Editing Valles Caldera (section)

==History==
Use of Valles Caldera dates back to prehistoric times: spear points dating to 11,000 years ago have been discovered.<ref name=history>Anscheutz, Kurt F. and Merlan, Thomas (2007). [https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr196.pdf "More than a scenic mountain landscape: Valles Caldera National Preserve land use history"]. [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] Rocky Mountain Research Center, [[Fort Collins]], [[Colorado|CO]]</ref> Several [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes frequented the caldera for hunting prolific game and gathering [[obsidian]] that is common in this area. The obsidian was [[Knapping|knapped]] into tools and weapons while wild game was followed and hunted seasonally. Obsidian from the caldera was traded by tribes across much of the Southwest. Eventually, the Spanish, and later Mexican settlers along with the [[Navajo people|Navajo]] and other tribes came to the caldera seasonally for grazing livestock. This often resulted in periodic clashes and raids between tribes and cultures. Later, as the United States acquired New Mexico as part of the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] in 1848, the caldera became the backdrop for the Indian wars with the [[U.S. Army]]. Around the same time, the caldera and its forests began to be used commercially for ranching and logging.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

===Baca Ranch===
The caldera became part of the [[Baca land grants|Baca Ranch]] in 1876. The [[Baca family of New Mexico|Bacas]] were a wealthy family given the land as compensation for the termination of a grant given to their family near [[Las Vegas, New Mexico|Las Vegas]], in northeastern New Mexico. The family was given four other parcels by the US Government as well, another one in New Mexico, one in Colorado, and two in Arizona. This area, {{cvt|100000|acres}}, was called ''Baca Location Number One'' or ''Baca Float Number One.'' Since then, the land has been through a string of exchanges between private owners and business enterprises. Most notably, it was owned by Frank Bond in the 1930s. Bond, a businessman based in nearby [[Española, New Mexico|Española]], ran up to 30,000 sheep in the caldera, significantly overgrazing the land and causing damage from which the watersheds of the landscape are still recovering.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

The land was purchased by the Dunigan family from Abilene, Texas in 1963. Pat Dunigan did not obtain the timber rights, however, and the New Mexico Lumber Company logged the property heavily - removing significant amounts of old-growth [[douglas fir]] and [[ponderosa pine]]. Dunigan bought out the timber rights in the 1970s and slowed the logging. He negotiated unsuccessfully with the [[National Park Service]] and the [[US Forest Service]] for possible sale of the property in the 1980s.<ref name=history/>
[[File:Elk Calf, Valles Caldera.jpg|thumb|Elk Calf in the Valle Grande, 2012]]

===Valles Caldera National Preserve===
The Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 signed by [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]] on July 25, 2000, created the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP).<ref name=Act>[http://www.vallescaldera.gov/about/trust/docs/PL%20106-248.pdf "Public Law 106–248 - 106th Congress"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222151016/http://www.vallescaldera.gov/about/trust/docs/PL%20106-248.pdf |date=2013-02-22 }}. Valles Caldera National Preserve. Retrieved on 2013-04-04.</ref> The legislation provided for the federal purchase of this historical ranch with funds coming from the [[Land and Water Conservation Fund]] derived from royalties the US government receives from offshore [[petroleum]] and [[natural gas]] [[drilling]].<ref name=CNN>Environmental News Network Staff (2000-07-17). [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/07/17/baca.ranch.enn/ CNN.com "New Mexico's Baca Ranch soon to be public land"]. CNN.com. Retrieved on 2013-04-03.</ref> The Dunigan family sold the entire surface [[Estate (law)|estate]] of {{convert|95000|acre|km2}} and seven-eighths of the [[Geothermal activity|geothermal]] [[mineral]] estate to the [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] for $101&nbsp;million. As some sites of the Baca Ranch are sacred and of cultural significance to the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], {{convert|5000|acre|km2}} of the purchase were obtained by the [[Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico|Santa Clara Pueblo]], which borders the property to the northeast. These include the headwaters of Santa Clara Creek, which is sacred to the pueblo.<ref name=CNN/><ref name=history/> On the southwest corner of the land, {{convert|300|acre|km2}} were to be ceded to [[Bandelier National Monument]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

The Baca Ranch, also known as Baca Location No. 1, had possessed a mixed range of [[tree]] species and significant [[biodiversity]]. At the time of the purchase, the ranch was home to {{convert|40|mi}} of pristine [[trout]] streams, {{convert|66118|acre}} of [[Temperate coniferous forest|conifer forest]], 17 endangered plant and animal species, and {{convert|25000|acre}} of [[grassland]] grazed by 8,000 [[elk]], New Mexico's largest herd. The preserve is encircled by federal lands, including the [[Santa Fe National Forest]], the [[Jemez National Recreation Area]], and [[Bandelier National Monument]].<ref name="CNN2">Environmental News Network Staff (2000-07-17). "New Mexico's Baca Ranch soon to be public land". CNN.</ref>

The Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 also created the Valles Caldera Trust, an experimental management organization consisting of nine board members, including seven appointed by the [[President of the United States]].<ref name="about">[http://www.vallescaldera.gov/about/ "About VCNP"]. Valles Caldera National Preserve Official Website. Retrieved on 2013-04-03.</ref> The Trust combined private-sector practices with federal land management protocol. Under the terms of the Valles Caldera Preservation Act, the preserve was to become financially self-sustaining by 2015. The experiment was controversial. In 2010, the Trust admitted that it would be unable to achieve financial self-sustainability, having raised only about $850,000 of the $3&nbsp;million needed to manage the property each year.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

[[Environmentalist]]s lobbied for the more inclusive protections of national park status instead of the Trust model, but then-Senator [[Pete Domenici]] (R) insisted on the experimental approach as a condition for his support for public purchase. Beginning in 2010, US Senator [[Jeff Bingaman]] (D) introduced legislation that would transfer the property to the [[National Park Service]] as a [[national preserve]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=S.3452 - Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/3452|website=Congress.gov|date=27 September 2010}}</ref> The 2011 bill<ref>{{Cite web|title=S.564 - Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/senate-bill/564|website=Congress.gov|date=11 May 2011}}</ref> was supported by the VCNP trustees and a majority of New Mexico's Congressional delegation. On December 19, 2014, President [[Barack Obama]] signed the [[Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015|2015 National Defense Authorization Act]], which transferred administrative jurisdiction of the preserve from the Valles Caldera Trust to the National Park Service.<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 January 2018|title=Public Law 113-291 (Section 3043)|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-113publ291/pdf/PLAW-113publ291.pdf|access-date=11 January 2018|website=gpoinfo.gov}}</ref> After a brief transition period, the National Park Service assumed day-to-day management on October 1, 2015. On October 10, the preserve held an official dedication with dignitaries including U.S. Secretary of the Interior [[Sally Jewell]], U.S. Senator [[Tom Udall]], U.S. Senator [[Martin Heinrich]], former U.S. Senator [[Jeff Bingaman]], National Park Service Intermountain Region Director Sue Masica, and the first National Park Service Superintendent of Valles Caldera National Preserve, Jorge Silva-Bañuelos.<ref name="clark1">{{cite news|last1=Clark|first1=Carol A.|date=October 9, 2015|title=Interior Secretary Jewell Celebrates Valles Caldera's Addition To National Park Service|publisher=Los Alamos Post}}</ref>

=== Las Conchas Fire ===
In July 2011, the [[Las Conchas Fire]], started by a power line on nearby private land, burned {{convert|30000|acre|km2}} of the Valles Caldera National Preserve.  The [[wildfire]] burned a total of {{convert|156000|acre|km2}} in the [[Jemez Mountains]], including most of neighboring [[Bandelier National Monument]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-28 |title=Fire in the Jemez Mountains |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e8dcc55831b348c6841ec7bd592559e8 |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=ArcGIS StoryMaps |language=en-us}}</ref> The Jemez Mountains and surrounding areas of the southwest incorporate dry climates, grasslands, and certain tree species (like [[Pinyon pine|Pinon]]) that evolved to exist with wildfires. Changes in climate and [[Anthropogenic effect|anthropogenic]] interference with the fire cycle and habitats, has led to fires that are hotter and more intense. These types of fires are more difficult for ecosystems to recover from.{{cn|date=March 2025}}