust is comprised of dedicated
public servants, who have successfully managed the Preserve since the
Federal purchase of the property in July, 2000. They deserve public
acclaim but, instead, their careers are in limbo. The bill should be
amended to guarantee continued Federal employment for every full time
staff member of the Trust. Accordingly, we recommend you amend section
4(c) (3) as follows:
(A) HIRING.--
(i) The Secretary shall hire on a noncompetitive
basis at comparable positions any employee of the Trust
who desires to continue Federal service on the staff of
the Preserve or the Bandelier National Monument.
(ii) The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture
may hire employees of the Trust on a noncompetitive
basis for comparable positions on other units of the
National Park System or National Forest System. (B)
SALARY.--[unchanged]
(C) INTERIM RETENTION OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES. [Unchanged]
(D) TERMINATION FOR CAUSE. [Unchanged]
(E) COMPENSATION OF TRUSTEES. Trustees of the Valles Caldera
Trust shall be entitled to such compensation as was provided
under section 107(e) of Public Law 106-248 for the duration of
their tenure as a Trustee or consultant to the Secretary.
Forest Restoration
The foremost management need for the Preserve is forest
restoration, and the public's use and enjoyment--indeed the public's
safety--will depend on restoration. Approximately 60% of the land area
of the Preserve is forested. Prior to the Federal land acquisition in
2000, and especially from 1963 to 1972 with the advent of logger
jamming technology and road building, the Baca Ranch was intensively
logged in large clear cuts resulting in the massive removal of all
species and sizes. This type of logging was supported by a dense
network of nearly 1000 miles of contour-paralleling roads, sometimes
less than 300 feet apart. On over 37,000 acres, dense stands of mixed
confers have replaced the climax species, primarily Ponderosa Pine. For
the health of the forest and for public safety, these stands must be
thinned by mechanical treatments and prescribed fire. Failure to do
this will result in a disastrous conflagration that will be potentially
worse than the Cerro Grande Fire of May, 2000.
The Trust is currently undertaking the preparation of an
environmental impact statement to analyze a proposed Landscape
Restoration and Management Plan for the forests, including mechanical
treatments, prescribed burning, management of lightning caused
wildfires, as well as erosion control activities including road
management and stream restoration. This process must go forward and we
strongly urge that the bill contain a forest restoration provision
which will make this a management priority for the land managing
agency.
S. 3452 currently does not have a provision addressing forest
restoration, and some provisions could actually hamper necessary
management activities (e.g. restrictions on activities over the
elevation of 9,250 feet). We recommend additional language in section 3
along the following lines:
( ) FOREST AND LAND RESTORATION.
(1) Forest Management.--the forest lands on the Preserve
shall be managed to promote forest health, reduce disease and
insect infestation, and reduce the hazards of wildfire.
(2) The Secretary shall establish a Landscape Restoration and
Management Program, based on the similar plan begun by the
Valles Caldera Trust, with the objectives of:
(A) Decreasing forest density by mechanical
treatments, prescribed burning and other mechanisms
(including commercial timber sales);
(B) Using prescribed fire (including the management
of lightning caused fires) to achieve resource
benefits;
(C) Closing and rehabilitating roads;
(D) The prevention and eradication of noxious weeds,
including mechanical treatment and herbicides.
(3) The Secretary shall incorporate the Landscape Restoration
and Management Program as part of the Management Plan for the
Preserve.
(4) The Secretary shall coordinate the Program with the
Forest Service to assure compatibility with the Land and
Resource Management Plan for the Santa Fe National Forest.
Wildlife Management
Another environmental threat to the Preserve is the proliferation
of elk. Elk populations have a direct effect on the grasslands, affect
riparian habitats, and often trample archaeological and cultural
resources. Inasmuch as the Preserve acts as a nursery for elk, these
population impacts are felt on the Preserve and the adjacent National
Forest lands. The only effective control tool is hunting. There are
currently three game management units designated by the New Mexico
Department of Game and Fish for the entire Jemez Mountains of which the
Preserve is one unit. Coordination of game limits throughout the Jemez
Mountains is essential. Therefore, we recommend amending section 3(f)
by adding a paragraph (3) as follows:
(3) Elk limits. Hunting levels on the Preserve shall be
permitted pursuant to limits established by the New Mexico
Department of Game and Fish based on game management units for
the Jemez Mountains, including the Santa Fe National Forest.
Cultural Resources
The bill repeals section 105(g) of the Valles Caldera Preservation
Act of 2000 pertaining to Redondo Peak. Those provisions were carefully
negotiated between the Pueblos and the Forest Service and provide for
special protections and use of Redondo Peak. In the last decade, that
provision of law has provided an important and successful measure of
protection for Native American religion and culture. S. 3452 should
retain all the provisions of section 105(g) of the existing law.
Volcanic Domes and Other Peaks
The limitation in section 3(h) of activities on lands above 9,250
feet is arbitrary, unnecessary, and will inhibit necessary forest
restoration activities. The Trust has mapped the areas subject to that
limitation and it would encompass substantial forest areas that are in
need of restoration activities. There would be ample existing law to
allow for the closure of areas to motorized access in the event of a
management need. Because we recommend retention of the Redondo Peak
provisions already in section 105(g) of the Valles Caldera Preservation
Act of 2000, this elevation requirement is unnecessary. Therefore, we
recommend deletion of section 3(h).
Range Management
The grasslands on the Preserve offer a number of management
opportunities. A major impetus to enactment of the original Valles
Caldera Preservation Act was the retention of some vestiges of
traditional ranching as practiced in New Mexico. That ranching
tradition still offers opportunities for the visitor interpretation,
and modest income production. However, as written, section 3(e) of S.
3452 unduly limits grazing to those areas of the season preceding
enactment. This standard ignores best range management practices.
Currently, grazing on the Preserve has no negative impact on available
forage. We recommend that grazing be permitted where it does not impair
the preservation and public enjoyment of the Preserve, and not
exceeding levels where forage consumption exceeds forage production. We
also recommend that grazing fees continue to be based on commercial
rates and that the land manager be allowed to retain grazing receipts
on site. Therefore, we recommend rewording section 3(e) as follows:
(e) Grazing.
(1) In General.--The Secretary shall allow the
grazing of livestock on the Preserve to continue
insofar as grazing does not impair the preservation and
public enjoyment of the Preserve, and at levels where
forage consumption does not exceed forage production on
those areas designated for grazing.
(2) Rates.--The Secretary shall charge grazing fees
commensurate with private commercial fees.
Ecosystem Coordination
As written, S. 3452 virtually ignores the fact that the Preserve is
surrounded by almost a million acres of National Forest. Indeed, the
planning requirements of section 3(b) (4) (C) do not even require
consultation with the Forest Service. That section should be amended to
require consultation with the Forest Service. Similarly, section 3(b)
(3) should be amended to add at the end the words, ``and the Santa Fe
National Forest.''
Summary and Conclusions
As the managers of this extraordinary land for the last decade, the
Trust feels uniquely qualified to comment on S. 3452. The fact is that
this land had been altered significantly for decades prior to Federal
acquisition. No matter who manages it, the Preserve requires special
attention to address its unique needs. While we have tried to address
some of those requirements above, the fact is that the bill provides
cursory consideration of some very important matters.
As written, we believe S. 3452 is inadequate to meet the needs of
the Preserve. We fear this matter is being legislated too quickly, and
our professional staff is concerned that complicated land management
considerations are not being adequately aired. A more judicious
approach over the next year would afford the opportunities to address
what is best for the land and its resources, and to devise a management
regime that will best meet those needs. There is no emergency as the
land is being well managed in the public interest. We urge the
Committee to take the necessary time to consider all the relevant
issues.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Stephen E. Henry,
Chairman.
______
Statement of E. P. Harvey, Jr., B & H Herefords, Mesilla, NM
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the above mentioned
legislation. I, as a livestock producer and concern citizen,
respectfully urge the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources to
suspend action on this legislation and allow the Valles Caldera Trust
to continue to be the sole operating agent until the expiration of the
original contract.
The Valles Caldera-Baca Ranch has a long and storied history in the
journal of territorial New Mexico. Livestock grazing, wildlife
management and timber harvesting have been an important aspect in the
ranches history and are currently being utilized as resource management
tools. One of the original goals of the Valles Caldera Preserve is to
continue to be managed as a working ranch that would protect the land
and resources values. It is unclear if under new management operations
if livestock grazing and a working ranch management philosophy will
still be considered.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve Act raises great concern in
that it does not assure that there will be a comparable management plan
that promotes livestock grazing. The Preserve is designed to protect
and preserve the fish, wildlife, watershed, natural, scientific,
scenic, geological, historical, cultural, archeological and
recreational values of the areas.
Recently, the Valles Caldera and New Mexico State University
Cooperative Extension Service provided a unique educational program,
Bull Genetics Improvement Program, which studied the effects of high
altitude factors on domestic cattle production when various management
techniques were utilized. This education program set precedence in the
cattle industry across the country and has lead up to several follow-up
studies in other states. The Valles Caldera has also participated in a
rotational grazing program with ranchers from surrounding communities
that provides forage needs for ranchers outside the preserves
boundaries and allows for forage plots to replenish themselves in non-
grazing seasons. Section 3(e) of S. 3452 limits grazing to those
seasons preceding enactment which is contrary to best range management
practices. Rather best management practices should include forage
grazing consumption does not exceed forage production in those areas
throughout the preserve insofar as not to interfere with the
preservation and enjoyment of the Preserve. This will encompass both
the educational and scientific component mandated by the Valles Caldera
National Preservation Act.
Specifically, under section 3. Valles Caldera National Preserve
Paragraph (e) Grazing-The Secretary may allow the grazing of livestock
within the preserve to continue, consistent with this act--
(1) In areas of the preserve in which grazing was permitted
during the grazing season preceding the date of enactment of
this Act; and
(2) To the extent the use furthers scientific research or
interpretation of the ranching history of the preserve.
The Valles Caldera Preservation Act should mandate grazing within
the preserve for several reasons.
Management as a working ranch has preserved and enhanced
this property to the point that it was coveted as a national
preserve. Why would management that has provided a healthy
ecosystem and abundant wildlife change now? What would be the
effects of such a change? How is the potential for catastrophic
fire going to be managed?
Established cultural identity with the Baca Ranch and its
livestock history
The Valles Caldera mission was to be run as a working ranch
Valles Caldera and New Mexico State University have joined
together to provided much needed research and educational
programs that take place on the preserve due to its ecology and
altitude
The Valles Caldera provides surrounding ranches the
opportunity to rest pastureland outside the preserves
boundaries by utilizing a rotational grazing program
The livestock on the Valles Caldera are managed as not to be
intrusive on sensitive stream waters and are grazed away from
sensitive habitats
The Baca Ranch was commended over and over by both ranchers and
environmentalist of the stewardship of the land and that land was
managed as a working ranch with adjustable grazing techniques. Wildlife
alone cannot maintain healthy grassland the size of the Valles Caldera
without the assistance livestock and the difference in grazing methods.
It is vital that livestock grazing continue to be incorporated into any
future management plans for educational and scientific research as well
as to carry on cultural characteristics that livestock has on the past
history of New Mexico from the 16th century to our current generations
and those to come. The Valles Calderas Trust has managed its livestock
herd, less than 600 head, conservatively with the ecosystem in mind and
not with a financial agenda behind it.
Although financial independency has not been obtained, most of that
delay has been a direct result of numerous other federal laws that have
provided obstacles that had to be cleared. There have been many
positive gains in the recent past as those federal obstacles were
hurdled. As with many private enterprises financial stability is not
always realized quickly. We believe it is too soon to forego the Valles
Caldera Trust operations and management considering the amount of time
that is still available to fulfill the contract. The urgency of
promoting the Valles Caldera Preserve Management Act is rushed and does
not adequately address the land use management issues that are unique
to the area.
I have personally ridden horseback across the Valles Caldera and
much of the Baca Ranch, as well as surrounding lands on numerous
occasions. My familiarity with the area and with the way the cattle and
wildlife have been managed prompts me to testify on this extremely
important issue. There is no reason to change the way this unique area
is managed, and National Park designation/management will only serve to
destroy and undo the custom, culture, and traditional use of this land.
In conclusion, it is important to realize the educational,
scientific and cultural significance that livestock have on the Valles
Caldera-Baca Ranch and the importance to continue to utilize livestock
grazing as a resource management tool. Recent strides by the Valles
Caldera Trust have shown promise in the adaptive management policies
that have been implemented. It seems that there was not much confidence
in the success of the program from the beginning and now just as some
progress is shown the preserve will once again be in transition. It has
been seen that continued success is possible when there is consistent
management policies in place; the private landowners did it for
centuries. It seems that many of the stakeholders' issues could be
addressed more appropriately if when the agreement is up that the
Valles Caldera be transferred and or incorporated into the Santa Fe
National Forest and their nearly million acre forest.
______
Statement of Hilario R. Armijo, President, Jemez Pueblo Livestock
Association, Jemez Pueblo, NM
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the above mentioned
legislation. I, as a livestock producer and concern citizen,
respectfully urge the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources to
suspend action on this legislation and allow the Valles Caldera Trust
to continue to be the sole operating agent until the expiration of the
original contract.
The Valles Caldera-Baca Ranch has a long and storied history in the
journal of territorial New Mexico. Livestock grazing, wildlife
management and timber harvesting have been an important aspect in the
ranches history and are currently being utilized as resource management
tools. One of the original goals of the Valles Caldera Preserve is to
continue to be managed as a working ranch that would protect the land
and resources values. It is unclear if under new management operations
if livestock grazing and a working ranch management philosophy will
still be considered.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve Act raises great concern in
that it does not assure that there will be a comparable management plan
that promotes livestock grazing. The Preserve is designed to protect
and preserve the fish, wildlife, watershed, natural, scientific,
scenic, geological, historical, cultural, archeological and
recreational values of the areas.
Recently, the Valles Caldera and New Mexico State University
Cooperative Extension Service provided a unique educational program,
Bull Genetics Improvement Program, which studied the effects of high
altitude factors on domestic cattle production when various management
techniques were utilized. This education program set precedence in the
cattle industry across the country and has lead up to several follow-up
studies in other states. The Valles Caldera has also participated in a
rotational grazing program with ranchers from surrounding communities
that provides forage needs for ranchers outside the preserves
boundaries and allows for forage plots to replenish themselves in non-
grazing seasons. Section 3(e) of S. 3452 limits grazing to those
seasons preceding enactment which is contrary to best range management
practices. Rather best management practices should include forage
grazing consumption does not exceed forage production in those areas
throughout the preserve insofar as not to interfere with the
preservation and enjoyment of the Preserve. This will encompass both
the educational and scientific component mandated by the Valles Caldera
National Preservation Act.
Specifically, under section 3. Valles Caldera National Preserve
Paragraph (e) Grazing-The Secretary may allow the grazing of livestock
within the preserve to continue, consistent with this act--
(1) In areas of the preserve in which grazing was permitted
during the grazing season preceding the date of enactment of
this Act; and
(2) To the extent the use furthers scientific research or
interpretation of the ranching history of the preserve.
The Valles Caldera Preservation Act should mandate grazing within
the preserve for several reasons.
Management as a working ranch has preserved and enhanced
this property to the point that it was coveted as a national
preserve. Why would management that has provided a healthy
ecosystem and abundant wildlife change now? What would be the
effects of such a change? How is the potential for catastrophic
fire going to be managed?
Established cultural identity with the Baca Ranch and its
livestock history
The Valles Caldera mission was to be run as a working ranch
Valles Caldera and New Mexico State University have joined
together to provided much needed research and educational
programs that take place on the preserve due to its ecology and
altitude
The Valles Caldera provides surrounding ranches the
opportunity to rest pastureland outside the preserves
boundaries by utilizing a rotational grazing program
The livestock on the Valles Caldera are managed as not to be
intrusive on sensitive stream waters and are grazed away from
sensitive habitats
The Baca Ranch was commended over and over by both ranchers and
environmentalist of the stewardship of the land and that land was
managed as a working ranch with adjustable grazing techniques. Wildlife
alone cannot maintain healthy grassland the size of the Valles Caldera
without the assistance livestock and the difference in grazing methods.
It is vital that livestock grazing continue to be incorporated into any
future management plans for educational and scientific research as well
as to carry on cultural characteristics that livestock has on the past
history of New Mexico from the 16th century to our current generations
and those to come. The Valles Calderas Trust has managed its livestock
herd, less than 600 head, conservatively with the ecosystem in mind and
not with a financial agenda behind it.
Although financial independency has not been obtained, most of that
delay has been a direct result of numerous other federal laws that have
provided obstacles that had to be cleared. There have been many
positive gains in the recent past as those federal obstacles were
hurdled. As with many private enterprises financial stability is not
always realized quickly. We believe it is too soon to forego the Valles
Caldera Trust operations and management considering the amount of time
that is still available to fulfill the contract. The urgency of
promoting the Valles Caldera Preserve Management Act is rushed and does
not adequately address the land use management issues that are unique
to the area.
In conclusion, it is important to realize the educational,
scientific and cultural significance that livestock have on the Valles
Caldera-Baca Ranch and the importance to continue to utilize livestock
grazing as a resource management tool. Recent strides by the Valles
Caldera Trust have shown promise in the adaptive management policies
that have been implemented. It seems that there was not much confidence
in the success of the program from the beginning and now just as some
progress is shown the preserve will once again be in transition. It has
been seen that continued success is possible when there is consistent
management policies in place; the private landowners did it for
centuries. It seems that many of the stakeholders' issues could be
addressed more appropriately if when the agreement is up that the
Valles Caldera be transferred and or incorporated into the Santa Fe
National Forest and their nearly million acre forest.
______
Los Amigos de Valles Caldera,
Santa Fe, NM, June 27, 2010.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Energy and
Natural Resources Committee Office, 304 Dirksen Senate
Building, Washington, DC.
We are Los Amigos de Valles Caldera, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization incorporated in New Mexico on September 30, 2006 by former
members of the Board of Trustees of the Valles Caldera National
Preserve and others. The Valles Caldera National Preserve, formerly the
privately owned ``Baca Ranch,'' is an 89,000-acre property located in
the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico purchased by the federal
government in 2000 under the Valles Caldera Preservation Act and placed
under the management of the Valles Caldera Trust.
Los Amigos' mission is to support the Valles Caldera National
Preserve for present and future generations through outreach,
education, restoration, and collaboration.
Los Amigos currently has over 200 members. Los Amigos is supported
by government grants, grants from private foundations, and individual
contributions. These individual contributions have ranged from $25 to
$1,000 and have come from a wide variety of people across the country.
The grants include three received to fund restoration work on the
Preserve. Los Amigos has been working collaboratively with the Trust
(under a five-year Memorandum of Understanding) and others since 2006
on a variety of restoration projects designed to:
Restore San Antonio Creek so that it may be de-listed from
NMED's Clean Water Act Sections 305(b)/303(d) Integrated Report
as not supporting its high-quality coldwater fishery designated
use. (Total Maximum Daily Loads [TMDLs] were created for San
Antonio Creek for temperature and turbidity.)
Restore slope wetlands and floodplain wet meadow habitat
that has been damaged by roads, grazing, and logging.
Restore habitat for the rare bog birch which has nearly been
eaten to extinction by the elk.
Ensure that natural stream channel evolution along the San
Antonio and its tributaries continues in a desirable direction.
In addition, we have made other proposals to work on Jaramillo
Creek (also on the 303d list) and to do further work on slope wetlands
on six tributaries to lower San Antonio Creek.
Los Amigos was created to support the Preserve, and we plan to
continue with that mission, no matter who is managing the Preserve.
However, we have a number of concerns about the proposed legislation to
transfer the Preserve from the Trust to the Park Service:
The authorization language does not ensure adequate funding
for the Preserve.
There is no requirement that cultural resources be included
in the Science and Education Program.
There is no requirement that will ensure public access
during the development of the Park Service's Management Plan.
Most importantly, there is no acknowledgment that
restoration of the resource is needed and no requirement that
it be a priority for the new manager.
our concerns
The Budget
President Obama's 2011 budget request for the National Park Service
is approximately $2.7 billion--a decrease of $21.6 million over the
current fiscal year 2010 budget. The Park Service already took
significant budget cuts during the Bush Administration, which according
to Consumer Affairs.com caused ``many of the nation's 390 parks,
monuments, and recreation areas [to charge] visitors more while
providing fewer services. . . . In the meantime, the number of national
park visitors--273 million people [2005]--continues to rise. Their
needs are not being met, according to an April survey of a dozen parks
by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). It found all 12 parks
were reducing visitor center hours, educational programs, and even law
enforcement.'' That GAO-06-431, March 2006 report, Major Operations
Funding Trends and How Selected Park Units Responded to Those Trends
for Fiscal Years 2001 through 2005, stated: ``Although funds allocated
for daily operations increased from 2001 through 2005 at all 12 park
units we visited, 8 of the 12 experienced a decline, and 4 experienced
an increase, in daily operations allocations when adjusted for
inflation. Park managers at all 12 reported their allocations were not
sufficient to address increases in operating costs, such as salary and
benefit increases and rising utility costs; and new Park Service
requirements directed at reducing its deferred maintenance needs,
implementing its asset management strategy, and maintaining law
enforcement levels. Officials also stated that these factors reduced
their management flexibility. As a result, park unit managers reported
that, to varying degrees, they made trade-offs among the operational
activities which, in some cases, resulted in reducing services in areas
such as . . . resource protection. . .'' (Emphasis added.)
In recent years, there have been a number of articles about dangers
at the parks, including a cover story in U.S. News and World Report and
a story in Travel and Leisure (Our National Parks are in Danger, August
2004, citing ``Annual budget shortfalls that have left the system with
insufficient funds to handle chronic maintenance headaches [shoddy
roads, buildings in disrepair, inadequate water and sewer
systems]...''). Adding to the Park Service's list of units during a
period of significant budget cuts suggests that neither the maintenance
backlog nor the restoration needs of the Preserve will be attended to.
Therefore, we request that a specific authorization for funding for the
Preserve, at a level consistent with its current funding, be added to
SB3452. (See Attachment A.)
Public Access
The general tenor of public discourse on the subject of management
of the Preserve has suggested that transfer to the Park Service is
needed to allow unfettered access for the public. (No concern has been
raised by the proponents of this view about restoration of the resource
they wish to exploit.) Few of these people have reviewed Park Service
regulations or even SB3452 to discover that the Park Service is
required to first study the resource and then develop a management plan
before opening the unit to the public. Under SB3452, the Park Service
is required to develop that management plan in three years. But it is
given discretion as to whether to continue Trust management in the
interim. If they decided not to continue Trust policies, that could
mean that the Preserve would be closed to all access while the
management plan is being written. Therefore, we suggest that the
language of SB3452 be amended to require the Park Service to continue
Trust management policies while it develops its own management plan.
(See Attachment A.) (Of course, this will not affect what happens after
the management plan is in place. Generally, the plan will call for
infrastructure, such as a visitors' center, and the Park Service
usually doesn't open the unit to public access until after the
infrastructure has been built.)
Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Resources
The Preserve has a complex and deep history of changing human land
use on this extraordinary landscape. Although the Trust has completed
surveys of only 10% of the 89,000 acres, we now know a great deal from
the remnants left behind from thousands of years of human use. Trust
field investigations and analyses have:
Confirmed the use of this landscape by prehistoric peoples
as early as the Late Paleoindian period (beginning at least
8,000 years ago) and as late as the period of contact between
Native North Americans and European immigrants after A.D. 1540.
Demonstrated that trade or transport of obsidian artifacts
originating from caldera volcanic deposits occurred throughout
all periods of prehistory and extended across North America.
Discovered ceramic artifacts (i.e., undecorated and
decorated pot sherds) in rock shelters and open-air locations
from the earliest periods of pottery-making in the Southwest
(i.e., as early as 500 A.D.) through late prehistory and early
historic Puebloan eras, even from the Spanish entrada.
Investigated the preservation characteristics of buried
artifact-bearing soils to begin predicting the locations of
hidden ancient occupations across the Preserve.
Established the presence of agricultural terraces on Banco
Bonito that demonstrate the growing of crops like maize or
beans at some of the highest elevations yet known in North
America.
Cultural resources include all of the significant archaeological
and historic sites, buildings, and artifacts that illuminate how
peoples used the caldera throughout the past. Los Amigos has
``adopted'' the Bond Cabin in the Historic Headquarters area, in an
effort to fund its restoration. SB3452 says that the Secretary may
establish a science and education center outside the boundaries of the
Preserve to promote natural and cultural resources, but does not
include cultural resources in the description of the science and
education programs for the Preserve that the Secretary is required to
carry out. Therefore we suggest that, under ``Science and Education
Program,'' cultural resources be specifically included. (See Attachment
A.)
Access for Religious and Cultural Uses
The Secretary is required to ensure protection of traditional
cultural and religious sites and access to those sites by the pueblos.
But the Secretary is not required to temporarily close sites to the
general public to protect traditional cultural and customary uses of
the areas. Therefore, we suggest that the language of SB3452 be amended
to require the Secretary to temporarily close to general public use
specific areas of the Preserve to protect traditional cultural and
customary uses by the pueblos. (See Attachment A.)
Restoration Needed in Addition to Preservation
Americans are now realizing they have made some serious
misjudgments in their nation's interactions with the natural world.
America's treasured national parks, while remaining immensely popular,
are not immune to this damaging phenomenon, and it is clear that
preservation alone will no longer be enough. Repair and restoration are
also necessary. William Lowry, an eminent analyst of U.S. natural
resource policy, looked at this in his recent book, Repairing Paradise:
The Restoration Of Nature in America's National Parks, and concluded
that ``The result of the agency's dual mandate, political demands, and
the daunting threats to the parks often were policies that did not
ensure preservation of the natural environment and frequently caused
substantial damage instead.'' The National Park Service Organic Act
mandates that the National Park Service manage the park system's
natural resources and settings ``unimpaired'' for future generations.
Why is there a need for restoration? In an interview with Kurt
Repanshek for National Parks Traveler, Mr. Lowry, a professor of
political science at Washington University in St. Louis, explained:
``They have some of the tools, but as you know, the Park Service is a
political agency, and they're very affected by other political actors
and other political forces. And so, whatever tools they have are
somewhat limited in how much they can use them.''
We are therefore concerned that politics will also affect
restoration on the Preserve, as it has affected the continuation of the
Valles Caldera Trust. Restoration of the Preserve's natural functioning
is essential if the resource is to not irreversibly degrade (please see
The Need For Restoration on the Preserve, below). Preserve Scientist
Bob Parmenter had secured $40 million from the Department of
Agriculture for restoration activities on the Preserve over the next 10
years, largely for work to reduce the imminent threat of a stand-
replacement crown fire in the dog-hair thickets left over from historic
logging activities. However, a transfer of the Preserve to the
Department of the Interior means that money disappears. The only
certain funding for restoration activities then would be the grant
monies that Los Amigos has secured--about $600,000. Without a mandate
to continue with collaborative restoration efforts, the Preserve will
suffer from this transfer. Therefore, at the very least, we suggest
that the language of SB3452 be amended to require the Park Service to
improve the Preserve as well as to protect and preserve it. Further, we
suggest that language be added that requires the Secretary to continue
ongoing collaborative restoration projects and to develop future
projects in consultation with the New Mexico Environment Department and
interested environmental organizations. (See Attachment A.)
Collaboration
All of our projects are collaborative and involve agencies,
environmental organizations, and citizens. Volunteer work is a critical
part of the projects as there is limited money available for watershed
and wetland restoration. The GAO in February 2008 published its report,
Opportunities Exist to Enhance Federal Participation in Collaborative
Efforts to Reduce Conflicts and Improve Natural Resource Conditions.
This report suggests that collaboration offers a superior way to manage
public resources. But the GAO acknowledges that most federal agencies,
including the land management agencies, do not use this method very
often. However, with no money allocated for restoration on the
Preserve, collaboration may be the only way current degradation will be
able to be addressed.
the need for restoration on the preserve
The overwhelming beauty of the Valles Caldera, with its green
valley bottom grasses, its seemingly unspoiled vistas, lush forests,
meadow streams, and the sights and sounds of abundant wildlife, belies
the problems on the land and has led many people to make the inaccurate
assumption that the Preserve is ``pristine.''
With minor exceptions, the headwaters of the streams that flow out
from the Preserve are entirely contained within the Preserve's
boundaries, making it a self-contained watershed unit. With no other
land or land managers upstream from the Preserve, any changes in the
quality of water leaving the Preserve or in the ecological condition of
its aquatic wetland and riparian communities are wholly attributable to
the interplay of human activities, ecological succession, geology,
climate, and other natural processes occurring within the Preserve.
The water-collecting basin of the Preserve contains a number of
unique aquatic and wetland features, ranging from warm, mineralized and
extremely acidic geothermal waters to numerous springs, seeps, and
boggy wetlands. These water-rich environments, combined with the
Preserve's many creeks and streams, should provide a robust foundation
for ecological diversity and productivity.
However, there are a number of problems related to the Preserve's
history as a working landscape. Humans have utilized the region for at
least 10,000 years, harvesting plants and wildlife for food and
collecting high-grade obsidian for tools and weapons. As a private land
holding, livestock grazing and logging operations dominated human land
use in the 19th and 20th centuries, significantly impacting the
watersheds and riparian ecosystems. Other past activities in the
watershed include geothermal energy exploration.
Over 1,400 miles of roads were built on the Preserve in the 20th
century to facilitate logging and about 60% of the forests were
harvested. Grazing was the first significant extractive use--at times,
over 100,000 sheep and 12,000 cattle grazed on the Preserve. Natural
fires apparently ceased in the 1880s. Intensive livestock grazing and,
subsequently, active fire suppression greatly reduced fire frequency
and increased the divergence of forest structure, composition, and
function from the natural range of variability. Subsistence hunting,
which began in pre-historic times, increased in the late 19th and early
20th centuries and decimated wildlife populations. The Preserve is a
collapsed magma chamber (caldera) approximately 15.5 miles across, and
incorporates multiple resurgent lava domes that rose following the
chamber's collapse around 1.25 million years ago. Elevation ranges from
7,930 feet at the outflow of the Jemez River's East Fork to 11,254 feet
on Redondo Peak, the highest dome in the caldera. The Preserve forms a
single watershed draining from a breach in the caldera wall to the
Jemez River's San Diego Canyon, southwest of the Preserve.
The extensive clearcutting of the Preserve by the New Mexico Land
and Timber Company that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, accelerated
soil erosion and contributed to the turbidity loading of the streams.
Today's forests are dense with second-growth stands of young pine, fir,
and spruce, which pose a substantial influence on fire risk and
watershed health.
Under current management, cattle numbers have been greatly reduced.
Current grazing practices include diverting the cattle to water tanks
away from the riparian areas, daily herd management, and rotating the
cattle. However, past grazing management practices have degraded some
areas of this watershed, leaving little vegetation to provide shade to
the rivers and eroding streambanks. The famously large elk herd in the
preserve, due to lack of natural predators, may be spending an
inordinate amount of time along the watercourses like domestic
livestock do. At present the rivers within this watershed have
excessive bank erosion, not enough pools, and are too wide and shallow
in places. Pools have been lost due to excessive sediment and channel
widening. Poorly designed and placed low-standard roads, poor culvert
placement, and livestock trailing have led to poor distribution of
runoff onto the wet meadows.
Poorly maintained roads contribute to sedimentation and degrade
fish habitat. Fish habitat degradation can result from poorly planned,
designed, located, constructed, or maintained roads (Furniss et. al
1991). Even in good condition, roads introduce large quantities of
sediment to streams (Grayson et al. 1993). The increased fine stream
sediment concentrations that result from high road densities has been
associated with decreased fry emergence, decreased juvenile densities,
loss of winter carrying capacity, and increased predation of fishes.
The introduction of fine sediment has also been related to the
reproductive degradation in salmonids. Survival of incubating salmonids
from embryos to emergent fry has been inversely related to the
proportion of fine sediment in spawning gravels (USDA Forest Service
2000).
In addition, the past heavy logging required many logging roads,
which are now contributing to the sediment problem. That logging has
had other deleterious effects. The practice of ``high-grading,'' or
taking only the most saleable trees, has left many stands of small
diameter trees or ``dog-hair'' thickets that are in danger of burning
in a stand-replacement crown fire. Such a fire would also have a
severely negative effect on the water quality of the streams that flow
from the Preserve into the larger Jemez Watershed and provide water for
the villages of Jemez Springs, Jemez Pueblo, La Cueva, Ponderosa, and
San Ysidro.
current restoration efforts underway
Alamo Canyon
The Trust, Los Amigos and others are partnering with the New Mexico
Environment Department Surface Water Quality Bureau (SWQB) to restore
bog and slope wetlands and floodplain wet meadow habitat on the
Preserve. This project is using innovative restoration techniques being
pioneered in New Mexico. This project will also contribute to the Draft
Valles Caldera National Preserve Wetlands Action Plan and complete a
wetlands action plan for San Antonio Creek on the Preserve.
Project outcomes for Alamo Canyon include restoring the habitat for
the rare bog birch by protecting the existing population from elk
grazing; constructing ``rolling dips'' along the road that runs next to
the bog to reduce erosion and disperse water back onto the wet meadow
areas; and fixing drainage at three of the four existing geothermal
well pads to reduce erosion and divert water from a gully to re-create
wetlands.
San Antonio Creek
An incision in the San Antonio stream channel system, caused by a
combination of inappropriate livestock grazing, road drainage issues,
and deforestation, has drastically reduced the extent of the historic
wetland. The vast green acreage that was once wetland sod has been
largely replaced by non-riparian vegetation, a subtle, yet significant
change. Within the lowered base level, the stream is slowly building
itself a new wetland floodplain in many places, but this process is
periodically set back by meander cutoffs, which deepen the incision.
Grazing by cattle and elk is an important issue for stream channel
stability and subsequent loss of wetlands due to a synergy of removal
of key vegetation, trampling of stream banks, compaction of soil, and
drainage rills started by animal trails.
Los Amigos, the Trust, and others are partnering to restore
riparian habitat on San Antonio Creek under a State River Ecosystem
Restoration Initiative grant and a Clean Water Act Sec. 319 grant. We
will intervene in key locations to ensure that natural stream channel
evolution continues in a desirable direction. This work will include
in-stream as well as floodplain restoration measures. There are several
incipient meander cutoffs that are predicted to cause channel
avulsions, headcuts, and loss of floodplain access in the near future.
These will be prevented to keep the stream in proper functioning
condition. Many eroding banks are contributing to a high sediment load.
These banks will be stabilized. Floodplain wetlands adjacent to the
creek in several places are being drained by headcut feeder channels.
These small channels will be raised to restore sheet flow to
significant areas. Solar gain, accompanied by an over-wide channel, is
contributing to temperature problems in the lower reaches. Willows and
other native riparian vegetation will be planted in appropriate places
to stabilize and narrow the creek channel as well as to provide shade
for the water surface.
Post vanes, post baffles, and post weirs may be used to increase
meander length and restore pools. Heavy equipment will be used to
realign several short channel segments to prevent undesirable meander
cutoffs. Electric fencing will be installed where grazing occurs along
San Antonio Creek to eliminate cattle disturbance in the project area.
Volunteers from Los Amigos, the Trust, and other organizations such
as New Mexico Trout, Trout Unlimited, the Sierra Club, and local
landowners will learn the demonstration restoration techniques and will
assist in installation of structures to improve conditions along San
Antonio Creek. Volunteers will also help with monitoring of the
restoration.
An inventory of the San Antonio Creek sub-watershed from its
headwaters to the Preserve boundary (approximately 16 river miles) was
completed in 2007 with funds from the Alamo Bog wetlands grant from the
EPA to NMED, under which Los Amigos was the primary sub-contractor. It
assessed the creek's condition and the potential location of
remediation structures for this project and is providing part of the
basis for the San Antonio Creek Wetlands Action Plan. The watershed was
flown with a digital camera and a sub-meter GPS. Ground reconnaissance
was then done with similar equipment. The data, including 260 air
photos and the flight track of the airplane, as well as hundreds of
resource points on the ground (including 155 ground photopoints), were
assembled into a GIS map document. Detailed analysis of these data by
the survey team and Trust staff serves as the basis to produce
priorities for restoration work.
The San Antonio Creek Watershed has an extensive road system, and
many of these roads are degraded and in need of maintenance. Sections
of the gas pipeline roads are particularly bad, since they tend to
follow the straight pipeline with little regard for topography. In the
past few years, the Trust has begun to repair the main roads through
the Preserve and restore habitat for wet meadow areas along main roads.
Most of the major stream crossings have been redone in recent years
under the direction of Bill Zeedyk to maintain the proper channel
elevations, dimensions, and floodplain access. New culvert arrays were
installed to provide sufficient flood capacity and to distribute large
flows across the floodplain. In many other places, rolling dips and
other environmentally sensitive road drain applications have been
installed to hydraulically isolate the roads from the natural
drainages, allowing hillslope and swale runoff to continue along its
natural historic route instead of being concentrated in road ditches
and culverts. French drains were installed to encourage the
dispersement of flow across meadows, preventing gully formation
downstream of the culvert.
Project outcomes for San Antonio Creek will be to decrease
temperatures and reduce turbidity by decreasing the width-to-depth
ratios, correcting meander pattern problems, stabilizing the elevation
of the bed and channel slope by fostering continued long-term natural
channel evolution, improving the pool to riffle ratio, and increasing
and improving conditions for riparian vegetation along the creek. This
should also improve those portions of the creek which flow off the
Preserve and into the larger Jemez watershed (and ultimately the Rio
Grande), increasing water quality and improving seasonal flow
modulation through alluvial storage and release.
conclusion
Los Amigos is aware that we will not have an official relationship
with the Park Service until completion of a Memorandum of Agreement.
And we understand that there may be any number of other ways to address
our concerns than the ways we have suggested herein. However, we hope
that this Committee understands that we are very concerned that the
Preserve not be negatively impacted by this proposed transfer. We
respectfully request that we be allowed to work with you or staff to
improve this legislation so that will not happen.
Sincerely,
Doug Fraser,
Chair.
Attachment A
suggested amendments to sb3452
``Sec. 3. Valles Caldera National Preserve
``(a) DESIGNATION AS UNIT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM---To
protect, improve, and preserve. . .''
``Sec. 3. Valles Caldera National Preserve ``
(b)(2)(C) Existing Management Plans. . .until the date on
which the Secretary completes a management plan for the
Preserve in accordance with paragraph (4), the Secretary shall
administer the Preserve in accordance with any management
activities or plans adopted by the Trust. . .''
``Sec. 3. Valles Caldera National Preserve ``
(d)(1)(B) ``(iv)provides for research on and preservation of
cultural resources on the Preserve.''
``Sec. 3. Valles Caldera National Preserve ``
(j) TEMPORARY CLOSURES--. . . the Secretary,. . . shall
temporarily close to general public use 1 or more specific
areas of the Preserve to protect traditional cultural and
customary uses . . .''
``Sec. 3. Valles Caldera National Preserve ``
(g) The Secretary shall continue ongoing collaborative
restoration projects on the Preserve and establish soil, water,
and cultural property restoration projects for the Preserve in
consultation with the New Mexico Environment Department and
interested environmental and wildlife groups.''
``Sec. 6 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
``There are authorized to be appropriated sums consistent
with funding the Trust received for operation of the Preserve
to carry out this Act.''
______
Statement of Perry Martinez, Governor, Pueblo de San Ildefonso
Chairman Bingaman and members of the Committee, I am Perry
Martinez, Governor of the Pueblo de San Ildefonso. I am pleased to
provide views on behalf of the Pueblo on S.3452, the Valles Caldera
National Preserve Management Act. The Pueblo supports S.3452.
First, on behalf of the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, I want to thank
Senator Bingaman for inviting me as Governor to appear before the
Committee testify about this bill, on behalf of my Pueblo. While I am
unable to attend the hearing on this Bill, please accept this Statement
for the record.
The Pueblo de San Ildefonso aboriginal exclusive use area in what
is now the State of New Mexico reaches to what is now the Valles
Caldera. Our Pueblo ancestors have ties to the Valles Caldera area that
go back many centuries. Sites within the Valles Caldera retain
significance for our Pueblo people to this day.
After discussion with my Tribal Council, I express the support of
our Pueblo for this bill which would have the National Park Service
manage the Valles Caldera area. Our Pueblo people would like to see
this land stay as pristine as possible. We think the National Park
Service is the federal agency best suited to preserve the lands,
wildlife, plants, and minerals within the Valles Caldera area. Our
Pueblo has a working relationship with the Bandelier National Monument,
located nearby.
One concern we have is that adequate funds be appropriated for
staff and support services so that the Valles Caldera can continue to
be available to our Pueblo members and the public, while protecting the
natural environment. After a century of over grazing, the land has
started to recover under the current federal management. We see S.3452
transferring responsibility for future management of the Valles Caldera
to the National Park Service as strengthening the ability of the
ecology within the Valles Caldera to grow and restore itself, while
maintaining controlled human access.
On behalf of the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, I am pleased that S.3452
specifically calls for consultation on the management plan for the
Valles Caldera with the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, along with the Pueblos
of Santa Clara and Jemez. As the Pueblos closest to the Valles Caldera,
this consultation with our Pueblos on management of the property is
appreciated. We think this consultation requirement will strengthen
operations of the Valles Caldera into the future. The consultations
with the three Pueblos should not be a ``one-time'' activity, but
should be part of on-going management activity. To assure that, we
propose adding a new subsection 3(b)(4)(B)(iii) to read:
The management plan shall include provisions for on-going
consultation with the Pueblos of San Ildefonso, Jemez and Santa
Clara.
The Pueblo de San Ildefonso is also pleased that consultation with
``Indian Tribes and Pueblos'' is required concerning traditional
cultural and religious sites (in section 3(i)(1) on page 9 of the
bill). The opportunity for temporary closure, if requested by a Tribe
or Pueblo is appreciated. While the traditional Tewa practitioners in
our Pueblo may or may not make such a request, having federal
authorization for temporary closure in that event is recognition of the
national importance of continuing our traditional Pueblo ways.
The requirement in Section 3(k) that the National Park Service
consult with Indian Tribes and Pueblos concerning the Caldera Rim Trail
is also appreciated.
We note in subsection 3(k)(2) concerning the Caldera Rim Trail that
a special section has been inserted concerning Santa Clara Pueblo, in
order to protect the privacy of traditional practitioners and
activities on the Santa Clara Indian Reservation. Subsection (3)
prohibits motor vehicles on Preserve lands adjacent to the Santa Clara
Indian Reservation. The Pueblo de San Ildefonso expects that federal
consultation with our Pueblo, along with other interested tribes and
the public, concerning the Caldera Rim Trail, will result in
appropriate protections for Pueblo traditional practitioners from all
Pueblos which use and revere the lands and wildlife with in the Valles
Caldera.
It is unclear to us whether or how public access to the Valles
Caldera will change if the Bill becomes law. We have observed in recent
years that the Valles Caldera lands have become more accessible to the
public than they were either in private ownership, or in the early
years of the Trust which currently manages that property. We have a
concern that public access be managed by the National Park Service in a
way that minimizes injury to the Valles Caldera environment, while
allowing our Pueblo people and members of the public improved access to
this natural wonder.
In conclusion, the Pueblo de San Ildefonso supports S.3452. We
further strongly request that funding be authorized and appropriated to
the National Park Service in an increased amount so that adequate staff
can be provided going forward in the Valles Caldera, and for the
Bandelier National Monument which will have enhanced management
responsibilities as a result of this bill. We also ask that Congress
make clear that the consultation requirements in the bill for the
Pueblo de San Ildefonso and other Pueblos be on-going, by including
language similar to that proposed in this Statement.
Thank you for the invitation to present views on behalf of the
Pueblo de San Ildefonso on this bill. This concludes my written
statement.
______
National Parks Conservation Association,
Southwest Regional Office,
Salt Lake City, UT, June 29, 2010.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
U.S. Senate, 703 Hart, Washington DC.
Dear Senator Bingaman: Thank you for introducing legislation to
ensure the Valles Caldera National Preserve is preserved for future
generations as a unit of the National Park System-it is a national
treasure. For decades, this extraordinary landscape has been regarded
as a place worthy of protection and management in such a way as to
promote opportunities for recreation, interpretation for visitors of
its geology and scientific inquiry. The National Parks Conservation
Association, America's leading voice for our national parks with a
membership of over 325,000, fully supports S.3452 that would transfer
management responsibility for this publicall owned landscape to the
National Park Service.
We believe that this remarkable and unique landscape, its unique
geology and profound connection to the culture at nearby Bandelier
National Monument is ideally suited for inclusion and management by the
National Park Service. Your proposed legislation reflects the
appropriate public purpose of protecting this rich and varied resource
while providing and managing recreational opportunities and insightful
interpretive services for visitors. It further identifies the
responsibility to develop a management plan that recognizes the rights
of indigenous Pueblos and honors hunting, fishing and grazing
practices. Furthermore, S. 3452 reinforces and sustains the
continuation of a strong and vibrant culture of science and research at
the Caldera. Ensuring resource protection with public enjoyment,
recreation, interpretation and traditional uses is what the National
Park Service does well and efficiently. This is absolutely the core
function and mission of the National Park Service and we regard this
change in management responsibility reflected in this bill, one of our
most important national priorities.
Since 2000, Valles Caldera has been publically owned but managed in
an experimental fashion by a congressionally appointed Trust. Based
upon a Government Accounting Office report completed in October 2009
that evaluated this experiment ten years on, it is apparent that core
goals from this Trust management model have not been achieved. There
continues to be a high level of uncertainty about achieving any level
of self sufficiency, visitation and recreational opportunities have
been meager, at best, and development of infrastructure to accommodate
visitors is scant. On many levels, it is apparent that the bold
experiment has not been successful.
In contrast, we recognize the recently completed suitability study
that Senator Bingaman requested from the Department of the Interior and
completed in December, 2009. This study underscores that Valles Caldera
National Preserve is an appropriate and compatible national park unit
and that it would offer a special and comprehensive complement to
Bandelier National Monument. It would further burnish these iconic and
culturally significant landscapes with the special luster of national
park designation.
NPCA fully and enthusiastically endorses this proposed legislation.
By any measure or standard, national park designation and management
responsibihty is overdue.
Sincerely,
David Nimkin,
Director.
______
New Mexico Trout,
Albuquerque, NM, June 19, 2010.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, 304 Dirksen Senate
building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Bingaman, As the current president of New Mexico
Trout, an avid New Mexico outdoorsman, and a lifelong resident of New
Mexico, I am surprised to learn about the significant change proposed
by S-3452 for the Valles Caldera. As the president of hundreds of New
Mexico voices, we are concerned with the possibility of the National
Park Service taking over the Management of the Valles Caldera Trust.
New Mexico Trout DOES NOT favor this option.
The Valles Caldera Trust, a new form of government management, has
had no baseline from which to measure growth. The Trust was given the
responsibility to begin a new government agency and required to keep
the doors open while they did so.
Over the past ten years, there have been some questionable
practices of the Trust management. However, given the nature of the
Trust as an ``experiment in Public Land Management'', we both know that
any start up agency is going to have some bumps along the road to
success.
New Mexico Trout is concerned with the potential change from Trust
management to the National Park Service (NPS) and the language of S-
3452. Since the provision of the bill does not have a stipulation for
an appropriation from Congress which is already looking at a funding
cut for the NPS, I strongly recommend that this bill be sent to
Appropriations for a hearing to make sure the NPS has the funds to
support this move.
The Valles Caldera Trust is fulfilling its role by providing access
with educational workshops, seminars and van tours covering subjects
from archaeology, botany, ecology, geology, history and wildlife. This
is evidence enough that the Trust has allowed visitor participation
while still developing and managing the Preserve as a public land
provided by the Act which created the Preserve.
The Valles Caldera Trust has proven that it can protect the natural
and cultural resources of the Preserve. The recommendation to add the
Preserve to the NPS has no merit, and is not based on best management
practices set by the NPS management policy. The NPS has an important
role to protect, possess, add and manage when, according to its own
criteria, the resource in question is not under the protection of other
public or private agencies. Conspicuous by its absence in the NPS
reconnaissance study was the apparent strategic failure to address this
all important `fourth criteria' because the Valles Caldera National
Preserve is already under the protection of a public agency.
The Valles Caldera Trust IS the public agency that provides the
necessary management and protection. In a very short period of time it
has become an outstanding example of sustainable government management
of public lands. Turning the Preserve over to the NPS will not
demonstrate nor has it been shown, that the NPS is a superior
alternative.
Senator Bingaman, how can the NPS do a better job than the Valles
Caldera Trust given the budget shortfalls facing the NPS today? The
Valles Caldera Trust has been operational with a very limited budget
given the operating cost, salaries, maintenance, law enforcement,
utility costs, fire management, visitor and resource costs. The budget
that was set for the Valles Caldera Trust was inadequate and yet the
Trust is being asked to be FISCALLY responsible. Now the NPS is being
considered as a better alternative with no appropriated budget, and no
fiscal responsibility? I can foresee that this will only REDUCE the
activities on the Preserve which many have complained is the reason for
a new change.
Additionally, the NPS has alienated and polarized the use of its
parks by Native Americans for the traditional practices of these
groups. Jemez Pueblo has religious and cultural resources on Redondo
Peak, Santa Clara and San Ildefonso also have shown religions and
cultural resources in the Preserve and are now in danger of losing
those to the regrettable management practices of the NPS. I believe
that the Governors of these pueblos have brought to your attention this
urgent concern.
The Valles Caldera Trust has acted to balance the multi-cultures of
New Mexico without the prohibition of one groups interests. Ranchers
have used the Preserve for decades, sportsmen have hunted its wildfowl
and fished its rivers for thousands of years, native peoples have used
the Preserve as a gathering spot for as long as their traditions speak.
Yet now, all this will be put at risk and probably discarded without a
fair hearing or investigation into the concerns of most Native New
Mexicans!
Senator Bingaman, could this be the wrong plan? Why haven't you
asked the U.S. Forest Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
conduct a similar study ? After all, they are most familiar with the
Valles Caldera and the success of the multiple use programs it
features. It is my hope that the committee and it's members see the
need to continue the Valles Caldera Trust and the Valles Caldera
Preserve in it's current configuration as this management system has
shown remarkable sustainability, and appropriate direction.
I respectfully honor your position and hope that the protection of
this Preserve weigh heavily upon your decision to not be hasty in your
judgment.
Rudy Rios,
President.
______
Statement of Garrett VeneKlasen, President, New Mexico BHA,
Santa Fe, NM
The New Mexico Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers supports
S. 3452 to transfer the management of the Valles Caldera National
Preserve (VCNP) to the National Park Service (NPS) as a national
preserve.
BHA opposed the Valles Caldera National Trust this spring when they
attempted to violate the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation
and sell public elk tags to the highest bidder. Our experience working
with the Valles Caldera National Trust has convinced us that new
management by a professional land management agency is necessary.
The Valles Caldera has immense wildlife values and is a high
priority area for sportsmen. Trout Unlimited believes that National
Park Service will increase the public's ability to access the Valles
Caldera, protect valuable fish and wildlife habitat and manage the area
with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation in mind.
BHA fully supports S. 3452 and the transfer of the Valles Caldera
to National Park Service to be managed as a Preserve where hunting and
fishing will be allowed.
______
Statement of Jim Norwick, Chair, New Mexico Chapter Society of
American Foresters
On behalf of the New Mexico Chapter, Society of American Foresters
(SAF), the national, scientific and educational organization
representing the forestry profession, with members throughout New
Mexico working in all aspects of land management, please accept the
following testimony for the Hearing Record on S. 3452, a bill to
designate the Valles Caldera National Preserve as unit of the National
Park System. As an organization chartered to advance the science,
education, technology, and practice of forestry for the benefit of
society, the New Mexico Chapter of SAF opposes S. 3452. We support the
original legislation, Public Law 106--248 passed by the 106th Congress,
which designates in Section 110 (c) that in the event of termination of
the Trust, this land shall pass to the management of the Santa Fe
National Forest, and be subject to all laws applicable to the National
Forest System. This termination would occur in 2020 unless: 1)
Management by the Trust becomes financially self-sufficient, or 2)
amended by an act of Congress.
The Valles Caldera Trust (herein referred to as `Trust') is a
wholly owned government corporation strongly supported by U.S. Forest
Service with some National Park Service assistance and limited Trust
staff. The Trust is responsible for managing the Valles Caldera
National Preserve since the Preserve was established in July, 2000 by
Public Law 106-248. This 88,900 acre landscape of National Forest
System Lands, located in north-central New Mexico, is a mixture of
grasslands and forests with over 60,000 acres in forested cover. A
primary statutory purpose of this land is, ``to establish a
demonstration area for an experimental management regime adapted to
this unique property which incorporates elements of public and private
administration in order to promote long term financial sustainability
consistent with other purposes,'' and, ``to provide for the sustained
yield management of the Baca ranch for timber production and
domesticated livestock grazing insofar as is consistent with the other
purposes stated herein.''
Professional land managers and scientists with extensive experience
in New Mexico agree that the current experiment fits well within the
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary's ``All Lands, All Hands''
policy initiative and U.S. Forest Service basic statutes which focus on
landscapes, communities and public/private teamwork. In the 2009
Preserve Report and the ``Trust's'' Board response to the GAO study
results stated, ``A lot of committed professionals and volunteers have
dedicated themselves to the Preserve and they deserve a chance to
succeed.''
Much of the forest land within the Unit, roughly 30,000 or more
acres, has high forest density and fuel loading, such that these lands
are extremely susceptible to high severity fire, insects and other
disturbances at a scale that is ecologically uncharacteristic. The
remainder, some 30,000 additional acres, is currently at a moderate to
high risk of high severity fire as well. Many of the trees in these
forests need to be removed to reduce fire hazard and restore overall
ecosystem functionality. Considering the other statutes and mandates of
the Forest Service and the Park Service, it is clear that this need, as
well as the primary purpose of the original acquisition, fit much
closer with Forest Service management objectives than with Park Service
management objectives. The Forest Service already has contracts and
agreements in use that can be readily applied to forest and watershed
health restoration activities on Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Indeed, the jurisdictional patterns of Valles Caldera National Preserve
and National Forest lands facilitate administrative efficiencies that
can be realized by a single administrative responsibility (Valles
Caldera is National Forest land within the Santa Fe National Forest).
Additionally, the Forest Service has the expertise and experience
to conduct this much needed work. While the Park Service could acquire
this expertise, it makes far more sense to keep this land under
management of the agency that is experienced and ready to implement
appropriate treatments.
Proper management of these lands should continue to include the
Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act. Multiple use land management
strategies lead to positive water balances, likely increased water
flows, healthy wildlife populations, and a broad range of recreation
opportunities. By administering the Valles Caldera as a special unit,
the Forest Service could continue to manage recreation access and other
public uses in accordance with the original objectives of the purchase
and public desires. Designating Valles Caldera as a national park would
limit the ability of land managers to continue to implement these
multiple use management strategies, and could result in negative
impacts on the health of the Unit.
The New Mexico Chapter of the Society of American Foresters,
representing professional foresters and natural resource specialists
throughout New Mexico feels strongly that the current administrative
structure set forth in the original enabling legislation should
continue. As society increases its expectations for multiple goods and
services from both our public and private lands evaluation of new
public land management strategies, such as the one currently in place
on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, need to be attempted and
evaluated. While the current approach has faced some challenges, many
strategies for effective multiple use management have evolved along
with other advances in multiple use management practices. Altering the
administrative structure of this effort at this juncture in time
potentially jeopardizes the continued gains that are being made from
the current effort.
______
Statement of Trout Unlimited
The New Mexico Council of Trout Unlimited supports S. 3452 to
transfer the management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP)
to the National Park Service (NPS) as a national preserve.
Trout Unlimited has long been involved in conservation efforts at
the Caldera and our experience working with the Valles Caldera National
Trust has convinced us that new management by a professional land
management agency is necessary.
The Valles Caldera has immense wildlife values and is a high
priority area for sportsmen. Trout Unlimited believes that National
Park Service will increase the public's ability to access the Valles
Caldera, protect valuable fish and wildlife habitat and manage the area
with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation in mind.
Trout Unlimited fully supports S. 3452 and the transfer of the
Valles Caldera to National Park Service to be managed as a Preserve
where hunting and fishing will be allowed.
______
Statement of Michael Trujillo, Valles Caldera National Preserve
Thank you very much for taking my phone call yesterday. It was a
pleasant surprise dialing a Washington D.C. phone number and actually
visiting with the person I called. This has never happened before.
As an employee of the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) I
have been counseled by my supervisors on my comment responsibilities on
the Bill which Senator Bingaman recently introduced placing the VCNP
under the National Park Service (NPS). I have worked hard at not
compromising my role as Hunt Manager on the VCNP by avoiding any
conflict of interest but enough is enough. There are those who insist
on maligning our elk and / or turkey hunt programs by claimig that we
cater to the wealthy by selling the VCNP elk hunts for tens of
thousands of dollars. This is an absolute misrepresentation of a
program that meets the needs of all sportsmen and sportswomen whether
blue collar or white collar. The critics also suggest that our
customers are not a diverse set of sportsmen and sportswomen. Another
misrepresentation which I hope the Senator has not accepted as
accurate. Our hunts encourage and promote safety, ethics, youth /
mentor participation, and women in the field. The VCNP hunts are
considered quality hunts and per our hunters own words, ``the best
public land elk hunting in the United States.''. We have partnered with
the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, and
the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. 70% of our hunters
complete and submit a post elk / turkey hunt evaluation. Of that number
90% of our customers evaluate their hunts as outstanding. We promote
quality through controlled access and personal hunter attention.
Also, please consider the following:
1) since the government purchase of the Baca Ranch hundreds
of hunters have hunted this property,
2) hunter bull elk harvest success is 80%,
3) hunter antlerless elk harvest success is 50%,
4) we have a perfect safety record, i.e. no significant /
reportable injuries,
5) we have met the hunt needs of many mobility impaired
individuals,
6) hunt lottery participants average 3.5 tickets purchased or
$75 (not the suggested $10,000),
7) we have catered to the hunt opportunity needs of female
and youth hunters,
8) we work closely with the New Mexico Department of Game and
Fish,
9) our elk herd management strategy helps meet the game
management priorities of Game Management Units 6A and 6C,
10) we keep accurate elk / turkey harvest records including
age, health, CWD, pregnancy, antler score, etc. records.
Bottom line is we are all about safety and quality. We have a great
elk / turkey hunt program that does not cater to the rich and famous.
We have worked hard to establish our reputation as equal opportunity
hunt providers. We welcome outdoorsmen and women from all walks of
life.
However, I am not sure that your new management plan will meet
hunter expectations. I am not aware of many NPS hunt success stories.
The law must contain verbage establishing, promoting, and executing a
Game Management Plan. It's not just protecting and preserving but
improving as well.
Please assure that game management is a part of the transition
process. Don't let this most important consideration get lost in the
potential turmoil of change. I continue to solicit the Senator's
positive action naming Lucia Sandoval--Turner and Dennis Trujillo to
the transition team.
Again, thank you and I look forward to meeting with you in August.
______
State of New Mexico,
Office of the Governor,
Santa Fe, NM, June 22, 2010.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
U.S. Senate, 703 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Tom Udall,
U.S. Senate, B4OD Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Bingaman and Senator Udall: Thank you for your
leadership in introducing the Valles Caldera National Preserve
Management Act to ensure the long-term protection of one of New
Mexico's most magnificent natural areas. New Mexico's Valles Caldera is
one of only three supervolcanoes in the United States, in the company
of Yellowstone, Wyoming and Long Valley, California. The Valles Caldera
is home to important tribal and cultural sites as well as natural
resources including elk, deer, and other wildlife. Permanently
protecting this unusual landscape as a Preserve in our National Park
Service system is the right thing to do.
I appreciate the good work of the Board Members of the Valles
Caldera Trust and the Preserve staff over the last decade. However, I
concur with you that transfer of management to the National Park
Service is appropriate for the long-term preservation of the Valles
Caldera.
It is critical that activities such as hunting, fishing, and cattle
grazing continue to be permitted in the new Preserve, and your bill
allows these traditional uses of the land to continue. The state will
still have an important role in wildlife management. As this proposal
moves forward, I request that your offices and the National Park
Service work closely with the State, particularly the New Mexico
Department of Game and Fish and State Game Commission, to ensure that
traditional uses of this landscape are preserved for future
generations.
I encourage timely passage of the Valles Caldera National Preserve
Management Act.
Sincerely,
Bill Richardson,
Governor.
______
Statement of Thomas Campos, County Manager, Board of County
Commissioners, Rio Arriba County, NM
The County of Rio Arriba proposes that the most effective public
use of the Valles Caldera for all purposes can best be realized by its
management by the United States Department of Agriculture / United
States Forest Service which has a long history of multiple use
management. If it is a foregone conclusion that only the National Park
Service will be considered for the management of the Valles Caldera,
then the following comments are directed to both agencies. The County's
comments on the Valles Caldera are as follows.
The ``pristine'' qualities or nature of the Valles Caldera which
prompted the acquisition of this property by the federal government in
2000 are the result of a long history of active land uses, including
those practiced by surrounding native rural communities and families,
Hispanic as well as Native American. These are communities who
continually experience 15% to 20% unemployment rates and very low
household income levels. The extensive and abundant grasses of the
Valles Caldera have a long history of major grazing by sheep and then
cattle up until it was sold to the federal government. The continued
intense grazing of livestock is an indispensable activity to
maintaining the health of the caldera grasslands. In turn these healthy
grasslands will continue to support the native fish and rich wildlife
habitat of the caldera and its much acclaimed hunting of big game,
especially the elk.
The ``Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act'' does not
require that grazing be maintained at levels adequate to keep the grass
vigorous and healthy. Rather, the grazing of livestock is left to the
discretion of the Secretary of the Interior which authority will sooner
or later lead to a decrease in grazing activity or its ineffectual use
of this important management tool for removing undesirable vegetative
growth from the landscape. If the reduction of grazing occurs then more
fuel will be left on the ground and this ground fuel will increase
risks of a catastrophic forest fires such as the 2000 Cerro Grande fire
that was started in the Bandelier National Monument as a controlled
burn. This is especially true since the forest itself is now and has
been for some time densely overgrown with undersized trees.
The County of Rio Arriba supports several of the purposes of the
Act, including the science and education center and in particular, that
it ``(iii) provides for improved methods of ecological restoration and
science-based adaptive management of the Preserve'' and ``(2) to the
extent the use furthers scientific research or interpretation of the
ranching history of the Preserve.'' The County interprets these
purposes to be a recognition of the positive impact of historical
grazing on the Valles Caldera. However, this recognition that the
native, both lndiohispano and tribal, rural communities surrounding the
Jemez Mountain range contributed much to the richness of the Valles
Caldera is not a protected specific activity in the Act itself. The
County is concerned that the native cultural value of its sustainable
agrarian practices will not play an active role in the Valles Caldera
under the National Park Service. To this end, the County proposes that
specific language be drafted to include in the Act the active
participation of native rural communities, Hispano and Native American,
in the Valles Caldera for all purposes.
The hunting activity or purpose in the Act also appears to be
inadequately treated since the role of the New Mexico Game and Fish
Department (NMGF) is only advisory in nature to that of the Secretary.
In New Mexico the game and fish are owned by the State and therefore
subject to management by the NMGF Department. This arrangement is
recognized and followed by the USDA US Forest Service. It is unclear
why the National Park Service should not be subject to the same
management of the game and fish by the State. Elk hunting in New Mexico
is a big industry that presents numerous challenges/opportunies for
proper management, including predator control. At present the mortality
rate of elk calves is higher in the Valles Caldera than in almost any
other habitat in New Mexico due to high predator populations on the
property. The County doubts that the NPS' control of game and fish in
the Valles Caldera under the Act will be an improvement over the
present ``Trust'' arrangement. The State of New Mexico should play an
active authoritative role.
The County of Rio Arriba is concerned about the fact that the
current ``Trust'' management of the Valles Caldera has not been given a
full opportunity to learn from its early years of operation and to make
adjustments accordingly. A project of this magnitude requires much more
than 10 years to realize, especially when full implementation of best
practices have been stymied in that management approach. This would
include the need to fully engage the local ``native'' communities in
the grazing of livestock and timber management in the educational
component of the Valles Caldera. The native communities have much to
offer and have much economic as well as cultural need for access to the
Valle Caldera. Any minimal gains made by the local communities with the
Trust now appear at risk. The County is equally concerned that the
valuable studies and lessons learned under the Trust model will not be
utilized in the NPS model.
The practice of the creation of exclosures,''parks,'' whether in
the United States or Africa. has been of great concern to
Anthropologist in recent studies. The studies have discussed the
stresses to local communities and the lands surrounding the exclosures,
eradication of culture, injustice, and ecological damage to surrounding
lands. Ecologically, islands created by these exclosure do not cease to
fully interact with the surrounding eco-system and failure to take into
consideration a global view bears negative results on and off the
exclosed lands. The ecology, in the view of Natural Resource
anthropologists, have to include the human populations in all
circumstances.
The land base of the County of Rio Arriba is about 70% federally
owned and controlled and this has resulted in a commensurate loss of
economic opportunities for its residents over the past 100 years or
more. The livestock industry in the County during this time was the
mainstay of the local economy, even through it has continued to shrink
over the years, largely due to federal land management decisions. Under
the Trust model the County was hopeful that positive economic and
educational gains for local traditional native communities through full
participation on the Valles Caldera grazing, timber management and
other programs would have been realized. Now, without the proper
federal, state, tribal and local governmental model, the County is
concerned that the Valles Caldera under the NPS model will provide
nothing more than incidental benefits/damage to our rural communities.
Similarly, the Valle Caldera itself could suffer degradation of its
natural resources, if its managers, regardless of the model, do not
make full use of the range and wildlife science available for its
operation. The County encourages our congressional delegation to take a
harder look at the issues involved in this transition and to provide a
full public airing of this proposed Act in northern New Mexico.
______
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation,
Missoula, MT, July 6, 2010.
Energy and Natural Resource Committee Office, 304 Dirksen Senate
Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Sirs: The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) has reviewed
Senate File 3452 ``To designate the Valles Caldera National Preserve as
a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.'' We are
well aware of the historic attempts to protect this property and have
been aware that the experiment with making the property self-sustaining
has been a challenge. We are also aware of the tremendous wildlife
value and the importance of the historical and cultural perspectives as
well.
We do not favor transfer to the National Park Service for a number
of reasons. The Valles Caldera National Preserve, while covering about
89,000 acres, does not represent an ecosystem but more resembles an
island surrounded almost entirely by the Santa Fe National Forest. With
the very large difference in policy, philosophies and administration
between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior,
it does not seem prudent to create yet another jurisdiction boundary in
this important wildlife habitat that would only serve to complicate
management of wildlife and other natural resources. The enabling
legislation (S.1892--Valles Caldera National Preserve and Trust)
specifically charges the Secretary of Agriculture with primary powers
over the Preserve while management will be under the auspices of the
Valles Caldera Trust. Sect. 110 addresses the termination of the Valles
Caldera Trust at the end of the twentieth full fiscal year following
acquisition. There are also stipulations after the fourteenth full
fiscal year and the eighteenth full fiscal year. The section further
goes on to state ``in the event of termination of the Trust, the
Secretary shall assume all management and administrative functions over
the Preserve, and it shall be managed as a part of the Santa Fe
National Forest, subject to all laws applicable to the National Forest
Systems.'' The RMEF strongly advocates adhering to the intent of the
enabling legislation passed on January 24, 2000.
With regards to recreational hunting, we fear the NPS policy,
management and administration may further complicate wildlife resource
management. While SF 3452 includes Sec 3 (f) Fish and Wildlife ``the
Secretary shall permit hunting and fishing on land and waters within
the Preserve in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws,
except that the Secretary may, in consultation with the New Mexico
Department of Game and Fish, designate zones in which, and establish
periods during which, no hunting or fishing shall be permitted for
reasons of public safety, administration, the protection of wildlife
and wildlife habitats, or public use and enjoyment.'' While those words
seem to provide for recreational hunting, the National Park Service
policy and procedures generally try to minimize or eliminate hunting on
lands they manage. The National Park system has very few units where
big game, upland game bird or waterfowl hunting are allowed. This
agency does not have the experience in managing hunting recreational
opportunities or hunting related activities as does the United States
Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
According to local managers, the Valles Caldera Preserve provides
calving and nursery areas for 6,500 to 7,000 elk each spring and early
summer. Elk that winter in other hunt areas and/or that spend most of
their lives outside of the Preserve are dependent on the Preserve for
elk calving and early calf care. During the fall period, there are
generally 2,500 to 3,500 elk found on the Preserve during the hunting
season.
The Santa Fe National Forest and the Valles Caldera Preserve were
recently awarded a forty million dollar ($40,000,000) Collaborative
Forest Landscape Restoration Program grant. This project was selected
as one of the highest national priorities for national forest systems.
This award exhibits the strong collaborative partnerships successfully
initiated during the past years and the need for extensive habitat
restoration work to bring the forests and rangelands back into healthy
and fully functioning ecological condition. The Jemez Seeking Common
Ground collaborative working group was formed in 1999 and the RMEF
provided funding to get various interest groups together for better
forest and range management. RMEF was also fully engaged with
attendance at every meeting of this collaborative group. It is
rewarding for us to be part of the solution to resource management
challenges that eventually were recognized nationally with this sizable
grant. Under National Park Service management, the Preserve will no
longer be eligible for these funds to do much needed habitat
restoration work.
On December 28, 2001 the state of New Mexico legislature created a
public land habitat stamp, often referred to as the Sikes Act. Every
hunter, angler and trapper who hunts on public land managed by the
United States Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management in the
state is required to purchase a habitat stamp. The expenditure of the
funds collected from this regulation is to be consistent with the land
management plans of the United States Forest Service, the United States
Bureau of Land Management, and the plans of the New Mexico Department
of Game and Fish. However, hunting, fishing and trapping on the
Preserve under NPS management will not require a habitat stamp nor will
the Preserve be eligible for Sikes Act funds for habitat restoration or
management work.
Many supporters of the transfer of the Preserve to the National
Park Service do not have an opinion on who should managed the Preserve,
the National Park Service or the United States Forest Service, but only
wish to see more public access to this land that was purchased with
public funds. Transfer to either agency would address additional access
for the public, although the various activities allowed might differ
appreciably.
The United States Forest Service has a long history of managing
public lands for multiple-use and for the greater good of the public in
this country. They have long recognized that man has affected natural
systems enough that natural processes will not put our forests and
ranges back into functioning ecological systems, that it will take
management by skilled professionals to affect that change. In addition
to expertise in forest and range health, soils, hydrology, wildlife
habitat and recreation management, they are expert in protecting
cultural values found on the 193,000,000 acres they currently manage.
For the past twenty six years the RMEF has been actively engaged
with state and federal agencies in protecting and enhancing elk country
through our land trust work and through habitat enhancement projects.
We strongly oppose the transfer of the Valles Caldera National Preserve
to the National Park Service.
Sincerely,
M. David Allen,
President/CEO.