New Mexico Ranch Transformed into National PreserveBACA RANCH, New Mexico - Almost 90,000 acres in northern New Mexico, rich with elk, bear, trout streams and peregrine falcons, has been set aside as the new Valles Caldera National Preserve. President Bill Clinton signed a bill Tuesday authorizing the $101 million purchase of the Baca Ranch, bridging a gap between vast tracts of federal lands including Santa Fe National Forest and Bandelier National Monument.
"From time to time, we are presented with an opportunity to save a truly magnificent piece of America’s rich natural endowment," said Clinton at the signing ceremony. "Today we seize one such opportunity. At the heart of the scenic Jemez Mountains west of Santa Fe, the Baca Ranch contains the remarkable Valles Caldera - the collapsed crater of an ancient volcano - and sustains one of our nation’s largest wild elk herds. Thanks to the careful stewardship of the Dunigan family, this extraordinary landscape appears today much as it did when the first settlers arrived. And thanks to the bipartisan efforts of the New Mexico delegation, we will ensure that it remains healthy and whole for generations to come." Negotiations for the federal purchase of the ranch took more than two years, and overcame a slew of stumbling blocks. Many Republican members of Congress opposed the deal, calling it a federal land grab and questioning the purchase price. During debate in the House, Representative John Duncan Jr., a Tennessee Republican, called the deal "a colossal ripoff of the taxpayers." Baca Ranch was purchased in 1961 for $2.1 million by Texas oilman Pat Dunigan. In 2000 dollars, adjusted for inflation, the price was about $11.7 million. But appraisals by independent auditors and the U.S. Forest Service found that the family’s $101 million asking price was fair considering the market for other similarly sized ranches. Andrew Dunigan, Pat Dunigan’s son, said the family has "mixed emotions but also a great sense of gratification that we were the last people to own this place before it belonged to the public. It's a fitting tribute to Pat Dunigan's legacy of protecting this unique natural resource."
Protection of Baca Ranch has been one of the President’s top conservation priorities and was made possible with funding secured through his Lands Legacy initiative. At the heart of the Jemez Mountain region west of Santa Fe, the new Valles Caldera National Preserve contains a unique mix of grasslands, forested mountains and geologic features found nowhere else in the American Southwest. The land sustains one of the country's largest wild elk herds and provides habitat for a wide range of other wildlife, including 17 threatened or endangered species, and such animals as the black bear, mountain lion, goshawk, peregrine falcon and Rio Grande cutthroat trout. The new preserve also encompasses most of the Valles Caldera, a massive crater more than a half-mile deep and 15 miles wide that was created by a huge volcanic eruption more than a million years ago. Secondary volcanic domes arise from the caldera floor, including Redondo Peak, which climbs to more than 11,000 feet. Hot springs occur in the west-central part of the caldera and reflect the relative nearness of molten rock to the surface. Geologists have used Valles Caldera as a model for unraveling the history of many other volcanic eruptions around the world.
Under an innovative arrangement, the new preserve will be managed in a way that allows for sustainable resource use while ensuring public access and full protection of the ranch's natural assets. The legislation creating the preserve calls for the ranch to be as financially self sufficient as possible, consistent with other management requirements. Cattle grazing will continue, as well as limited logging. User fees from camping, hiking, fishing and hunting will bring in some funds as well.
As a working ranch, owned by the Dunigan family, the Baca has been regarded as a model of private land stewardship. The Valles Caldera National Preserve will be managed by a nine-member Valles Caldera Trust, at least five of whom must be New Mexico residents. The trustees, to appointed by the President within 90 days, will include the supervisor of Sante Fe National Forest and the superintendent of Bandelier National Monument, both of which are adjacent to Baca. The seven other Trustees will include experts in such areas as wildlife conservation, sustainable resource use, and cultural and historic preservation.
About 5,000 acres of the 95,000 acre ranch will be sold to the Santa Clara Pueblo for $4.5 million to protect the headwaters of Santa Clara Creek, the pueblo's water supply.
"I believe when the dust settles on this Congress, this will be one of the most important - if not the most important - pieces of legislation that has come along," said Senator Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat.
The ranch will remain closed to the public until November to allow a team of scientists to inventory the land, evaluating water quality, wildlife populations and other natural resources. The findings will be used by the nine member Valles Caldera Trust to prepare a management plan for Congress, due in 2002.