BY TERESA SEAMSTER and TOM RIBE
NORTHERN GROUP MEMBERS
It has been called a “once in a lifetime” moment and a “land of superlatives”. It’s that moment of awe when you see a perfect valley shining with high-altitude light, green abundance and outstanding beauty. This is the feeling many express when they first set eyes on the giant Valle Grande in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
How best to preserve the unique values of the preserve as well as manage the visitors that want to come hike, ride, bike, fish, hunt and explore is the task ahead for National Park Service at the preserve in consultation with nearby pueblos of Santa Clara, Jemez, Zia, San Ildefonso as well as the public.
The 88,900-acre preserve is described as “the world’s premier example of a young volcanic caldera,” created about 1.25 million years ago with a major 11,254-foot resurgent dome, Redondo Peak. The Valles Caldera was designated as a unit of the national park system in 2014.
Superintendent Jorge Silva-Bañuelos recently hosted a public meeting to describe the draft General Management Plan and the possible additions of trails, backcountry permitting, camping and other visitor “engagement” activities. The agency staff has proposed new trailheads, road closures, a relocated entrance road, a new visitor center and a zoned management system to concentrate use in some places and leave large areas essentially wild.
Here are some comments already submitted in response to the plan:
The organization Caldera Action commented that, “Since the (preserve) has been public since 2000, we can see clearly the pressures and ecological eventualities of the future. We’ve seen high-severity wildfires burn through most of the preserve, radically altering its vegetation, wildlife and hydrology. We’ve seen post-fire flooding with its gullying and debris fields. We’ve seen trespass cattle polluting the streams, damaging vegetation, and ruining restoration structures put in by staff and volunteers. With climate change a certainty for the future and with a growing human population in the region, these events from the past are likely to repeat in the future. The National Park Service knows what is coming and must use the best available science to prepare.
Additionally, one individual commented that, “This (draft) should include a specific reclamation plan to remove legacy waste and infrastructure and restore areas damaged by geothermal and timber industries as well as by heavy grazing and high-intensity wildfires that have impacted over 60% of the preserve. The current (35 per day) permitted rate of visitors to the back country should be kept as well as seasonal closures due to weather or high wildfire risk.”
Opinions differ on what activities should be permitted and which areas should be accessible to the public, but protecting the unique values of the Valles Caldera described by trustee, Willian deBuys, remain paramount:
“The friends of the Caldera need to repeat their message over and over, and make sure they are heard. If the preserve is to remain a place where eagles congregate in the fall and elk canter through the night like a living tissue of the land, the friends of the Caldera need to insist on it, and settle for nothing less.”
(Featured image courtesy of WikiMedia Commons.)
