[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 30 (Monday, July 31, 2000)]
[Pages 1678-1679]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Valles Caldera Preservation Act

July 25, 2000

    I am very pleased to sign into law S. 1892, the ``Valles Caldera 
Preservation Act.'' This legislation is the culmination of a gratifying 
cooperative effort with the Congress, led by Senator Bingaman, Senator 
Dominici, Representative Udall, and Representative Heather Wilson of New 
Mexico. Its enactment will permit us to protect over 95,000 acres of 
unique, irreplaceable land in northern New Mexico--one of my top 
conservation priorities--for future generations to enjoy.
    Specifically, this Act authorizes the acquisition and preservation 
of nearly 95,000 acres in the Valles Caldera, New Mexico. It also 
permits the sale of about 5,000 acres, containing the headwaters of the 
Santa Clara Creek, to the Santa Clara Pueblo, to allow the Pueblo to 
protect its water quality and resource values. A separate title of the 
bill authorizes the proceeds from the sale or exchange of certain 
Federal lands identified by the Bureau of Land Management as surplus to 
be used to purchase and protect other lands with exceptional natural 
resource values.
    The Valles Caldera is at the heart of the Jemez Mountains and is the 
site of perhaps the greatest of New Mexico's volcanic features. It also 
is home to a wide range of scenic, wildlife, cultural, and ecological 
resources, and provides incomparable scenic beauty and recreational 
potential. The importance of the preservation of the Valles Caldera lies 
in the unique combination of all of these features in a relatively 
pristine setting that is nevertheless close by, and accessible to, the 
people of New Mexico. It has remained intact as a single unit in private 
ownership since the original land grant in 1860. Known as Baca Ranch, it 
has been well managed for several decades and is an example of a 
sustainable working ranch.
    The caldera is an enormous depression more than a half-mile deep and 
15 miles wide that was created by a volcanic eruption over a million 
years ago. Secondary volcanic domes arise from the caldera floor to 
elevations as high as 11,000 feet. Its scenic quality--a large network 
of grassland and forested mountains, surrounded by the caldera rim--does 
not exist elsewhere in the Southwest. It provides habitat to a broad 
range of species, including one of the largest elk herds in the 
continental United States, black bear, mountain lion, Mexican spotted 
owl, goshawk, peregrine falcon, and Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Its 
vegetation reflects a high level of ecological diversity, and includes 
grasslands, ponderosa pine, spruce, Douglas fir, and aspen.
    The Jemez Wild and Scenic River, which originates in the Caldera, as 
well as the San Antonio, Jaramillo, and La Jara Creeks, all have 
outstanding fishery resources. Baca Ranch also adjoins the Santa Fe 
National Forest and Bandelier National Monument, and its protection will 
enhance the values of those properties as well.
    The special designation of the ranch as the Valles Caldera National 
Preserve will help ensure the protection of important scenic and natural 
values. Baca Ranch has been well managed by its current owners, who 
permit selective grazing, timber harvest, fishing, and hunting--all in a 
manner that respects and preserves the underlying resource. The bill 
creates a unique management structure for this unique property. A Board 
of Trustees, with each member providing a particular expertise in the 
range of issues raised by the management of this property, will make 
decisions about Baca Ranch in a process that fully involves the American 
public--the real owners of the land. It is my hope that a member of the 
Native American community in New Mexico be included on this Board. This 
legislation makes clear that the managers of this property will make 
resource protection a top priority, and that sustainable multiple uses 
and financial self-sufficiency will be pursued to the extent consistent 
with protection of these irreplaceable resources. The Baca Ranch is a 
working ranch today, and the goal is to make it a model of sustainable 
practices, ensuring resource protection and providing for public 
recreational uses.
    The purchase of the Valles Caldera is one of the most significant 
Federal land acquisitions in recent history and is a prime example of 
what we can achieve through my Lands Legacy Initiative. The permanent 
funding

[[Page 1679]]

source for conservation that I am working with the Congress to provide 
will guarantee that places like the Valles Caldera will not disappear, 
but will be protected for all to enjoy. The acquisition of this 
irreplaceable resource has been a top conservation priority for my 
Administration and many in the Congress. This Act protects a magnificent 
natural resource for New Mexicans and all Americans, and we can all be 
proud of this legacy that we leave for generations to come.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 July 25, 2000.

Note: S. 1892, approved July 25, was assigned Public Law No. 106-248.