|
Program in Valles Caldera National Preserve comes under fire
APRIL REESE, LAND LETTER 12/08/05
VALLES CALDERA NATIONAL PRESERVE, N.M. -- With its vast meadows of native grasses, much of this 89,000-acre expanse of volcanic highlands in northern New Mexico's Jemez Mountains is a cow's paradise. But as preserve managers mull the area's grazing future as part of a four-year-old experiment in public lands management, critics worry cows may get preferential treatment at the expense of recreation, conservation and other values.
When Congress passed legislation in 2000 authorizing the purchase of the Baca Ranch for $101 million, it stipulated that the new preserve should continue to be managed as a working ranch while also protecting its natural resources and providing for recreation, hunting, fishing and scientific research.
At the urging of New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici (R), Congress set up a trust to manage the ranch, comprised of a nine-member board of trustees, which has been overseeing the lands since 2002. The trust, which consists of the supervisor of Santa Fe National Forest, the superintendent of Bandelier National Monument and seven members appointed by the president, is charged with balancing the various uses on the preserve and making it financially self-sufficient by 2015 (Greenwire, May 2, 2005).
"It's a new experiment," said Bob Parmenter, the preserve's scientist, during a tour of the preserve last week.
Since 2002, that experiment has included limited grazing in the preserve's valleys. The current grazing program allows up to 2,000 head of cattle on the grasslands, with no cattle allowed in streams and other sensitive areas. That is far fewer than the 6,000 head that grazed the ranch when it was in private ownership, and only about 700 cattle actually graze the preserve, according to Tracy Seidman Hephner, the current chairwoman of the board of trustees.
But area ranchers have expressed great interest in expanding the grazing program on the preserve, which is known for its high-quality grasslands. And there may be an opportunity to do just that, as the board -- which has gained several new members from the ranching community under President Bush -- tackles developing a long-term grazing program.
Controversy over grazing
While no decision has been made on the future of the program, and an increase in grazing has not been formally suggested, critics are concerned that grazing will take precedence over other preserve values, such as recreation and resource protection. While limited fishing and hunting are allowed for a fee, only two short hiking and skiing trails are open to the public, and no camping is allowed.
"The working ranch has to be consistent with those other goals," said Marty Peale, coordinator for the Valles Caldera Coalition, which represents several groups that pushed for the preserve's creation and continue to monitor its progress in meeting its congressional mandates. "It's a preserve first, and a working ranch second."
"They're spending too much time and energy on the grazing program," said Billy Stern, grazing program coordinator for Forest Guardians.
The preserve should focus on meeting its directive to establish a comprehensive management plan that balances all the uses on the lands, Stern and Peale contend.
Instead, the board has chosen to address each major program -- including grazing and recreation -- separately, arguing that figuring out how to manage all the preserve's different uses is too complex and time-consuming to handle at once.
Seidman Hephner said the board decided to take on the cattle program first because it is the most controversial, and information gathered for that program will help lay the groundwork for others. For instance, determining which areas along streams are the most sensitive will help guide decisions about both grazing and recreation, she said.
Preserve staff will begin work on an environmental impact statement for a long-term grazing program in January that will look at expanding ranching to other areas of the preserve and how many cows the lands can handle, said Seidman Hephner, who also owns a ranch near Wagon Mound, N.M.
Many in Northern New Mexico's ranching community say the preserve can handle more hooves. "I don't see why you couldn't stock up to the maximum 2,000 head," said Palemon Martinez, a former ranching representative on the board who now serves as secretary of the Northern New Mexico Stockman's Association. Drought required fewer numbers, but last year was fairly wet and the forage is now in good shape, he added.
Preserve managers use rotational grazing, moving the herd from place to place to prevent putting too much stress on the grasslands in any one area, added Jilario Armijo, president of the Jemez Pueblo Livestock Association.
"They keep 'em moving to limit the consumption of available grasses," he said. "I'm sure they are fully capable of continuing those same types of practices for more livestock."
Money woes
But critics question the wisdom of putting more resources into the grazing program, which is losing money, while letting programs like recreation, which holds significant potential for generating more revenue, languish -- especially if the preserve is to become self-sufficient within the next decade. A mountain biking test run last summer brought in $32,000 over two weekends -- more than the cattle program took in for the entire year.
"It's a very expensive program," Seidman Hephner acknowledged at a Nov. 17 public meeting in Albuquerque, N.M. "It hasn't even come close to breaking even."
Managing the cattle so they stay away from streambanks and other sensitive areas is "very labor-intensive" and costly, Hephner added.
The current grazing plan expires at the end of this year, and the trust is now deciding what kind of program to put in place for next year, while a long-term grazing plan is crafted.
A final decision on the 2006 program is likely to be made at the trust's next meeting, scheduled for Dec. 16 in Santa Fe. Seidman Hephner said resting the lands is one of the options being considered for next year.
A recent report by the Government Accountability Office, the research arm of Congress, commended the trust for making progress on establishing the grazing program and a preliminary recreational program, but said it has been slow to figure out how to bring in enough money to become self-sufficient. The trust also needs to determine how much activity it can allow on the preserve without harming its resources, the GAO concluded.
The federal government first budgeted about $990,000 for the preserve each year but recently increased that to about $3.6 million a year after lobbying by New Mexico's congressional delegation. Domenici recently succeeded in securing an additional $1.5 million for capital improvements, such as roads.
After all of the preserve's one-time expenditures are taken care of, annual operating costs will be about $2 million, preserve managers say. Without a comprehensive management plan, it is unclear how those costs will be met, but Peale and others say they are confident the preserve will be able to pay its way by 2015 -- particularly if it expands recreational opportunities on the preserve.
| |
