Valles Caldera

Bill Huey, 85, passed away in August in Tesuque. Bill was a director of the Game and Fish Department and one of the State’s Natural Resources Department directors. In 1975 Bill stated, “The single biggest problem facing wildlife is the loss of habitat altogether, or the loss of its availability.”

August 5 - U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that a bill he introduced with Senator Tom Udall to transfer management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service has cleared its first hurdle. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed it.

The Chapter has been strongly supporting the effort by Caldera Action to transfer management of the Valles Caldera from the Valles Caldera Trust to the National Park Service, which has the experience and resources to better manage the Preserve. We are delighted to announce that on May 27, Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall introduced legislation to transfer the management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service.

This spring President Obama created the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. This weekend leaders from the Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency met with New Mexicans in Albuquerque to learn about our views of this program. This is my viewpoint on this issue.

• We should all increase our use of the world-class outdoors opportunities that exist here in New Mexico.
• The Federal government should provide new, expanded, and better protected public lands.
• Increase opportunities for youth in the Great Outdoors.
• Support local economies by investing in public lands.
• Manage all public lands to comprehend climate change.

New Mexico lost three of its most respected conservationists this year....Stewart Udall, Marilyn Cooper, and Gail Ryba.

June 25, 2009 - New Mexico Senators Udall and Bingaman jointly announced that they have asked the National Park Service (NPS) to study the Valles Caldera National Preserve for inclusion in the national park system as a Preserve where hunting and fishing would continue.