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Valles Caldera Trust - 2011 Report to Congress (pdf)

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Caldera Action Newsletter  Join our mailing list

News From Caldera Action

February 2, 2012 

Dear Tom,

Caldera Action is planning a busy 2012. We'll have volunteer and education programs at the VCNP this spring and summer and we'll keep you updated on recreation opportunities. We are expanding our presence on the web, with our new Facebook page. Please spread our news around to people who may be interested.

Caldera Action's Executive Director and Treasurer recently went to Washington D.C. We'll report on that trip very soon.

On to the news...

Moonlight Ski and Snowshoe

The VCNP will offer a moonlight snow event on February 4 from 6 to 10 PM. There will be campfires and volunteer monitors. If you want to help with the event call Emily at 505-428-7737.

Report to Congress

Every year the Valles Caldera Trust must release a report to Congress for the preceding year's activities. This year the report makes ample mention of the impacts of the Las Conchas Fire which burned approximately 30,000 acres of the Preserve last July and shut down public access for about a month.

Most remarkable is the continuing success of Bob Parmenter's science program in terms of drawing scientists to the Preserve. Last year the science program at the VCNP generated $4 million in grant project funding. Though this money does not go into the operating funds for the VCNP, it shows the tremendous value of the VCNP for science and education.

The report details the economics of the Preserve and progress the Trust is making in its statutory quest for financial self-sufficiency. The legislation that the VCNP is currently operating under envisioned that the Preserve would pay its own way completely by 2020 or be turned over to the US Forest Service as multiple use land. The VCNP experiment has been valuable in showing how the economics of public lands work in a way we never could see explicitly from looking at national forest or national park areas. At the VCNP programs are broken out and the budgets for each one monitored and reported to the Congress and the public (though some details remain obscure).

The fees the VCNP charges for recreation recoup some costs but the rest are paid for by all of us through the annual appropriation that Congress gives the VCNP of $3.4 million dollars. (That appropriation would end if the VCNP goes to the Forest Service.) To learn more about the economics of the Valles Caldera download our economic report by clicking here.

The report to Congress reveals that even with grazing fees several times higher than those the US Forest Service charges ($1.35 per cow/calf per month), the VCNP loses money on grazing. We learn that hunting and fishing make money for the Preserve and that logging won't earn money for the Preserve.

The Report to Congress also tells us that the VCNP has about a million dollar’s worth of deferred maintenance on buildings at the Preserve. Maintenance backlogs plague the National Parks and other public land agencies as well and require a dedicated appropriation from Congress that would create jobs and secure our cultural heritage.

The Report mentions that the VCNP has begun to count visitors in a different way than they have in the past, including using electronic counters and other methods. The VCNP staff consulted the National Park Service to learn how to count visitors. According to these new counting methods, the VCNP had four times more visitors than last year, about 97,000 people.

As required by Congress, the VCNP will develop a "strategic plan" for management of the Preserve over the next year.  Report to Congress. 

Excellent Photos of Las Conchas Fire Available

Rourke McDermott of the Valles Caldera staff was at the VCNP during last summer's Las Conchas fire. He posted some amazing photos of the fire in progress at the VCNP Facebook page. Well worth your time....

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January 2012 -- Snow

    This winter has been surprisingly snowy given the forecast for minimal snow and a La Nina winter. Unlike last year, the Valles Caldera has about 6 plus inches of snowpack on the valley floors. The top of nearby Pajarito Mountain has about 38 inches but these totals still put the Jemez Mountains well behind it’s average snowfall levels.  The Jemez is running at about 42% of average snowfall according to the Natural Resources Conservation Services which tracks snowpack and runoff for rivers and streams.

   The Voice of America ran an excellent article and TV report on the VCNP and drought  featuring the VCNP’s Dr. Bob Parmenter. The report discusses the current long term drought and climate change as well as changes to the Jemez watershed caused by the Las Conchas fire. Read and watch the Voice of America report by clicking here.

   The VCNP has been able to accommodate plenty of snowshoeing and cross country skiing this year including the annual New Year’s eve late night ski. Conditions are good for getting some serious snow exercise at the VCNP. We encourage everyone to support the recreation programs at the VCNP.

Executive Director

   The VCNP is in the process of finding a new executive director. We understand that interviews of candidates will happen soon and we may expect an announcement of the new executive director in February. Caldera Action is hopeful that whoever the new director is, they will facilitate increased public involvement in decision making, and increase cooperative involvement by the National Park Service in design and operations at the VCNP. We are aware that some excellent candidates applied for the ED job.

Volunteer Activities Next Spring and Summer

    Caldera Action will help sponsor volunteer environmental restoration activities when the snow clears. We expect to help with fence removals, corral demolitions, and new fence constructions to help protect streams and fish in the VCNP. We’ll send you specific dates as soon as we have them. We hope many Caldera Action members will join us for these great days of work, friendship, food and the great beauty of our Preserve.

S 564

   We continue to encourage Congress to pass Senator Bingaman’s bill to have the VCNP transferred to the National Park Service. Our contacts in Washington indicate that Senator Bingaman continues to work to get bipartisan support for the bill. We hope to have good news soon.

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Nov 11, 2011- New appointment to VCNP Board

Oct. 2011 -VCNP Economic Report  Analysis for transferring the VCNP to direct federal agency management